and across her high cheekbones that only added to her beauty. She was tall with long legs and she could move fast when she wanted, although she seemed to be always graceful, even in stiletto heels—training from being a senator’s daughter and having to attend endless fund-raisers, she laughingly told them.
“I’ve texted Harlow and Vienna to see if they can join us after their shifts tonight,” Stella said. “I’d love it if we could all get together. It’s so rare anymore.”
“You know, if we’re going to the Grill tonight, we can’t possibly go camping,” Zahra pointed out. “We’ll be drinking, and how will we get there?”
Stella sighed. “I’ll be the sober driver.”
“You can’t be the sober driver,” Shabina and Zahra said simultaneously and then burst out laughing.
Stella’s eyebrow went up. “What?”
“You’re hilarious when you’ve been drinking, and you hardly ever drink,” Zahra pointed out. “We’re not missing out on that.”
“Well, I’m camping out tonight.”
“Text Sam and see if he’ll be our sober driver,” Zahra suggested with a small impish grin. “Or Denver. Either one would do it for you.”
“You’re so funny,” Stella said, aware of heat rising, the blush starting somewhere low and moving through her body toward her face. “You’re such a demon. We’re only going to the Grill because you want to see Bruce.”
“It’s because they make the best Moscow Mules,” Zahra corrected. “And I like to dance.”
Shabina laughed. “And you like to ogle Bruce and all his muscles.”
Zahra rolled her eyes and shrugged. “He’s really tall so there’s room for a lot of muscle, but he doesn’t talk.”
“In my experience,” Shabina said, “that can be a good thing. The less talk, the more action. Don’t you want action, Zahra?”
Zahra sighed. “He has to start somewhere, like asking me out. He can barely ask me to dance. I think we’re having this great time and then he just walks away and we’re back at square one. As long as he’s around, no one else will ask me out because he glowers at them.”
“That’s not all he does,” Shabina said. “I heard him threaten some dirtbag to leave you alone or he was taking him outside, and he meant it too.”
Zahra sat up straight. “He did what? He can’t do that. Was someone going to ask me to dance?”
Stella nudged her under the table with her foot. “I remember that night. The guy wouldn’t leave you alone no matter how many times you told him to get off you. He kept trying to freak dance you. Bruce pulled him off and had a little chat with him. That was the last we saw of him on the dance floor.”
Zahra looked mollified. “Well, I guess that’s all right, then.” She looked up as another woman joined them, pushing into Stella’s side of the table. “Raine. You found us.”
“Where else would you be? Best food. Best coffee. Makes sense.” Raine nudged Stella. “Camping tonight? After the Grill?”
Raine was petite, a blonde with sun-kissed hair that was usually left loose. She paid little attention to her appearance, which meant she didn’t really need to. Large slate-blue eyes framed with golden lashes and brows were the bane of her life, at least she always said they were. Stella thought her eyes were gorgeous.
Everything about Raine was a little on the wild side, as if she were untamable. Fiercely independent, no matter how much she feared something— or because of it— she worked at it until she was able to do it. She loved bouldering, and would spend hours happily working out problems on the rock. Trad climbing was her nemesis. She was actually afraid of heights and didn’t trust anyone on the end of her rope. Still, she was determined to climb. She parasailed even when that scared her and she had ended up loving it.
Raine had hiked the John Muir Trail by herself, taking several weeks in the wilderness to do so, summiting Mount Whitney several times. She had also hiked Mount Shasta and then gone to Europe and hiked the Alps alone. She’d gone to Iceland and climbed into a dormant volcano, and visited ice caves in Romania, hiking around the backcountry. She’d done the same in Thailand.
“You look tired, Raine. You don’t have to come camping with us tonight,” Stella said. “We’re close to the resort. You could stay in one of the cabins and get a good night’s sleep and then join us tomorrow night. We were thinking of camping for three nights.”
Stella felt guilty for not confiding in