Page 25 of The Road Trip Romance

“Yes,” I manage, giving her body a small squeeze.

We stare at each other for a long moment before I release her. Rex gets up and holds out his hand to help me up. I accept it and stand, brushing myself off while Rex and Sophia look me over. Rex locks eyes with me and I know he’s questioning why I stayed down on the ground as long as I did while holding Sophia. I look away because I don’t want to think about why I liked her in my arms. That’s not part of this plan. She’s a business colleague now, and that’s it.

“Damn, Tate. That was intense,” Jordan says from further down the trail. “You two OK?”

“We’ll survive to see another day,” Sophia answers as she brushes some leaves off her pants.

“I think we’re done hiking,” Jordan announces when he reaches us.

“Oh, come on,” Penn calls out still standing on top of the boulder. “Shake it off. You two can do this.”

I glare at Penn. “This isn’t a competition. Get your ass down here. We need to get to the hotel, and we still have a few hours to drive.”

I turn and start back down the trail with the rest of the crew in tow. My head is swimming with thoughts, like why did I not want to let go of Sophia? I internally curse myself. I need to stop thinking about her in that way. She clearly isn’t interested in me like that and now we’re all on this journey so I can win back Lacey. I need to keep myself focused on the end goal. I want a family with Lacey. I’ve wanted a family with Lacey.

“I’ll drive again,” Sophia offers as we reach the car.

“I got it. It’s still my shift,” I state as I climb into the SUV. Everyone piles inside and silence descends upon us as I pull back onto the interstate. The sun is getting lower in the sky and Sophia stares out the window next to me. I’m deep in thought when she reaches over and turns on her playlist.

It’s an older song, and as the soulful melody fills the car, Sophia’s voice accompanies it. Fuck, her voice is beautiful. No one says a word as we listen to her. She’s like the Pied Piper and we’re just a bunch of lemmings.

When she finishes, she reaches into a bag next to her and pulls out a box of dried fruit. “Anyone hungry?” she asks as she holds it out toward Jordan.

“Damn, M. You can sing,” Penn breaks the silence.

Sophia shrugs and grabs a dried apricot. “I guess so.”

“You guess so? Could have fooled me because the woman I just heard isn’t questioning her talent,” Jordan states. I look in the rearview mirror and watch him raise an eyebrow. I grin. I don’t know why I’m so proud of Sophia, but I am. She’s managed to win over all three of my friends within one day.

“Whatever. I got beef jerky in here, too,” she says as she holds out a bag.

I grab some and suddenly the awkwardness from earlier melts away as Rex yells for her to pass the meat, followed by Penn making a lewd comment, and Sophia chucking jerky at both of them while giggling. Fuck, she can’t help but mother us. But there’s so much more to her than I ever guessed possible. I should have known that I’d like the woman who wrote my now favorite book. She’s witty, kind, and funny, like really funny. Plus, she’s a great mom. I wish I had had a mother like her. I clear my throat as I try not to think back to the time I lived with my mom.Nope, don’t go there, Tate.

“Stop at the next exit. We need dinner,” Penn requests.

“It’s only one more hour to the city where we booked a hotel. Can’t we wait?” I ask as I glance at the time.

“I could sort of use some food,” Rex adds.

I look over at Sophia who shrugs. “Food isn’t a bad idea. I mean…it’s a road trip. We should have some fun,” she offers.

“Fuck it,” I mutter as I turn off at the next exit. I pull over at a diner and we all pile out.

“Uh, this place looks interesting,” Jordan says in a low voice. The parking lot is filled with semitrucks and everyone inside is either wearing flannel or denim. We all look at one another and burst out laughing.

“So much for being inconspicuous,” Sophia laughs as she looks at our outfits. We aren’t exactly dressed to the nines, but we certainly don’t look like the other clientele.

“Do you think anyone will recognize us?” I ask, lowering my ball cap.

Sophia holds out her hand and I take it in mine. She uses her other hand to ruffle Penn’s hair.

“We’re a family of traveling singers. Tate, you’re the lead singer. Penn, you’re the drummer. Jordan, you play guitar. And, Rex, you are the pianist. And we all have to pick new names,” Sophia says as she leans conspiratorially toward all of us.

Rex grins. “What about you?”

Sophia gives him a wink. “I’m the bassist, obviously.”

Jordan bursts out laughing. “I’m down. Does our group have a name?”

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