"
I'm sorry, Joshua, really I am, but I have a previous engagement tonight." I watched Joshua transform as he noticed Xavier Templeton.
His smile was wider, the dimple giving a practiced wink. "Mr. Templeton, I'm sorry if I'm trespassing. I'll get out of your hair."
Xavier waved an absent hand at Joshua and waited for Penn to walk up the front steps. "We'll give you two a moment."
"And, nice to see you again, Mr. Penn," Joshua called.
I worried that Penn was going to turn around and throttle him right there in the driveway. The sparks of jealousy I had seen in his eyes had turned into a four-alarm fire when we kissed. Now that his father had interrupted us again, Penn looked ready to explode.
Joshua waited until they had gone inside the mansion and then he turned to me with a frown. "You're making good contacts here, I'll give you that, but I really wish you would let me help you. There's a right way and a wrong way to go about cultivating relationships like that."
I licked my lips where they still tingled and wondered how Joshua would feel if I told him about the confusing relationship tangle I was getting into with Penn. I didn't even understand it myself. One moment, he was kissing me blissful and the next, he was answering a business call. One moment, we were flirting and touching like a real couple and the next, he'd turned it all into a lie we had to perform for his parents.
Why wasn't I packing up and going back to Santa Cruz with Joshua? I wondered.
He was still outlining the correct way to befriend someone as rich as Xavier Templeton, and I had my answer. Joshua was only interested in furthering his own career and I was to be a useful tool. Maybe Penn was right, because I could easily imagine the tight squeeze I would feel after Joshua pushed me into the role he'd envisioned.
Penn, on the other hand, let me dangle.
"Corsica? Are you listening?"
I brushed back my hair with an impatient swipe. "I have to go inside and get ready. I'm sorry, Joshua."
"Wait, wait, wait," he gave an incredulous laugh. "You can't seriously be telling me you plan on staying here. Is it the singing? You can find a place in Santa Cruz; there's that karaoke place all the tourists like. I just can't stand here and let you make the wrong decision."
"It's my decision," I ground out. "I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I'm saying goodnight. Goodnight, Joshua."
His expression was a mix of shock and pity. It was still irritating me as we drove towards Alice's encampment outside Pinnacles. Joshua honestly believed that I wasn't able to choose what was best for me.
Xavier pulled me out of my furious thoughts. "Have you ever heard the term 'glamping?'"
I blinked. "I think so. It's a mix of glamour and camping, right?"
He signaled the driver to slow down so he could roll down the window. "I thought you might like the look of it more than sleeping in a bag in the dirt. Each tent is equipped with a full size bed, a solar-powered ceiling fan, and butler service. Who needs coolers and dirty campfire food when you have a man with a silver tray?"
Penn snorted. "It's ridiculous. Even Corsica can see that it's a total waste. If that's what you want, then you should be in a fancy hotel."
"Like the Ritz-Carlton?" I snapped.
His eyes narrowed. "Exactly."
I looked back out the window at the tents and spotted a chandelier illuminating one. "I think I would like glamping. All the comforts along with the peace and quiet of nature."
"Where's the peace and quiet when a butler keeps checking in on you?" Penn asked.
"What, you don't think I'm capable of making up my own mind about what kind of tent to stay in?" My voice rose a notch before I could get myself under control. "I can make my own decisions, thank you very much."
Penn leaned forward across the seat. "Then before you decide, you should consider the alternatives. Imagine it's just you in the woods. You have a tent and a sleeping bag and everything you actually need. The difference is, you don't have any of the extras to weigh you down. There's no one there to judge your choices; there's no complicated choices at all. All you have to do is survive. I'm telling you, that's the most relaxed I
've ever felt."
I hated to admit that his argument appealed to me. It had been a long time since I hadn't felt tested, graded, and compared to others. Roughing it in the woods meant I would have no one to impress and no one to please but myself.
And Penn. The thought seared through my mind before I could stop it. Ideas of how we would be together jumbled any counter-argument I might have been able to form.
Xavier chuckled. "And here we are at the spa."