All I Wanna Do Is You: A Road Trip Rom-Com Read online

  All I Wanna Do Is You

  Dylann Crush

  Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Sweet Tea & Second Chances

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Dylann Crush

  About the Author

  Copyright ©2020 by Dylann Crush

  Cover Design by Christina Hovland

  Editor: L.A. Mitchell

  Proofreader: Shasta Schafer

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, or stored in any storage or retrieval system without written permission of the author. Violating these rights is forbidden and punishable by the fullest extent of the law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, person living or dead, locales, or other status is entirely coincidental.

  All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. The author is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.

  Published by Tickled Pinkest

  www.DylannCrush.com

  Thanks for picking up this copy of

  All I Wanna Do Is You!

  If you love sassy small town romance with heat and humor, pick up your FREE copy of Lemon Tarts & Stolen Hearts, the prequel novella for Dylann Crush’s Lovebird Café series, just click here! (www.dylanncrush.com/signup)

  For anyone who’s ever experienced

  a road trip from hell…

  and lived to tell the tale.

  1

  Eight Years Ago

  Reagan Campbell stood at the curb of the suburban Chicago mansion, trying to work up the nerve to enter the biggest and last bash of her high school career. Half of her senior class seemed to swarm across the manicured front lawn, like drunken bees returning to the hive. Her dad would ground her for the rest of her life if he knew she was attending her first and last high school kegger.

  But it was her last chance to see Zach—the boyfriend she’d kept secret for the past nine months—before she headed off to Washington, DC, for her summer internship. Her dad never would have approved of her relationship. In his opinion, Zach didn’t have the right pedigree to date a senator’s daughter. After seventeen years of toeing the line, Reagan had finally found something more important to her than her dad’s approval. So she shrugged off the warning shivers racing up and down her spine and pushed past the crowd of intoxicated grads crowding the front stoop.

  Music blared from speakers that had been set up in the living room. Reagan rose to her tiptoes to peer over the crowd. Someone bumped into her and sloshed beer down the front of her floral-print sundress. Great. Not only would she have to lie about where she’d been tonight, she’d have to figure out a way to get the smell of cheap beer out of her clothes, too.

  “Reagan!” Zach’s voice came from behind her. His arm slipped around her waist, pulling her back and anchoring her against his solid chest.

  She wheeled around in his arms, meeting his gaze. “Hi.”

  “I’m so glad you made it.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead.

  “Me, too. My mom and dad had to stop in at a fundraiser tonight, so I was able to sneak away. It’s our last chance to see each other before—”

  His lips met hers and cut off her words. She responded, trying to tamp down the ache of their inevitable goodbye. They still had tonight. She’d fill herself full of him and live off the memories until they could be together again.

  He pulled back, and his gaze searched hers. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll see each other in a couple of months.”

  Reagan sighed. Why hadn’t they gotten together sooner? She’d noticed him freshman year, cheered him on every Friday night during hockey games, and spent three years imagining what it might feel like to bury herself in his arms. They hadn’t had enough time together. Dating on the sly through senior year wasn’t enough. She wanted more.

  He rested his arm around her shoulders. “Want something to drink?”

  She shook her head. “Can we go somewhere quiet to talk?”

  “You bet.” Zach glanced around. “How about out back by the pool?”

  Reagan nodded. She’d follow him anywhere, do anything, for a few more hours by his side. Around him she didn’t have to put up a façade. He liked her for who she was, not who she pretended to be to fit in with her father’s political aspirations.

  “Hey! You’re not leaving so soon, are you?” Jimmy Baldwin, host of the party and voted “Most Likely To End Up Selling Bad Mutual Funds For A Living,” blocked their way.

  “No. Just looking for a place we can talk.” Zach clapped Jimmy on the shoulder.

  Jimmy stumbled forward. “Come on upstairs. I can show you a place where you can have some privacy.”

  Zach glanced at Reagan, who shrugged her shoulders. Taking her hand in his, Zach followed Jimmy up the steps. The noise of the raging party faded into the background. Jimmy stumbled down the hall toward a cracked doorway at the end. A half dozen of their fellow grads sat in a circle on the floor of what appeared to be Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin’s bedroom.

  “Got two new recruits.” Jimmy slumped to a seated position. “Add their names to the bowl.”

  A girl from Reagan’s Calculus class scribbled something on two pieces of paper and dropped them into a silver bowl in the center of the circle.

  Reagan backed away. “I don’t think this is such a good idea.”

  “Yeah, we’ll just head out back.” Zach turned, pulling Reagan behind him.

  “Stay for a few rounds. It’s Seven Minutes in Heaven. Come on, guys.” Jimmy staggered to his feet and fake punched Zach in the stomach. “Does Reagan’s daddy know she’s here?”

