Abby and I shot each other a look, and I leaned forward with a giggle. “There aren’t bears in England, babe. Now just finish packing so we can get on the road.”
Still frozen, he glanced out the window like he could see them already. “What do you mean, bears?”
Nick glanced up at his wife and actually whined. “Abby, can’t we just—”
“No!” she said, promptly cutting off his complaint. “I won, so the choice is mine. Those are the rules. Quit being a sore loser. You keep promising to take me camping and never do.”
James shot Nick a dirty glance from the corner of his eye, muttering resentfully under his breath. “Why did you teach her the rules?”
Nick never broke eye contact with his wife. “I had no choice,” he said, stifling an involuntary shiver. “She frightens me.”
“Yes, I can be quite the bear, can’t I?” Abby teased.
Two hours later, after James decided he’d packed everything necessary to live off the grid for a whopping couple of days, we finally piled out the front door, only to be stopped almost immediately by a group of people heading up the front steps. In the front of the pack was a dignified older gentleman who stared down at me from behind a monocle.
“Ferdie?” Abby shrieked and smacked both boys upside the head. “You’re actually trying to make Ferdie a stowaway?”
I had no idea who Ferdie actually was, but he stared at James the way Batman’s loyal butler always looked at the caped crusader. The only difference was that James’s version of Alfred didn’t seem to think the dark knight was capable of pulling off a camping trip.
After a brief argument about whether or not we should invite wait staff, we finally piled into a limousine and headed for the English countryside. Four hours later, Abby and I were sitting atop a rather rustic picnic table, watching as two of the most powerful, allegedly talented men in the world mentally collapsed when tasked with making a simple fire.
“How long can it possibly take?” I asked her quietly, watching as the boys quickly destroyed the piles of kindling the two of us had gathered while they sat in the car, sullenly texting their complaints to the civilized world. “What’s it been? Thirty minutes already?”
Her eyes warmed fondly as she watched them with a patient smile. “They’re still in the arguing stage. The actual fire-building has yet to commence.”
We laughed softly, then leaned against each other once more, huddled beneath the same blanket. I found it strange that we bonded so quickly, that we were comfortable with one another almost right away. I certainly didn’t make new friends very easily, and I had the feeling her life under the spotlight with Nick kept her rather guarded as well, but for reasons unbeknownst to either of us, but the sixth hour, we’d already become fast friends.
Crash!
There was a mighty collision as the precarious pyramid the boys had been building toppled and landed in ruins. While Nick appeared to be ready to rip his own hair out, James obliviously employed the help of his phone, calmly browsing for an app that might help them.
Obviously thinking along the same lines, Abby swept her light brown hair into a quick ponytail, before glancing over at me with a little smile. “You know, under any other circumstances, I’d be sitting up here alone.” She glanced at me again, looking almost shy. “It’s nice to have a little more—”
“Estrogen?” I guessed.
We glanced across the campsite to the men who had momentarily abandoned the fire and were loudly complimenting each other’s hair. A faint crease flickered across my brow as Abby pursed her lips patiently.
“No, we’ve got plenty of that here. I was going to say sanity.”
I giggled behind my hands.
Next, she slid forward on the table and spoke with the practiced voice of one who’d had to refocus two such charismatic, distractible minds many times before. “This isn’t rocket science, boys. You’re not exactly re-creating some Jules Vernian race around the globe, not crashing the stock market as part of an initiation prank. It’s only a campfire.”
James flipped her off, whil
e Nick gave her a gallant salute and returned to the process with gusto.
I grinned, shook my head, and folded my arms across my chest. “Do you think they even have a shot?”
Abby shook her head. “Not a chance in hell, but let’s give them more time, just so they have something to argue about later.” Without another thought, she reached into her purse and pulled out a flask. “Vodka?”
I accepted with a grin. “James was right. I do like you.”
She grinned as well, then took a huge swig when I passed it back. “I’ve always said James has very good taste.”
I looked at Abby. “So you’re the woman that tamed Nicholas Hunter?”
“Guilty as charged. James and Nick both had the title as notorious playboys.”