Page 16 of Ticket to You

Get a grip, Ophelia. He has a girlfriend—not that you should care.

El, he called her, with her strong bone structure and jet black hair so shiny I could probably do my makeup in its reflection. And beyond her beauty, she’ssweet. After only a few minutes of talking to her, I wondered why someone as effervescent as she is would be with someone as rigid as Adam.

I bite my lip.Let’s get this over with.“I know the rest of your team for yourOutdoorsytrip got fired. I have a solution. Hoffman’s will send us to Europe…together. It won’t be easy getting everything for both our publications done just with the two of us between the traveling, interviewing, writing, photography, yada yada. But I know we can do it.”

Adam sinks back into the couch. A few tendrils of hair fall into his eyes and he pushes them back slowly, his toned bicep on full display. He says nothing.

“Listen, Abrams, I know you don’t want to trust me. Believe me, I don’t want to trust you either, especially with my job on the line. But with all these layoffs, it’s my—probablyour—last shot to prove we’re worth keeping around.”

Instead of a response, I’m met with Adam’s pale blue eyes boring into me.

“I’m not going to beg you, if that’s what you’re waiting for,” I grumble. “And I know we aren’t exactly best friends, but after this trip, we will never have to work together again.”Thankfully.

“I already planned the trip,” Adam says slowly. “I have the flights, the rental car, the hotels,everythingbooked. And I’m willing to bet you would have a hard time findingAtelier Todaystories in anOutdoorsyitinerary.”

“I’ll figure something out.” This trip can’t be anif, it’s ahow. “You have to agree to it.”

“Do I?”

“Sure, you do. As long as you like getting a paycheck every two weeks.”

“Maybe the layoffs are a sign I should do something on my own, go independent.”

I roll my eyes. “You seem like a smart enough guy. I’m willing to bet that you know the risks involved in that.”

“I’m an extreme sports photojournalist. Risk is kind of my thing.” Adam straightens and his body leans toward mine slightly, as if he’s being drawn by a magnet. “Ifwe do this, you would be okay rock climbing, paragliding, and mountain biking? That’s what it would mean to be my second shooter.”

I take a moment to find the words. Admittedly, everything Adam does is out of my wheelhouse. I go to the Equinox gym near my apartment almost every day. However, that’s mostly because it’s a perk through working for Atelier. Plus, the locker rooms have free Kiehl's toiletries I can’t resist taking advantage of. But how different can mountain biking be from a Peleton? How different can a hike be from a Stairmaster?

“I like a challenge.” I lift my chin, trying to look as dignified as I can while rainwater drips onto Adam’s armchair from the ends of my long hair. “Even if that means doing stories about the hottest new Vibram-soled shoes on the market.”

Adam’s icy blue eyes glint. “We leave tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I repeat in shock, already mentally mapping out my to-do lists.

“Yes. Tomorrow night on a red-eye flight. That won’t be a problem, right?” Adam raises his eyebrows in such a way that makes me wonder if Jane coached him on how to intimidate me.

“No problem at all.” Thankfully, I at least sound more confident than I feel.

* * *

Adamand I work for hours on the nitty-gritty of the trip. When the street below buzzes with the excitement of kids getting home from school, Adam closes his laptop.

“We should get going,” Adam says, stretching his arms up over his head. His shirt raises just enough for a sliver of his tanned torso to peek out above his waistband.

I look away quickly. “And where exactly should we get going to?”

“Your apartment.”

Adam says it so matter-of-factly, I take a minute to process his words. “Myapartment?”

“We need to figure out what you have for the trip that can work on our shoots. Hiking boots, a warm hat, base layers, that sort of thing. Then first thing tomorrow morning we can go shopping to fill in the gaps.”

“I have a feeling it will be less about filling gaps and more about filling a massive, gaping hole. Like, meteor-sized.”

“Then we better get on with it.” Adam pauses and wrinkles his eyebrows at me. “I’m guessing you like to shop, right? And before you say anything, just know that I say that not because you’re a woman, but because you're anAtelierwoman.”

“And if Idolike shopping? Would that be a crime?”

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