This little interlude had been, if not fun, at least a nice dose of reality in her otherwise overly-scheduled planner. But it was time to get back to real life: wedding plans and keeping up appearances. She took in a final breath of Zach, his faint, uber masculine scent. The same scent she’d wrapped herself up in all night in the form of the crabby T-shirt.
The airline rep promised a bus would pick them up at the hotel at seven, giving them plenty of time to make a nine o’clock flight to Miami. That only gave her—she rolled over to check the digital alarm clock—DAMMIT! Seven-forty. She flung the covers off and flipped around to pounce on Zach.
“Wake up! My alarm didn’t go off. We missed the bus!”
Groggy, disoriented, probably trying to remember where in the world he was, Zach slowly opened his eyes. “What’s going on?”
“The bus!” Reagan hopped off the bed and ran to the bathroom where she’d hung her clothes over the shower rod to dry. She yanked the pants down, thrust one leg in and hopped around on one foot trying to get the other one lined up. Her bare foot slapped against the tile floor and she bounced toward the bedroom. “Come on. Hurry up. We can’t miss that plane.”
Zach sat on the edge of the bed, facing the window. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m sorry about last night.” His hand kneaded the base of his neck. He executed a few neck rolls then switched direction.
“It doesn’t matter. Call for a cab.” She balanced on one foot, her other foot tangled in the leg of her pants.
“But I am sorry. I was an asshole and I want to apologize.”
“Fine. You’re sorry, I’m sorry. Just make sure we don’t miss that flight.” As she hopped back to the bathroom, she lost her balance and tumbled into a heap on the floor
“Everything okay?” Zach slipped on his jeans then covered the distance between them. When he reached her, he held out a hand to help her up.
As she stood, his gaze traveled down her face to rest on the crab icon on her chest. Her hands came up, instinctively putting a barrier between them. The bra. Where did she leave her bra?
“We can’t miss this plane, can you call down for the shuttle?”
He nodded and she flew back into the bathroom, where she scrambled into her bra and shirt and ran her toothbrush over her teeth. No time for makeup or trying to do something with the nest of hair.
Zach’s voice floated through the cracked door. He sounded way too calm, and it pissed her off. Didn’t he ever get worked up about anything? What kind of catastrophe would it take to spur him into action?
His knock sounded on the bathroom door and he pushed it open a bit further. “Hotel shuttle will take us to the airport. We leave in five minutes.”
“Great, thanks.” She thrust the T-shirt at him.
“Why don’t you keep it? A souvenir of our time together, huh?” The corners of his eyes crinkled as he waited for her reaction.
“Fine.” She pushed past him and grabbed her purse, shoving the T-shirt deep inside her cavernous bag. “Ready?”
“Let me run a toothbrush over my teeth and get my shirt on.”
He ducked into the bathroom and Reagan paced the room while she waited. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi.
On the twelfth Mississippi Zach opened the door. “Let’s hit it.”
Ten minutes later Reagan tapped her toe against the leg of the seat in front of her on the hotel shuttle. She’d slipped her giant shades in place and silently urged the shuttle driver to go faster with every ounce of her being. Obviously the universe was running interference because even a compact car sporting a donut spare tire zoomed past them on the highway.
“Sir, is there any way you can speed up a bit?” Reagan asked. “We’re in a huge hurry and can’t afford to miss this flight.”
The driver nodded at her in the rearview mirror, but the shuttle didn’t appear to pick up the pace. She should have taken her dad’s offer to charter a plane. Next time she wouldn’t let her fear get in the way.
“You know, we didn’t have time to grab anything for breakfast,” Zach said, nodding toward the cupcake box on her lap. “Think you can spare one?”
Is that all the man could think about at a time like this? She shot him an appraising side glance.
“I’ll share one with you,” he offered.
“That’s generous. You’re willing to share one of my cupcakes with me?”
Zach shrugged. His upper lip curled into a half-smile. “You’ll be rid of me when we land in Miami. How about you think of it as a parting gift?”
“Ha.” He had a point, though. She would be rid of him when the plane touched down in Miami. He’d head off to some deserted beach to snap pictures for his job, and she’d hopefully catch the yacht she’d chartered to her brother’s happily-ever-after festivities. The idea of parting ways should have filled her with a sense of calm. It would give her a chance to get things back on track, be back in control. Instead, the thought of saying goodbye to Zach without getting answers from the past made her feel hollow inside.
“Fine.” Reagan lifted the lid of the box and took out a vanilla cupcake with peanut butter frosting. “Practically like a protein bar, right?”
His tongue rimmed his upper lip. “Gimme.” Grabby hands reached for the cupcake.
Before she closed the box she did a quick count. “Zach?”
“Mmm hmm?” he asked, his mouth already stuffed half full.
“There are only ten cupcakes here.” She pursed her lips and shot him her best icy glare. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
His eyes went wide, his tongue licking a glob of frosting off the corner of his mouth. “Hey, here’s your half.”
“You ate one, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you must have miscounted or something.”
She grasped his earlobe and tugged, a trick that used to bring Teddy to his knees.
“Ouch!” Zach’s hands wrapped around her wrist, and he pulled her hand down to his lap. “I got hungry last night and you were mad at me anyway.”
Reagan jerked her hands away and slapped at his solid biceps. “You jerk. Those are for Teddy and Cal. I can’t believe you stole one of my cupcakes.”
She turned her back to him as best she could on the seat next to him and glared out the window. Any thought of making nice flew by like the buildings she stared at through the window. The storms from the night before had blown over and the sun bounced off the industrial buildings and concrete highway, making her grateful for the oversized shades. The airport beckoned in the distance, only one more exit away.
“You want your half?” Zach asked, nudging her in the side with his elbow.
She chose not to respond.
“Suit yourself.” He inhaled the remaining piece of cupcake, which appeared to be much less than an equal half.
Peering at him over the frame of her sunglasses, she screwed her lips into a frown.
“Too late now.” He held his peanut butter frosting covered fingers under her nose. “Unless you want to suck the frosting off my digits.”
As if she’d suck any part of his anatomy. Not likely. Once upon a time, she felt otherwise. But that was then. She turned her back to him again and began counting Mississippi’s until the bus pulled up at the departure terminal. Then she could do what she did best around Zach—leave him in the past.