Joshua waited until they had gone inside the mansion and then he turned to me with a frown. "You're making good contacts here, I'll give you that, but I really wish you would let me help you. There's a right way and a wrong way to go about cultivating relationships like that."
I licked my lips where they still tingled and wondered how Joshua would feel if I told him about the confusing relationship tangle I was getting into with Penn. I didn't even understand it myself. One moment, he was kissing me blissful and the next, he was answering a business call. One moment, we were flirting and touching like a real couple and the next, he'd turned it all into a lie we had to perform for his parents.
Why wasn't I packing up and going back to Santa Cruz with Joshua? I wondered.
He was still outlining the correct way to befriend someone as rich as Xavier Templeton, and I had my answer. Joshua was only interested in furthering his own career and I was to be a useful tool. Maybe Penn was right, because I could easily imagine the tight squeeze I would feel after Joshua pushed me into the role he'd envisioned.
Penn, on the other hand, let me dangle.
"Corsica? Are you listening?"
I brushed back my hair with an impatient swipe. "I have to go inside and get ready. I'm sorry, Joshua."
"Wait, wait, wait," he gave an incredulous laugh. "You can't seriously be telling me you plan on staying here. Is it the singing? You can find a place in Santa Cruz; there's that karaoke place all the tourists like. I just can't stand here and let you make the wrong decision."
"It's my decision," I ground out. "I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I'm saying goodnight. Goodnight, Joshua."
His expression was a mix of shock and pity. It was still irritating me as we drove towards Alice's encampment outside Pinnacles. Joshua honestly believed that I wasn't able to choose what was best for me.
Xavier pulled me out of my furious thoughts. "Have you ever heard the term 'glamping?'"
I blinked. "I think so. It's a mix of glamour and camping, right?"
He signaled the driver to slow down so he could roll down the window. "I thought you might like the look of it more than sleeping in a bag in the dirt. Each tent is equipped with a full size bed, a solar-powered ceiling fan, and butler service. Who needs coolers and dirty campfire food when you have a man with a silver tray?"
Penn snorted. "It's ridiculous. Even Corsica can see that it's a total waste. If that's what you want, then you should be in a fancy hotel."
"Like the Ritz-Carlton?" I snapped.
His eyes narrowed. "Exactly."
I looked back out the window at the tents and spotted a chandelier illuminating one. "I think I would like glamping. All the comforts along with the peace and quiet of nature."
"Where's the peace and quiet when a butler keeps checking in on you?" Penn asked.
"What, you don't think I'm capable of making up my own mind about what kind of tent to stay in?" My voice rose a notch before I could get myself under control. "I can make my own decisions, thank you very much."
Penn leaned forward across the seat. "Then before you decide, you should consider the alternatives. Imagine it's just you in the woods. You have a tent and a sleeping bag and everything you actually need. The difference is, you don't have any of the extras to weigh you down. There's no one there to judge your choices; there's no complicated choices at all. All you have to do is survive. I'm telling you, that's the most relaxed I've ever felt."
I hated to admit that his argument appealed to me. It had been a long time since I hadn't felt tested, graded, and compared to others. Roughing it in the woods meant I would have no one to impress and no one to please but myself.
And Penn. The thought seared through my mind before I could stop it. Ideas of how we would be together jumbled any counter-argument I might have been able to form.
Xavier chuckled. "And here we are at the spa."
I took one look at the artfully carved wooden doors and expensive Moroccan lamps and crowed with triumph. "See? Even your mother can appreciate a little luxury now and again."
Penn laughed. "Alice? In the spa? No, she's out back. Her clients meet her in a tee-pee at the edge of the trees."
I saw the tee-pee seconds before the flap flung open and Alice emerged. I was stumbling along the ice plant path in my heels when she met us with a flourish.
"I can't wait! You have to tell me all about the engagement and the wedding plans now this instant," Alice said.
"Don't you want to talk about your treatments-"
Alice cut me off as she looped an arm through mine and one through Penn's. She turned to her son. "What kind of wedding are we thinking about?"
Penn gave me a twinkling glance. "Something off the beaten path, closer to nature," he said.
Xavier immediately started to argue in my defense and Alice swooped ahead to take him on. I crammed an elbow in Penn's side. "I know you're teasing me, but it's already backfired. Your mother loves the idea. You've made her happy."
Penn watched his parents walking arm-in-arm and frowned. "She looks so pale."
"But she's smiling. And, she's in good company."
His frown turned to a scowl. "I'm never going to agree with you there."
I stopped him on the path and let his parents go ahead. "How can you say that? Xavier makes her happy; he's helping her through all of this. And she's forgiven him. Can't you see how much lighter that makes her? You're still letting it weigh you down."
"I didn't ask for it," Penn snapped.
I laid a hand on his stubbled cheek. "What if I want to see you happy, too?"
Penn's dark eyes softened. "Now you're going to use my arguments against me?"
"Only if they work," I teased.
Alice caught us smiling at each other. "I just can't wait. I got you an early engagement present! My friend Tabitha has time to see you both tonight."
Xavier groaned. "No. Why? The last thing newlyweds should face is a psychic."
"A psychic?" My stomach iced over. I couldn't tell exactly what was going on between Penn and me, so I didn't know why I should be worried that a perfect stranger could.
Penn looked as worried as me. "There's no rush. We came to see you."
"And, I love you for it," Alice said. She pushed him towards a rustic trailhead marker. "Trust me. Talking to Tabitha is a great place to start. Maybe she can help you two sort out this argument about the style of wedding you want."
"That's true," I couldn't help but tease Penn and get a little revenge. "I have been leaning more towards a landmark wedding location, like maybe the Legion of Honor in San Francisco."
"No way," Penn snorted. He grabbed my hand and dragged me down the path. "All right, Mother, it looks like my bride-to-be and I will meet up with you in a little while."
"Don't rush Tabitha," Alice called.
I glanced back as Alice tucked herself under Xavier's arm. "I don't think she wants us to hurry. Looks like they might want a little private time themselves."
"I want to erase that thought from my head," Penn said.