  Zach grabbed Jimmy’s fist and twisted his arm back.

  “Hey, watch it.” Jimmy put his other hand out. “I’m not going to be the one to rat her out.”

  “You’d better not.” Zach let go and tugged Reagan down to settle beside him. “Fine. We’ll stick around and watch for a few minutes.”

  Reagan leaned her head against his shoulder. Of course her father didn’t know where she was. As a long-time conservative senator from Illinois, he’d made it perfectly clear her behavior was a direct reflection on him, the family, and his entire political party. She didn’t usually disobey unless it involved Zach Anderson. He’d been her lifeline in the storm of being Senator Campbell’s only daughter. Even her older brother, Teddy, encouraged her to get out tonight and even said he’d cover for her.

  Jimmy picked a couple of pieces of paper out of the bowl. “Josh and… Ashley. Off you go. Have fun, you two.”

  Josh and Ashley moved toward the bathroom and shut the door firmly behind them. Jimmy set the timer on his phone to seven minutes then leaned against the bed frame and popped open a beer.

  “We
ll, this is a blast.” Zach checked his watch. “So we sit around for seven minutes and wait for them to come out?”

  “I suppose we can draw again. My house, my rules, huh?” Jimmy leaned forward, digging through the bowl. “Oh, hey, look here. Reagan and…”

  Reagan’s heart thudded in her chest. There was no way in hell she was going anywhere with anyone except the guy she’d risked her dad’s wrath to see.

  “Ha!” The can of beer next to Jimmy’s knee spilled onto the plush, cream carpet. “It’s me. Reagan and me.”

  Zach let out a low rumble, almost like a growl. “Want to check that piece of paper again, Baldwin?”

  Smirking, Jimmy grabbed a shirt out of the drawer next to him to sop up the spill. “Why don’t you take my turn, Anderson? I’ve got to clean up this mess anyway. Use the closet, and take all the time you need.”

  Zach pulled Reagan to her feet. They crossed the room to the closet. He opened the door, and the overhead light automatically came on. The smell of leather, shoe polish, and dry-cleaning chemicals surrounded them, not exactly the kind of ambiance she’d pictured when she thought about their last night together.

  Reagan followed him inside and pulled the door shut behind her. Surrounded in darkness, she felt for him.

  “I’m right here.” His voice came out soft, low.

  She bumped into him then wrapped her arms around his neck. “We need to talk. Have you decided where you’re going to be in the Fall?” He hadn’t applied to any colleges. Said he couldn’t afford the tuition, so why bother.

  “I’ll probably be right here where you left me. I might take some classes at the community college.” His hand brushed her cheek. “Get the basics out of the way for cheap, and then maybe look into a photography program or something.”

  “When will we see each other again?” She’d considered applying to a college closer to home so she wouldn’t be so far away, but Zach shot that idea down fast. He didn’t want her to sacrifice any opportunities for him.

  “You’ll come home after your internship, before you head out East for school. Then we’ll do the long distance thing until you come home for good. It’ll work out. I promise.”

  She snuggled her head into his chest. Enough talk about the future. Tonight was their last night together for a while, and she wanted to make sure it would be one they’d both remember. “Do you think they set the timer?”

  “I don’t know. They won’t be able to push the door open if I lean against it, though.”

  Reagan put her hands on his shoulders and positioned his back against the door. Rising on her toes, she aimed for his lips, but caught his cheek instead. She worked her way around his face, breathing in his scent: shower gel mixed with laundry detergent. The smell she’d come to associate with feeling safe and secure. The planes of his cheeks, the scruff on his chin so familiar, but they still had so much to learn about each other.

  His hands wrapped around her waist, nestling her against him. “What do you have in mind?”

  She didn’t answer, preferring to show him instead. Her chest pressed against him. Heat radiated through his T-shirt, and seared her skin. His hands tangled in her hair, cupped her head, and drew her mouth to his. Need simmered inside her. Need for him to know how much he meant to her. Need to make him her first.

  They’d stolen moments before, after school before her driver came looking for her or during lunch period. They’d even managed a few make-out sessions in his dad’s car when she’d lied and said she had to stay late after school to work on a project.

  Finding time together outside of the prying eyes of their classmates and her family had been challenging. Having a chance to be alone in a dark closet did seem like heaven, and, if Zach barred the door, they could take as much time as they needed.

  She stepped back, lifted her dress over her head, and dropped it behind her.

  “Where did you go?” Zach’s hand landed on her stomach, inches under her bra.

  She sucked in her breath, attempting to prevent the spasm in her chest from exploding into a full-blown hiccup. No use. A loud hiccup escaped.

