“I poached it from my in-laws,” I say.
He whistles. “You’re turning out to be quite the lawbreaker.”
“I think Paul and his family owe me at least this much. Especially given that he’s still not responding to my texts.”
“For sure,” he agrees. “You probably should have taken the silver.”
“I thought about it.”
It turns out that it’s challenging to keep hating Rhys. So far today he has rescued me from humiliation, driven me to the beach, cooked me dinner, called my ex a giant douchebag, and revealed that he has a sense of humor. It’s a lot.
I open the center console, a fancy leather two-door thing. I set a bag of Sour Patch Kids, a bag of peanut butter M&M’s, and the bag of Cool Ranch Doritos in the storage area.
“Easily accessible snacks,” I tell him.
Rhys eyes the open console, then scowls at me. “That’s my armrest.”
“What do you need an armrest for?”
“To drive six hours without my right shoulder falling off.”
“What are you, eighty years old?”
“Six hours is a long time.”
“I told you I’d drive.”
“And I told you?—”
“I know, I know. That you’re a control freak.”
“I think the proper term is ‘a car dom.’”
I swallow the snicker that boils up in me. And leave my snacks where they are.
“That armrest isheated,” he gripes.
“Suck it up, princess,” I tell him. “It’s not that cold out there.” I reach for the sound system.
His hand snakes in and blocks mine. “Driver controls the radio.”
“No, dude. Everyone knows the passenger controls the radio. Besides, if you won’t let me drive at all, that’s not fair. I had to listen to ninety-seven minutes of your dirge list and way too much sports ball. We need a mood change.”
I cue up my playlist and set it on shuffle. “What I’ve Been Looking For” fromHigh School Musicalcomes on. Rhys groans.
“What?” I demand.
“This is from a kid’s movie.”
“Which you must have seen, if you know that.”
“It was one of Hanna’s favorites. We watched it a thousand times. Which was a thousand times too many.”
“What I’ve Been Looking For” is followed by “Surface Pressure” and “All You Wanna Do,” and Rhys says, “Please tell me this isn’t all from musicals and Disney movies.”
“This isn’t all from musicals and Disney movies,” I say as Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me” fills the car.
Rhys’s jaw ticks. His eyes roll. His shoulders twitch.
