Chapter 1

Danica–Sunday, late June

 

I critically examined my appearance in the mirror, wondering if I’d managed to get the right look. I needed to get it just right, and I was worried that I hadn’t.

I had my long, blonde hair tied back out of my face and minimal makeup on my pale skin—although I had made an effort to highlight my bright-blue eyes. They were my best feature; I needed them to stand out. My eyes travelled further down my body, checking that my white shorts went well with the green Camp Woodtree t-shirt. I’d dressed exactly as I’d planned to, but I still felt all wrong.

I couldn't stop the nerves from fluttering around inside myself when I thought about what the next week would hold. I, Danica Tustin, was going to be a camp counsellor!

Much as I was excited about spending a week in the sun, coaching young kids and ensuring that they had fun, I felt a lot of pressure, too. I’d spent the last few years going to Camp Woodtree myself, so I knew what a good job they did. I hoped that I would be able to uphold that standard.

Today, I was going for orientation, to help set up with all the other counsellors, and to get an itinerary of what the next few days would hold for us. The children weren’t going to arrive until the next day, so it would give me an opportunity to get to know some of the other staff members.

I couldn't wait to make some new friends!

The pressure I was putting on myself wasn't only because I wanted to do an upstanding job for Camp Woodtree; it was also because I knew for certain that it was the only fun I would be able to have during the summer. As soon as it was over, I had to go back home to help my mother plan her wedding to Brad Fronton.

Now, it wasn't that I had anything against Brad necessarily, or that I was concerned about the wedding, although I knew the planning of it wasn't going to be any fun for me; it just all felt a bit ... sudden. For as long as I could remember, it had only been Mom and me, so I was pleased that she’d found happiness. But I couldn't understand why they had to get married so quickly. They’d only really known each other for a few months, so it felt a bit much.

But when I’d tried to delicately approach the subject with Mom, she wouldn’t hear anything of it. “When you know, you know,” she’d said with that blissful look in her eye. So that was that.

Anyway, who was I to judge? What the hell did I know about love? It would be a fun event at any rate; the cost of it was certainly racking up, but everything she and Brad were booking sounded amazing.

“Are you ready?” Mom called up the stairs, causing adrenaline to course around my veins. This was it, it was time to go.

“Coming!” I yelled, giving myself one more look over before scooting down the stairs.

As we sat in the car, Mom tried to engage me in chit chat about the wedding, but my mind was buzzing far too loudly for me to pay too much attention to her. I didn’t want to even think about dresses, flowers, and seating arrangements. That was a job for afterwards. For now, all I wanted to focus on was sunshine, water, and all the excitement that came with camp.

It was going to be very different, seeing things from this angle. I was used to being a part of the fun; hopefully, this would be even better.

“Right, we’re here,” my mom announced pointlessly as she pulled up under the massive Camp Woodtree sign. “Will you be okay? Do you have everything you need?”

Mom had always been a massive worrier, which probably came from raising me alone, and even Brad’s appearance in her life hadn’t hindered that. I tried to understand, to not feel irritated by it, but it was hard. I was twenty-one-years-old, for crying out loud: a grown ass woman! She was going to have to accept that eventually.

“Yeah, I’ve got it, Mom. Thanks.” I kissed her quickly on the cheek before jumping from the car.

I sucked in a deep breath of air, trying to prepare myself, before grabbing hold of my bags and stalking confidently forwards. As I reached the familiar surroundings and inhaled the fresh country air, the nerves all subsided. This felt quite a lot like home, and I was so glad to be back.

“In here,” someone yelled, waving in my direction. “All new counsellors need to come for the orientation meeting this way.”

I followed, shooting him a wide smile as I passed, but he simply stared coldly back at me, as if I was just another face to him.

Never mind—I wouldn’t let his attitude bother me. I would have fun no matter what. I just prayed everyone else wouldn’t be the same.

I took the nearest available seat, smiling quickly at the guy sitting next to me. I was half expecting another cold shoulder, but that wasn't what I got at all. He turned to face me full on, grinning brightly and extending his hand to me.

“Hi, I’m Rhett,” I heard him announce, but I didn’t instantly respond. I was slowly drinking in his appearance while my body decided that he was clearly the most attractive man that I’d ever laid eyes on.

He was tall, muscular, and broad—he practically loomed over my small, 5’6” frame—with sandy, messy hair and the deepest, warmest brown eyes that I’d ever had the pleasure of looking into. He was so open with them, drawing me in. I felt like I could see right into his soul. On top of that, he had the most chiselled cheekbones and the cutest dimples that popped up when he smiled. As my gaze rested on his lips, I wondered if I was going to make it through this summer without kissing him at least once.

“What’s your name?” he eventually asked, drawing my attention back to the present moment.

