“Hey, how long have you had this rig? Handles pretty smooth on this incline.” Zach shot a look back at Reagan. The smug smile on her face was a nice change from the pre-puke look she’d had a few minutes ago.
Bob launched into a detailed explanation about how he’d decided on this model of recreational vehicle. Zach pretended to pay attention. The whole time his ears remained trained on the conversation between the two women. Shelly continued to pump Reagan for information, but Reagan sounded like she was blowing her off. He’d probably get an earful when and if they ever got to the bottom of the blasted mountain. It would be worth it, though. That look on her face when he mentioned the nude beach… definitely worth having strangers think he had piercings on his dick. He wasn’t about to tell them there was just the one.
The RV continued to descend the hill. After a tense stand-off with an old Bronco where the lanes narrowed around an outcropping of rocks, they reached the bottom of the mountain. Bob brought the motor home to a stop in front of the train station and shoved the gear shift into park.
Zach climbed out of his seat and offered his hand. “Thanks, man. You really saved my ass up there.”
Bob pulled him closer and muttered under his breath, “The piercings, do they really, uh, for her, is it better?”
“Haven’t heard any complaints.” Zach gripped his hand tighter. “Make sure you check out a place before you let them near your junk.”
Reagan stood and made her way to the door. “How do I get this open?”
“Oh, let me.” Shelly rushed to the door, flipped the lock, and swung the door open. “Before y’all go, I just want to say congratulations. You’ll make such a beautiful bride. Here, I want you to have this.” She unpinned a ribbon from a board she had suspended on the wall and passed a pendant to Reagan.
“I can’t accept this,” Reagan said, refusing to take the necklace. Looked like she wanted him to step in. He decided to wait it out and see what would happen.
“You should have it.” Shelly pressed the pendant into Reagan’s hand. “Bob gave me one like it on our first anniversary. Paper, that’s the traditional anniversary gift. He wrote me a little love note and tucked it inside. It’s a locket.”
“It’s beautiful,” Reagan said. “But I can’t accept a gift.”
Bob came up behind them. “You’ll hurt her feelings if you don’t take it. That’s one of her most popular items. Go on, now.”
Shelly nodded. “It can be your something new for your wedding.”
“Come on, Reagan. For the wedding.” Zach nudged his shoulder into hers and whispered into her ear. “Take the damn necklace so we can get the hell out of here.”
Reagan smiled and dropped the necklace in her pocket. “Thanks so much. And thanks for the ride. We appreciate it.”
Bob wrapped his arms around them in an awkward group hug. “Sometimes people are put in our lives for a brief period of time for a reason. I think that’s what happened here today. Nice getting to know y’all. Take care now, ya hear?”
Zach patted Bob on the shoulder and extricated himself from the embrace. “You, too. Beautiful family you’ve got here. Safe travels.”
Reagan had already climbed out of the motor home. He stepped down and stood next to her on the curb. Neither of them said a word while they waited for Bob and Shelly to get situated and pull away. As the RV eased into the light early evening traffic, Reagan elbowed him in the side.
“Married! Why in the world would you tell them we’re getting married?” She whirled away and walked off in the general direction of the parked car.
He took several giant strides to catch up. “Would you rather I tell them the truth?”
“No. I’d rather we hadn’t detoured here in the first place. No more stops. No more distractions. No more interruptions. Is that clear?”
“Crystal.” He pushed the button on the key ring and unlocked the car doors.
As he slid into the bucket seat, Reagan held the necklace out to him. He reached for the ivory ribbon. “You sure you don’t want this? Shelly meant for you to have it.”
Reagan’s glare drilled through him like a laser beam. “For the wedding. The wedding that’s not ever happening.” She pulled the seatbelt over her chest and let out a burst of an exhale.
“Aw, never say never. And here I was looking forward to the honeymoon already.”
“Can we go now, or do you want to find some other strangers to lie to?” She gestured to the road then glared out the window.
“Believe me, cupcake. Getting you to Miami is my top priority.”
He reversed out of the parking space and gunned the gas, sending the wheels spinning and gravel flying out behind them. As the car fishtailed and straightened, he sneaked a peek at Reagan. Damn, was she crying? With her forehead pressed to the window, he couldn’t see her face. He had a tendency to push things too far, and he’d done it again. He wanted to reach over and comfort her. Say something that would ease her mind and lighten the mood between them.
Instead, he focused on retracing their route to the highway. The sooner he got her to Miami, the sooner he could put all of this behind him. Senator Campbell had warned him years ago to stay away from his daughter. Zach hadn’t had a problem with that until she fell into his lap. No matter how hot she looked in his T-shirt or how she ignited his libido, revisiting the past with Reagan couldn’t happen.
The hollow twinge pulsed under his rib cage, higher this time than before. As he accelerated onto the highway, he rationalized it away. Keep your eye on the prize, Anderson. Get her to the wedding and get the next job done. That was exactly what he intended to do.
13
Reagan let about an hour go by before she trusted herself to speak. Maybe it was the stress over not being at the wedding yet, the intensity of spending the past two days with Zach, or the fact that she hadn’t changed her underwear in forty-eight hours, but something was getting to her and she didn’t like it. Still faced with the fact that she was down a photographer, it was time to make nice with Zach if she had any hope of him standing in. She took in a few deep breaths and angled her body toward him.
He nodded along with the classic rock drifting out of the speakers. The setting sun flooded through the driver side window, casting the interior of the car in a mixture of shadows. He fumbled with something on the console between them.
“Want some fudge?”
Her hands ran over her stomach. How did he eat like this all the time and keep such a ripped bod? “No, thanks.”
“It’s rocky road.” He glanced her way.
“Maybe a little bite.” Her fingers brushed his as she took the fudge and a shiver ran through her at the contact. “Thanks.”
“You cold?” he asked, his hand already adjusting the temperature.
“No. I’m fine. It’s… I’m sorry about before. You were right. It was my fault we got stuck on the hill.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, along with her pride. Reagan didn’t have a problem admitting when she was wrong. But she didn’t necessarily like to admit when Zach was right.
He took a moment before he responded. “I’m sorry, too. About saying we were getting married. They caught me off guard.”