Page 27

“Actually, I was going to find a hotel room for the night. I started driving at three this morning and only got a quick nap in the truck before I came to get you.”

“Oh,” I reply, nodding. “Of course.”

“Do you have any preference?”

I stare at him for a second, my mind blank, before shaking my head. Even if I did have a preference, I have absolutely no clue what it would be. He nods.

“Okay, then.”

He pulls his phone out of his pocket and spends a few minutes on it before clipping it into the holder attached to the air vent.

“Looks like there’s a decent place on the way out of town and it’s next to another one of these.” He points to the diner and flashes me a wry grin. “I’m dying to try the best pancakes in Miami-Dade county after staring at this sign for the past hour.”

I nod, breathless. “It would be damn near criminal to leave Miami without putting their claim to the test.”

“Or you could just tell me if they live up to the hype,” he says as he backs the truck out of the parking space and pulls out onto the road.

“And rob you of the experience? I think not.” Truthfully, I have no idea how good or not the pancakes are because I can’t recall if I’ve ever even seen one of these diners but that’s not something I want him to know. I’ll admit that I briefly considered filling him in on my situation, especially after Mercedes’ “you can trust him with your life” comment but it’s nice that he doesn’t know. I can be around him and not put on an act or wonder who he expects me to be. It’s a breath of fresh air after a week of living someone else’s life.

He scoffs and peeks over at me. “Figures.”

Fighting back a smile, I sink into my seat and turn to stare out of the window as we drive through the streets of Miami. A little piece of me hopes the city will bring a memory back but as we ride to the hotel in silence, my mind is still as blank as the day I woke up in the hospital. When we reach the hotel, Sawyer parks in front of the office and leaves the truck running to run inside and get us a couple rooms while I power on my phone and send Mercedes a quick text to let her know we’re spending the night in a motel. As soon as I know the message was delivered, I turn my phone off again without waiting for her reply. Earlier today, before Gavin even got home from work, I turned off my location and spent hours online figuring out how to turn off the “Find my iPhone” app but I still don’t want to take any chances of Gavin finding me before I have a chance to figure some things out.

The door to the office swings open and Sawyer stalks out with a scowl on his face before stomping over to his door and yanking it open. I arch a brow and study him as he climbs behind the wheel and lets out a heavy sigh. He mentioned that he has been up and driving for almost twenty-four hours now and I can see that catching up to him pretty quickly.

“So apparently,” he growls. “There’s some big convention thing in town and they only have one king bed left.”

“Okay…” What exactly is he suggesting? That we share a bed? Heat creeps up my neck as I think about lying next to him in bed.

“We can try somewhere else if you want?”

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and sigh. “No. If there’s something going on in town, I don’t think we’ll have much luck anywhere else. Besides, it’s getting really late.”

“True,” he answers, nodding his head. He runs his hand over his face as he sighs. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

He leaves me in the truck as he runs back inside and after a few moments, he walks back out with a key in his hand before driving us to our room around the back of the U-shaped building. Once we’re parked, he hands me the key before rounding the back of the truck to grab our bags. I unlock the door and step inside as I look around. As far as motel rooms go, it is average with a large king-sized bed in the middle of the room, a couch against the adjacent wall, and a round table with two chairs in front of the window next to the door. My gaze falls on the couch again and I scoff. Sawyer is a big guy and there is no way in hell he is going to fit on that tiny little couch.

“How is it looking in here?” he asks and I glance over my shoulder as he walks into the room and sets the bags down. He is so close that the scent of his cologne envelops me and I turn back to the room as I close my eyes and take a deep breath. God, he smells good. It is subtle but an incredibly masculine scent that makes me think of things I should not be thinking right now when my life is such a damn mess.

“Not great.”

“I’ll take the couch.” He steps up next to me and his arm brushes my shoulder. Sucking in a breath, I peek over at him as my belly does a little flip.

“It’s way too small for you.”

Meeting my gaze, he smiles - this cocky but still kind smile that does all sorts of crazy things to my insides.

“I’ll make it work.”

I nod, unable to break eye contact with him. My heart thunders in my ear and my skin tingles as I turn toward him, once again my body moving without permission. His brows knit together and his lips part as he faces me, his gaze dropping to my lips before falling further to the curve of my neck.

“We…uh,” he says, his voice deeper and full of gravel. “We should get some sleep. I was planning on getting an early start tomorrow.”

Releasing a breath, I nod. “Right.”

He takes a step back and looks at the floor, killing the moment and I suck in a breath as a blush creeps up my cheeks. I turn to my suitcase and grab the handle before turning back to him and pointing to the bathroom.

“I’m just going to go change.”