I blushed as it hit me that I’d just been staring at him like an idiot; what the hell would he think of me?

“I ...erm, I’m Danica,” I stammered, wishing that the ground would open up and swallow me whole. He took my hand in his and shook it lightly. It was enough to send lightning coursing through my entire body, like a shocking bolt of lust. It made me sit up straighter, to grip onto him tighter. The longer we held onto one another, the more intense the connection sizzled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“And you,” he turned back to face the front, where I assumed someone would eventually be along to discuss the next few days with us. “God, I’m so excited to be here.” There was a heat radiating off of him, one that kept me staring at him even though I knew it was teetering on inappropriate. “This week is going to be so much fun!”

I found his enthusiasm enchanting because it matched mine so perfectly. When I’d seen that miserable guy outside, a part of me had been very worried that everyone else’s negative attitude would bring me down and make this much less exciting. I couldn't believe my luck that I’d sat next to someone who wanted this just as much as I did.

“I know. I love it here.”

“Have you worked here before?” he asked inquisitively.

“No, I haven’t. But I’ve been here a lot.” The pleasant memories of my youth spent at Camp Woodtree flowed through my mind. “My mom started sending me here over the summer, to make up for the fact that I’m an only child...or at least, I always assumed that much,” I laughed, and thankfully, despite my bumbling idiocy, he joined in. “And I loved it. It’s where I learnt to sail and where I built up my strength in the water.”

I smiled to myself, remembering myself transforming from a young, weaker child into someone who actually loved exercise and athletics. “I also made some pretty amazing friends, too.”

“Yeah?” He seemed genuinely interested in what I was telling him. “Still in touch with any of them?”

“Nah,” I shook my head, trying to disguise my sadness at that fact. “You know how it is; you write for a while, vow to stay in touch forever, but then real life crops up and gets in the way.”

“I don’t, actually,” he shrugged, which drew my attention to the sleeveless shirt he was wearing and the sinewy, toned muscles underneath. “I’ve never been here before. Or to any camp, for that matter.”

“Wow,” I chuckled. “Then you’ll have to let me show you around.” As soon as those words left my lips, I wished that I could pull them back in. They sounded far too flirty! I cringed internally, feeling the heat consume my body. I was so embarrassed.

“That would be brilliant, actually,” he said, taking my offer far too seriously. “If you don't mind.”

My heart began to pound heavily. It was so loud that I thought he might be to hear it, so I talked quickly just to try and cover it up. “Well, I had my cabin number in my welcome package. Hang on, let me find it.” I rummaged around in my backpack quickly, trying to hide my red face from him, talking the entire time to keep his attention on my words.

“If you come over early in the morning, before the children arrive, and I’ll show you everything that you need to know. Ah, here it is. I’m in Bear Six.” All the cabins were labelled after animals, which I personally found adorable. “It’s over that way,” I pointed vaguely in the right direction. “By the tallest trees.”

“Right,” he laughed at me, clearly bemused by my rubbish explanation. “The tallest trees, I’ll remember that.”

But before I got the opportunity to defend myself, the man who owned the camp came in, ready to give us all the information we needed.

“Hi, guys,” he started. “It’s great to see you all here.”

As he droned on, boring me with everything that I already knew, I tuned out his words, focusing solely on the chemistry I was certain I could feel flowing between myself and Rhett. At least, I hoped it was. I was definitely feeling it, at any rate; he was doing all kinds of things to me!

“Right,” I finally pulled my focus back onto the owner as his tone changed. I had a feeling that we were coming to the end of our lecture, and I wanted to at least look like I was paying attention to the health and safety information. “Now it’s time to assign teams.”

Teams?

I glanced around to see if anyone else understood these words, but everyone looked as blank as I felt.

“As you may or may not know, we have sets of teams of children led by one female and one male counsellor.” Ah, as he said those words, I started to remember as much. “The female leader will have a team of girls that they are responsible for and the males a team of boys. For activities, you will combine your teams.”

I recalled the excitement we all used to feel when we would be combined. It was almost the highlight of the trip, the chance to hang out with cute boys. Not that anything ever happened—we were much too young for that—but it gave us lots to gossip about all the same.

Suddenly, I was dragged from my thoughts by teams being spoken aloud.

“Michelle Davis and Gary Jay.” My eyes flickered around the room, wondering who I was going to be paired with. I didn’t dare dream that I would be as lucky to be put with Rhett: a prospect that filled me with terror and excitement equally.

“Danica Tustin and...Rhett Jones.”

Oh my God.

I looked over anxiously, and he shot me a winning smile back. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” he whispered, leaning far too close to me, sending me a little wild.

“Yeah,” I replied weakly, feeling myself crumbling a little. “Tomorrow it is.”