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“You don’t have to pretend until we arrive at the party. For now, can’t we just be us? Friendly toward each other and nothing more?”
“No.”
I grab her hand and place it on mine. I only get one day with her. I’m not wasting a second of it being friendly toward her.
She sighs but lets me help her down the stairs under the illusion I’m doing this because I’m pretending she’s my date, instead of it being necessary to ensure she doesn’t hurt herself.
I lead her to my McLaren, and she smirks when it comes into view.
“You couldn’t pick me up in something nicer than this piece of trash?” she asks teasingly.
I smile. “Sorry, next time I’ll pick you up in my horse and carriage, princess.”
That earns me a smile, and I never want her to stop smiling. The smile reaches her deep eyes and makes the blonde in her hair shine. Her cheeks blush enough to be noticeable, but not so much that she appears embarrassed. Just happy. I haven’t seen this look on her. I like it.
I open the door and help her inside, hating that I have to drop her warm hand to run around to the driver’s side. I hop in quickly and throw my arm around her shoulders as I start driving toward the address she texted me to meet her at.
Her body tenses when I throw my arm over her shoulders. But she doesn’t say anything. Maybe she’ll finally give up, and try to enjoy herself a little. She might like being mine if she let herself benefit from the perks.
Her fingers fidget with the hem of her dress as I turn on the highway. I swear I hear her heartbeat speed to hummingbird levels. Her breathing catches in her throat. And her face turns pale white.
“What’s wro—shit,” I curse when I realize what’s wrong. This is the same highway where my idiot brother ran her over and almost killed her.
I turn off at the next exit, almost running over a minivan, as she squeezes her eyes shut and grabs for anything to brace herself with. She finds my hand. And she grips it, as if she were to let go, she’d float away and get sucked up by a black hole.
My hand hurts like a bitch, but there is no way I would ever let her stop holding it. Never. I want her tiny hand gripping mine. I would take this over any of my usual daily activities in a heartbeat.
I pull the car over to the side of the road as she takes several deep breaths and stares out the windshield. Her grip slowly loosens, but I tighten my hand around hers, letting her know I’m not going anywhere.
Seconds pass. Or minutes. I don’t know.
But finally, she turns her attention from staring at the field in front of us to me. Her big eyes are swollen as if she might cry, but won’t let herself.
“I didn’t realize how much driving on that road would affect me.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I should have driven a different route.”
She shakes her head. “I would have said you were crazy for taking a longer route when this was the most direct way. I’m stubborn like that. You would have driven on the highway, and only then would I have realized my mistake. I’m glad I was with someone the first time, instead of driving myself when the panic attack hit.”
I grin, and reach over to her body, pulling her into my arms so I can hug her. She lets me. Exhaling another breath, this one goes deeper than her previous breaths, now that I’m holding her.
She gently leans back in her seat, and I reluctantly lean back in mine. But I still hold her hand, dammit. I’m not letting go.
“I’m better now. We should go if we want to make it to the party on time,” she says, her voice steady.
I nod and start driving. “You’re going to have to give me directions. I don’t know how to go anyway but the highway.”
“Keep going straight. I’ll tell you when to turn.”
I do as she says, and the silence stretches out between us. It’s not uncomfortable, but I don’t want her thinking too much about what just happened.
“Tell me about yourself,” I say.
She raises an eyebrow and makes a face like that’s the worst thing I’ve ever suggested.
I laugh and bring her hand to my lips and kiss the top of it without thinking.
Her teeth rake over her bottom lip as she tries to pretend she didn’t enjoy the simple kiss on her hand. But she did. She shivered when my lips touched her skin.
