Page 18 of The Road Trip Romance

“You don’t have Mr. Bear!” Lizzie protests and crosses her arms.

“And you don’t have all the video games I want to play,” Cal adds.

Mark sighs. “Fair enough. Let’s get this stuff in the car,” he says as he gives a small wave to us and holds the door open for the kids. Lizzie drops her bag and runs over to me, throwing her arms around my thigh and squeezing.

“Thanks for the bedtime story,” she says and then leans up toward me and whispers, “You are way better at reading than my parents.”

Sophia groans. “We can all hear that, Liz,” she says.

Lizzie giggles and I pat her head. She then turns and gives each of my friends a hug. Cal walks over to me.

“I guess you won’t be here when I get back,” he mutters as he looks at his feet.

“Probably not, but it’s been fun getting to know you, Cal. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime,” I offer.

He glances up at me. “Really?” he asks, his voice filled with hope. Lizzie glances over at me with the same hopeful eyes and it feels like a sucker punch to my gut.How have I become bonded with these two kids in only twenty-four hours?

“Of course,” I assure him. I hold out my fist, and he bumps it and then gets high fives and fist bumps from the others.

Both kids wave and we wave back as Sophia ushers them out the door. When the four of us are alone finally, I glare at my friends.

“What the fuck?” I growl as my gaze meets Jordan’s because there is zero doubt in my brain that he is the driving force behind this idiotic escapade.

“Tate, dude, what are you doing here?” Penn asks in a hushed voice.

“Work,” I answer curtly.

Rex sighs and runs a hand through his signature wavy locks. Fucker is forty and looks like he’s thirty except for a few gray hairs.

“Tate, you up and left. You said you needed a vacation and then didn’t respond to a single text message. No voicemails. No anything. You just…disappeared. We were fucking worried,” Rex says.

I run a hand through my hair in frustration. I get that they care about me but for fuck’s sake.

“Well, you’re here, you see me, and I’m fine,” I grumble as I motion to the door. “No need to stay. You can go back to your regularly scheduled programs.”

I watch as my friends give each other side glances.Fuck my life!

Two things happen simultaneously. Sophia comes back inside and shuts the door behind her, and Jordan speaks.

“We’re here because we’ve seen how upset you’ve been since Lacey left, and we want to get you up to Montana to try and work things out with her,” he explains.

My eyes fly past his to Sophia’s. I can’t read what she’s thinking but I see something flash across her face…disappointment, agreement? I can’t tell.

I look back to Jordan. “It’s done, bro. There’s nothing to salvage. She’s made her choice.”

“I agree with them,” Sophia’s voice interjects. My friends step aside, clearing a path for her to walk toward me.

My eyes widen. Surely she doesn’t know enough to have an opinion…or does she?

I hold up my hands. “Listen, I appreciate the sentiment, I really do. And I appreciate everyone’s support, but Lacey’s made up her mind. We’ve been living separate lives for months now. I just…don’t see that changing,” I admit sadly because I hate that it didn’t work out between us.

“It’s never too late. You can make a grand gesture. It could change things,” Sophia says as she looks at my friends.

“We agree. You’ve been miserable. A future with Lacey and kids was something you always spoke about. Why are you giving up on it so easily?” Penn asks.

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m not. Are you already forgetting everything I’ve done to try and make it work? I’ve tried. She just…doesn’t feel the same,” I mutter before sighing.

“But she could?” Penn insists.

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