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The silence was unnerving, and she refused to glance over at Cruz for his reaction. She wouldn’t say she was feeling relief, because she knew she was only postponing another inevitable confrontation with her mother, but she wasn’t going to worry about that now.
The ring bursting from her cell phone again alerted her that her mother wasn’t done.
Inspiration hit her and before she could talk herself out of it, she rolled her window down and, with a surprising burst of strength, threw her cell phone out.
It clattered against the road and landed about fifteen feet away. Still intact, bright and pink and shiny. At least until the large cargo truck ran over it. With some satisfaction, she saw it shatter and fly into pieces across the blacktop.
The car was silent.
Cruz still hadn’t said anything. Probably trying to decide if he should take a detour to the closest loony bin so he could deposit her. She snuck a peek. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she spied the tiniest smile around the lines of his mouth.
“You know, you could have just turned the phone off.”
She stretched her arms in front of her, already feeling lighter. “Yes, but this felt a hundred times better.”
“So. Boobalicious?” he asked, raising a brow as he glanced over at her. “Want to talk about it?”
She ran her fingers through her hair and breathed in deeply. “Not really. In fact, I’d prefer we don’t talk about anything related to my former fiancé, my mother, or the mess my life is in. For the next few days, I just want to enjoy some freedom. Freedom from diets, from wedding planning, and most of all, from Emily Vaughn’s rules on proper comportment and conduct becoming of a Vaughn.”
No more calls to return to caterers, florists, or videographers. No more stressing about whether Brad’s best man would make it through his speech without insulting half the guests. No in-laws to worry about impressing with her social grace.
Her life was her own again.
The sharp pain of betrayal stabbed her in the chest but she closed her eyes. She would not let Brad ruin this moment. Come Monday, she could fall apart in the safety of her condo. Not here. Not now.
Not under the scrutiny of the man beside her. She needed to keep some dignity.
Chapter Four
The next half hour passed quietly enough, and Payton was initially surprised at the restraint Cruz exhibited in not pestering her for the details of her phone call—something she’d be doing if their roles were reversed. But then she realized, this was Cruz. He had probably already forgotten the whole conversation anyhow. Too busy hatching some business scheme or another.
What time was it anyway? Payton reached for her purse, where her phone was stowed only to stop as she realized…she no longer owned one.
Crap. She glanced at the dash, trying not to get twitchy. Maybe she’d been a little hasty…
“What’s the first big city we hit again?”
“Monterrey. Probably close to two hours away.”
She nodded. If she had her phone, she could change her relationship status to single. She could tweet about the nightmare flight or post a pic of their ride to Instagram. She could find something infinitely more interesting than counting the mile-markers—make that kilometer markers—on the road.
She clenched her hands, the sudden need to know if she’d missed any calls or texts becoming overpowering. Being without her phone was supposed to feel more liberating.
What if Kate was trying to call her? She should at least let her best friend know how to reach her. “Umm, do you think I could borrow your phone for a minute?”
“Seriously? Didn’t you just get rid of yours?”
“Yes, well…I may have been a little hasty getting rid of the phone entirely. The least I can do is let Kate know how she can reach me.”
“I thought you talked to her while I made the rental arrangements?” he asked and reached into the front pocket of his shirt to pull out a large black smartphone.
“I did. But in case she tries to call me before I get there. I wouldn’t want her to worry about me or anything. And I want to give her a tiny heads up that my mother might call her. She may want to be prepared.”
He kept his eyes on the road and handed her the phone. She slid the screen open, wondering what kind of personal picture Cruz would have on his device, but it was a simple black screen. She dialed Kate’s cell number.
“It went to voicemail,” she announced, while she waited for the beep, in case he was interested. “Hola, Kate! Hope you’re not having too much fun without me. Now, don’t forget, I’m still planning on taking you out tomorrow night after the rehearsal dinner, so don’t even try to make up any excuses about being tired or needing your beauty sleep. You have to have a proper bachelorette party, after all. But in the meantime, I had some…slight issues with my cell phone and…well, basically, I don’t have it anymore, so if you need to reach me, call Cruz’s phone. Oh, and if my mother should happen to call you, can you not mention this number? I need a little break. I’ll explain everything when I see you, but for now just know I’m fine, and Cruz and I should be there some time after noon tomorrow. Okay. Love you.”
She hit disconnect and started to hand the phone back to Cruz but paused midway. “Actually, maybe I should hold onto this. You know, in case Kate calls. I’d hate to bother you for it while you’re driving. Could be a road hazard.”
