Page 8 of A Summer of New Beginnings
Zara burst into a fit of nervous giggles. ‘Whoops! Sorry about that, Marco. I guess we need to remember that I don’t live alone any more.’
‘Yeah, sorry, mate, got a bit carried away there,’ Josh squeaked in a strangled tone as he dragged his clothes onto his body.
Marco was still cheekily appraising Josh’s physique as he walked through to the kitchen. ‘Oh, don’t mind me, lovebirds.’
Once the new lodger had disappeared back to his room, Josh flopped down onto the couch. ‘Ugh, talk about coitus interruptus.’
Zara, who was now re-buttoned into her shirt, cringed. ‘I’m really sorry about that. I suppose we should have taken things to the bedroom a bit earlier.’
‘Never mind. Anyway, I should go. Work tomorrow. Hey, why don’t you come along and we’ll see what we can do aboutsorting your camping gear?’
Zara pouted. ‘If I must.’
‘Well, you have to do it sometime and there’s no time like the present. Or tomorrow, seeing as the shop’s shut at this time of night.’ He grinned.
‘I suppose.’
He walked to the door and pulled her along behind him. ‘Oh, your enthusiasm is so overwhelming, Bailey.’ He bent to kiss her again and she almost melted into him. He rested his foreheadon hers. ‘Kiss me like that and I’ll not make it home. See you tomorrow?’
‘See you tomorrow,’ she replied with a protruding bottom lip.
*
The following day she walked into the huge shop and was immediately overwhelmed by the number of displays before her. Thank goodness she had Josh to help with this, otherwise she might be tempted to run away and emigrate.
‘Hi there, you look a little lost.My name’s Josh, I’m the manager – can I help at all?’
She turned to see her very handsome man standing there in his uniform of polo shirt and cargo shorts. The muscles on his arms stretched the banding round his biceps and his dirty-blond hair had that just-got-out-of-bed sexiness to it.
She smiled widely at his silly game and fluttered her eyelashes. ‘Oh, yes, kind sir, I’m a completely lostdamsel in distress. I need… camping stuff?’
Josh chuckled. ‘Yup, oddly enough most people who come in here are looking for exactly the same.’ He stepped forward and, after surreptitiously glancing around him, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, making her legs weaken. Once he pulled away he stepped back as one of his staff appeared. He cleared his throat and scratched his head, as if toprove he was innocent of any possible insinuation of wrongdoing. ‘Oh, Sam, can you unpack that order of waterproof coats in the back, please?’
‘Okay, boss.’ The spotty teen saluted him.
‘So, gorgeous, are you feeling any happier about your trip?’
She sighed. ‘Not really, no.’
He gestured for her to follow him. ‘I still can’t believe you’ve never been camping,’ he admitted, shaking his head.
‘Well, I went camping as a kid but since then, with the nature of my job, I’ve got rather used to the finer things in life, I suppose. Being out in a field in the middle of nowhere just fills me with dread.’
He shrugged. ‘Think of it as an adventure. Getting back to nature. Taking some time out for yourself away from the stresses and strains of work and your sex-mad boyfriend.’ He chuckled.
Zara rolled her eyes. ‘You sound like Noah. Apart from the sex-mad bit, of course. Do you know, I really don’t see why he couldn’t go instead. It’s so much more his kind of thing.’
Josh clapped his hands and then rubbed them together. ‘Right, no point being all sulky, eh? Regardless of how cute you are when you pout. You know you’ve come to the right place and you know I’m the right person tohelp, so let’s go get you kitted out, gorgeous.’
She followed Josh through the store and watched as he piled items up in his arms, feeling relieved that the company credit card was going to be getting a battering and not her own. He explained the need for each item he picked up and kept talking about travelling light. She explained she would be picking up a mountain bike in Inverness and thatit had already got paniers fitted. He seemed to think that was a good thing and proceeded to talk about sleeping-bag weights and how many seasons they were suitable for.
He placed the huge gathered pile on the floor by a display of tents and pulled a tiny package from a shelf. ‘This little thing is like dynamite.’ His eyes widened and he looked like a kid in a sweet shop.
She was a little bewilderedas to why explosives were stored near the tents and, more to the point, why the hellsheneeded them. She stepped backwards and glanced round to see if anyone else was within striking distance. Thankfully the area was clear.
Josh pulled at the package and suddenly out sprang a bundle of canvas, which miraculously turned into a tent before her eyes and landed, ready erected, on the floor beforeher. She felt very foolish as his meaning of dynamite became very clear and was thankful she hadn’t decided to question him on it before. Her stupidity would remain her own secret.
Josh waved his hands excitedly at the bright green pod. ‘So, madam, there you go. A few pegs at the end of the guy ropes and you’re ready to sleep. Built-in ground sheet. Nice and compact. Lightweight too. Three thousandhydrostatic head. Roomy enough for you and your backpack. Little porch that comes out enough for you to sit in the doorway of the tent and cook just outside. And all for two hundred quid.’
