“Ready to roll again?”
“Like a ball downhill.”
Elias’s low, rumbly sound still wasn’t quite a laugh, but it made her glance his way once more because she couldn’t help herself.
Elias looked like his brothers, all tall and dark and handsome. But he seemed too uptight and way too stern for her liking, not that she was about to nitpick her choice of getaway guy under the circumstances. Especially when he’d just agreed to letting her tag along on what would probably have been a quiet, uneventful drive.
She knew the bare bones basics about the Blackwell family, thanks to Ana’s engagement to Cole, but she was curious to know more. “Any chance we can stop somewhere and pick up some snacks for the story?”
“What story?”
She lifted her tight shoulders and shrugged. “Asheville is about six hours away, right? It’s going to be a long drive, and I really don’t want to talk about what happened today, much less be alone in my head to think about it right now. I’d rather hear about your family since my best friend is going to be a part of it. I want to know what she’s getting herself into.”
His gaze narrowed at her choice of words as though she meant she’d try to talk Ana out of marrying Cole, but then Elias shrugged and nodded. “That might be doable. Buckle up.”
Elias clipped himself back into his seatbelt and turned off the hazards he’d apparently turned on for her indelicate moment. He turned on his blinker, checking the fairly quiet roadway before picking up speed and merging back into the flow of traffic. At this time of evening, most people were heading to Wilmington for a night of fun, not leaving it.
They drove to the next exit, and Elias pulled off at a gas station that had a small chain restaurant inside. When he rolled to a stop and parked, she sucked in a breath, guilt blasting through her like something nuclear.
The widescreen television inside the restaurant showed her and Rhys’s engagement photo, blown up to whopping proportions and in full color. The photo then shrank to the corner as the screen flashed with video of her running her ridiculous tiptoe run down the side street, looking as though she chased after the dark-haired Elias making his way to the limo instead of randomly walking out and realizing he was her means of escape.
The video then changed to the limo whipping around the side of the building, then replayed and froze on a still image of the two of them facing one another like—like they shared some deep dark secret?
Who is the mystery man?The caption spread from corner to corner in large letters.
The images of Elias’s face were grainy and shadowed or taken from behind as he’d approached the limo outside the hotel, whereas hers was clearly visible.
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.A surge of grief and sorrow and pain threatened to explode from her as she stared at the repeat of images on the screen, her gaze locked on Rhys’s handsome face.I’m so, so sorry, Rhys.
She swallowed hard, forcing down the roll of upset and unease threatening to make her heave again.
“Stay put,” Elias growled grimly from across the truck.
She paid him no attention as he shrugged out of his jacket and vest, but when he yanked on the cuffs of his dress shirt and started rolling them up his thick and muscular forearms, she found herself taking a few peeks and focusing on his task because it grounded her. Kept the anxiety and fear andregretfrom swallowing her whole.
“I’ll text Cole and let him know we made it out of Wilmington. Any special requests while I’m in there?”
“Junk food,” she said automatically. Her wedding diet was over, and it was stress binge-eating time. If she could keep it down. Did guilt always feel so…heavy? “Chips, cookies. Lots of junk food. And dark chocolate.”
That low growl of his left him. “You know that stuff will kill you, don’t you? It’s not good for you.”
An incredulous sound gurgled out of her throat. Good for her? Was todaygoodfor her? “Neither’s jumping over penthouse balconies, but—a girl’s gotta live a little. And dark chocolateisgood for you. Prove me wrong.”
He frowned at her words but didn’t say anything else as he got out of the truck. “Keep your head down and lock up until I get back.”
She did as ordered, sinking in the seat and reveling in the ability to slump after being stuck in the straitjacket of a dress for so long. She wallowed in misery as she watched herself on screen and waited impatiently, lifting a hand to shield her face when a couple walked by from the direction of the hotel next door. They entered the same doors as Elias but walked to the restaurant counter to order.
Elias rounded several aisles after shooting off what was apparently a quick text before gathering up snacks. She split her gaze between him, the giant television that continued to show photos of her and Rhys taken over the past two years from dates and various high-profile events, and the shadowy group of people approaching from the hotel.
Sick to her stomach, she bounced her legs with nervous energy, unable to sit still when the news clip continued on and on andonwith painful detail.
Why were there so many pictures? Why replay it again and again as though her antics of the day were more important than world politics and news?
Elias took forever inside, and she frowned when she spotted him rounding another aisle with a small red basket in his large hand. He’d apparently taken her request seriously because the basket overflowed.
The man who’d been inside talking to the cashier when they’d arrived exited the door and headed toward the hotel, walking in front of the truck. His head turned toward her as he passed by the hood and even though she pretended not to notice him, he paused.
“Hey, beautiful. What are you doing in there all alone? Come on out, and I’ll buy you dinner.”