  “Come here.” Zach planted his lips on hers, stealing her breath, obliterating her hiccups. His fingers roamed, over her ribcage, up the center of her breastbone, along her collarbone. Everywhere but where she wanted them the most. She reached behind her, unhooked her bra, let it fall forward.

  Zach groaned, finally touching her with tentative hands. “You sure about this?”

  She nodded against his chest as she pulled her arms free of her bra straps and tossed it somewhere near her dress. He knelt in front of her, kissing her navel, working his way up to her breasts. She pulled his shirt over his head then let her fingers ruffle his hair until she couldn’t take it any longer. Sinking to her knees in front of him, she fumbled with the button on his shorts.

  His hand stopped her. “Whoa, Reagan. What are you trying to do to me?”

  “I want to make sure you don’t forget me.”

  In the pitch blackness of the closet, her other senses heightened. The thudding of his heart became the unrelenting thump, thump, thump of a bass drum.

  Zach kissed along her jawline. “Are you freaking kidding me? We’ll have plenty of opportunities like this. I don’t want our first time to be next to Mrs. Baldwin’s mothball-stuffed fur coat.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Is that what that smell is?”

  “I love you, Reagan Campbell.” Zach leaned forward, pulling her into an embrace. “You’re not a quickie in the closet. You’re the kind of girl who deserves candles and champagne.”

  She burrowed into him, her chest against his, skin-to-skin, heart-to-heart. “I love you, too, Zach.”

  Light flooded the room. Reagan squealed, turning toward the door. Flashes exploded before her eyes.

  “Seven minutes is up, Anderson. Holy shit, what an eyeful!” Jimmy held his phone up one more time, cementing her embarrassment for all eternity.

  Zach lunged toward Jimmy. Before he could reach him, Jimmy pulled the door shut, sending the closet into darkness again.

  “Get dressed, Reagan. I’ll take care of Baldwin.” He flung the door open and disappeared.

  Reagan shrugged into her dress and yanked it down over her head, not even bothering to find her bra. The bedroom was empty. Where had everyone gone?

  Sirens wailed. She ran down the steps to join the chaotic crowd trying to push their way through the front door.

  Zach caught her hand. “It’s the cops. They can’t find you here. If your name ends up on a police report, I’ll never have an opportunity to win over your dad. Come on, out the back.”

  She followed through the sliding glass door and into the backyard. Other kids flowed out of the gate toward the front, but Zach led her to the back fence instead.

  “There’s an easement back there. When you hit the ground, head to the road. You should be safe there.”

  “But what about you?”

  “I’ll be right behind you.” He made a basket out of his hands and boosted her to the top of the fence.

  She scrambled over, falling to the ground in a heap.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, come on.”

  Zach reached the top of the fence. She saw his face in the glow of the twinkle lights strung through the trees. She saw the relief in his eyes when his gaze met hers. She saw the exact moment his smile turned to panic as someone on the other side of the fence yelled.

  “Freeze!”

  That was the last time she saw Zach Anderson.

  2

  Eight Years Later

  Reagan smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from the lapel of her three-quarter sleeve, out-of-season black blazer. Trying to figure out what to wear as she made the transition from the raging March blizzard in Chicago to the white sandy beaches of the Florida Keys had almost made her late for her afternoon flight at O’Hare.

  The sooner she got on the plane, the better she’d feel. She leaned against a pillar and glanced at her
watch. Any minute they should be making the boarding announcement.

  On cue, the gate agent picked up the microphone and a crackle sounded through the gate-area speakers. “May I have your attention, please? For passengers traveling on flight 542 to Miami, we’ve received word from the ground crew that they’ve shut down one runway due to snow accumulation. We’ll be delayed for at least an hour while they work through the backlog of departures.”

  A collective groan rose from the disgruntled passengers, like someone stood in front of them with a conductor’s baton and told them to let their disappointment out in unison on the count of three. An hour or two? Reagan’s hand shook as she slipped a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Teddy would kill her for not taking the flight with the rest of their family earlier this morning.

  The gate agent continued, “Things might change if they can get another de-icing machine up and running. So please stay close to the gate area.”

  Reagan glanced out the wall of windows at the blustery, late winter snowstorm. A mid-March blizzard wasn’t outside the realm of possibility in Chicago. But how dare the weather try to interfere with her plans? She’d orchestrated her brother’s wedding down to the tiniest detail. And now Mother Nature wanted to mess with her?

  The rest of her family made it out of Chicago before the storm rolled in, on a chartered, early morning flight her dad’s Chief of Staff had arranged. As Senate Majority Leader, Ross Campbell had connections and wasn’t shy about using them. Especially if it meant keeping his family out of the limelight and avoiding any unpleasant run-ins with the press.