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“I’ll take this.” I pointed to the muffin.
“Those are wonderful. Anything else?”
“A large mocha latte.” I nodded at the chalkboard menu hanging on the wall behind him, thankful I had a twenty in my wallet I could pay with instead of using a credit card. “Extra hot, please.”
“Sure thing.”
He moved away and set about fixing my order, striking up small talk as he turned on the latte machine and moved through the steps needed to make my coffee. How long was I going to be in town? Did I have a chance to visit Old Man’s Cave? Did I like Mexican, and had I checked out El Conquistador down the street? I kept my answers vague and short as I made up a whole narrative—from Toledo, in town for a writing retreat, working on a romance novel, and yes, a fan of Mexican. When the cashier handed me the drink in a to-go cup, he grinned.
“I swear you resemble her.”
“Who?”
“The woman Landon Sparks was...with. I guess she’s his girlfriend.”
I sighed. “Well, she’s lucky.”
“Yep. Nailed a billionaire. Not a bad afternoon.”
“Nope.” I glanced at the front door.How much longer is this sale going to take?Every second I remained in the café was more excruciating than the last. “Listen, I need to run a few other errands, and—”
“No, sorry, that’s my fault. Things are slow around here, and sometimes I forget.” He tapped the flat screen in front of him and rang up the sale. “Anyway, that will be eight twenty-five with tax.”
We finished the sale and I rushed out of the shop, stopping to pull on my sunglasses before I pushed out the door. I’d planned to make a day of it, traipsing up and down the small downtown corridor, threading in and out of shops as I explored the town, but the conversation in the coffee shop had changed everything. I balanced the muffin and coffee in my right hand, then pushed my green ballcap a little lower on my head.I need to head back to the cottage.It wasn’t worth the risk of being recognized—that was far too costly.
Besides, in the last four days, I’d brainstormed the book project but had done little in the way of writing it. I needed to hold myself more accountable, needed to spend time working on the thing I’d said would be my main goal at the house. Instead of wandering around the small business district, I headed to my car and drove back to the rental, sipping my coffee along the way and taking in the sites of the idyllic community.
But when I drove up the gravel pathway to the house, my heart expanded in my chest and blood rushed to my ears. There, in the parking spot I’d vacated, sat a black SUV with tinted windows.
And I knew exactly who was waiting for me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
LANDON
Four days of absolutehell.
