I waited in my father’s office for the dumbass meeting to get over with. I’d been sitting there since ten, as I had thought it would only take a couple hours. But the more I glanced at my watch, the hungrier I became. It was almost noon before people started pouring from the room, and I was relieved when I saw Kylie and my father walk out of the conference room.

My father’s headquarters held a quiet decadence I’d always hated. My entire life had been filled with it, with blatant showcases of his money he thought were subtle. Like the marble countertops in the kitchen that conveniently matched the marble floors of his home. Or the ultra-plush carpet someone could practically sleep on that lined all the bedrooms. The mansion I’d grown up in was filled with that kind of muted glamor. Expensive artwork hung on walls. Genuine leather furniture was polished and shined weekly but not meant to be sat on. Maids were willing to get on their hands and knees and scrub floorboards, and a butler and a private chef had come at my every beck and call and fixed whatever I wanted for food.

His office was filled with that same muted richness.

It was just a physical embodiment of the shadow he cast over my entire life.

Everyone expected me to amount to what he was. Everyone expected me to eventually take over his company. But I didn’t have a passion to run his business. I had a passion to run my own. But no one cared about that. They only cared whether I would take over my father’s spot one day. This is Ryan’s boy. You’re Ryan’s son. You’re Mr. Tucker’s kid!

I didn’t have a damn name growing up.

I watched as Kylie and my father paused in the hallway to talk. She looked up at him and laughed, and I watched my father’s eyes light up. The way he was looking at her, the way he loomed over her…it was an interaction I’d never seen before. My father had been around Kylie regularly for the past four years, and not once had I ever seen him look at her the way he did in that moment. His eyes danced around her face while Kylie waved her hand in the air, regaling him with some story or anecdote that made him smile and laugh.

I felt jealousy bubble in my gut before I realized how idiotic I was being.

He was my father. I was being irrational. My father was a friendly man, generous to everyone he took underneath his wing. I should've figured Kylie would’ve been no different. And plus, I’d never seen them interact in a professional capacity. The walls of his office were starkly different than the walls of a restaurant.

But still, the look in his eyes had my gut bubbling.

“Adam!”

Kylie’s voice ripped me from my trance as she smiled at me.

“I’m sorry it took so long. One of the investors had a lot of stupid questions,” she said in a whisper.

“Now, now, there aren’t any stupid questions in a meeting like that,” my father said. “But yes, they were stupid questions.”

I laughed off my own insecurities as Kylie threaded her arm through mine.

“Thanks for giving her the time off, Dad. We both really appreciate it,” I said.

“Not a problem. Taking a step the way you guys are is bound to bring up some stress. Have fun. Get away for a bit. And, Kylie?”

“Yes, Mr. Tucker?”

“I’ll see you bright and early Thursday morning. But come prepared to have a long day. We’ve got a lot of stuff to go over from that meeting.”

“I’ll make sure I’m ready,” she said.

“Ready to go?” I asked.

“Got a small bag packed and everything. Let me go get it from my office.”

She scurried off to get her things and my father turned to go into his office. Kylie came back out with a massive smile on her face, and I could’ve sworn I saw my father staring at us through the frosted glass surrounding his office door. I shook the feeling from my body as I wrapped my arm around Kylie, guiding her toward the elevator so we could get the hell out of there.

I was ready to have her against me in the wilderness.

“I already ran by the store to pick us up a few things,” I said. “The campground has a little hut-like restaurant with burgers and stuff, but I figured we could build our own campfire and cook our own stuff.”

“Oh, did you get hot dogs?”

“Of course I did,” I said. “I also got the condiments, a lot of chips, some pretzels, sodas, some instant coffee we can make, a couple gallons of water to boil, and some other things we can munch on.”

“What, are we feeding an army?”

“I plan on burning a lot of calories while I’m out there.”

I squeezed her ass as the elevator closed, and she jumped. The squeal that fell from her lips made me smile. Then she playfully turned and slapped my chest. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her to me, fisting her skirt as our lips collided. I bunched up her skirt until the tips of my fingers grazed the bare skin of her thigh, my tongue stroking the inside of her mouth.

She moaned into me before the elevator came to a stop.

Soon, the two of us were cruising out of Portland and heading to Tryon Creek. I pulled up to our rented yurt and watched as Kylie pushed herself out of the car. She ran up to the small deck and threw her arms out, the wind of the forest cascading over her body. It caught her shirt and fluttered it against her, pulling tendrils of her beautiful hair out from the bobby pins that held it back. I leaned against my car, taking in the beauty of her form against the backdrop of Mother Earth. Kylie had always felt at peace outside. She constantly walked trails and hiked up mountains and found creek beds to throw rocks in.

She turned toward me and smiled, then held her hand out to beckon for me.

I walked over to her and stood there with our fingers laced together. I closed my eyes and took in the moment, committing it all to memory. Wind whipped through the trees and the grass around us rustled. I heard the hot tub gurgling, waiting for us to slip into its small container and enjoy its muted comfort.

That was what I enjoyed: muted comfort.

Not muted decadence.

“Let’s get set up,” I said.

I looked down at Kylie, and she smiled up at me. I raced her to the car and we tugged everything out of my trunk. She piled it all inside the yurt and got our sleeping bags set up while I set out to build a fire. There was a lake off in the distance, and we heard the sounds of giggling children before they splashed down into it. I gathered sticks and brought out some matches, then struck up a fire and got it going in front of our campground. It was just the two of us alone in the wilderness, at peace for the first time in months.

“Ready for dinner?” Kylie asked after a bit.

I turned around and watched her come out in a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt. She carried some things in a bag and came to sit down beside me before she handed me a wire hanger she had unraveled. She pulled out the hot dogs, the buns, and all the condiments, plus a bag of chips I knew would be gone by the time we were done fisting them into our mouths.

“You have another hanger?” I asked.

Without a sound, she took the hanger and bent it in half.

“Genius,” I said.

“I do what I can,” she said with a proud smile. “I can’t wait to eat those.”

“I’ve never seen a woman inhale as many wieners as you do in one sitting,” I said.

“I just can’t resist that juicy meat in my mouth,” she said through her giggles.

“It’s sad that joke is still funny. It was the worst one I ever cracked when we started dating.”

“But it’s still my favorite memory of you. The second I shot back, you should’ve seen the look on your face. It was a mixture of horror and delight.”

“Because I knew I’d found my match, and it both horrified me at how similar we were and brought me great joy that my search had finally ended.”

I panned the hanger over to her so she could slide her hot dog off the end.

“Ketchup, mustard, and cheese, please,” she said.

“It still kills me that you don’t put banana peppers on yours,” I said.

“That’s a thing you do. That’s not a thing I do. Ever. I hate peppers with a passion.”

“Except you suck back red peppers like they’re the last you’ll ever eat.”

“Because they’re nice and sweet.”

“Which is weird because you're not a sweets person,” I said.

“Do you want to get laid while we're out here? Because calling me weird isn’t going to help with that.”

“I figured we’d slip into the hot tub naked later and I’d put the moves on you,” I said with a wink.

She giggled while she made her hot dog, and every ounce of tension between us disappeared. It felt just like things used to feel before real life came barreling at us a thousand miles a second. We cracked jokes as the fire dwindled and ate our fair share of hot dogs and chips. We leaned back in the two chairs I had brought and held hands with nothing but the stars above us and the crickets surrounding us.

“This was a good idea,” Kylie said. “Thank you for setting this up.”

I brought her hand to my lips to kiss, holding my touch there a little longer than usual.

“Anything for you, Kylie,” I said. “Anything to make you happy.”