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“Incidentally, you’ve been asked to stay at the house over the weekend.”
“I rented a cabin not too far away.”
“That’s not good enough. It’s not a request,” she continued.
“It’s a requirement for the good of the family,” we both repeated in unison. I groaned and felt the tires losing traction. The conditions were getting worse. “I’ll deal with it.” I’d rented the cabin specifically to allow myself some peace and quiet, taking a full three weeks of vacation to relax, maybe start writing the book I’d always talked about doing. The truth was I hated my career, the pressure starting to get to me. Being a financial advisor meant I worked long, arduous hours and my client list included members of the Fortune 100 club.
Translation. They were arrogant as hell, demanding I take their calls at all hours of the day and night, always a pain in my ass.
Shuddering, I turned up the heat and continued on, praying I wouldn’t get stuck. Mile after mile I’d seen nothing but trees and hillsides, the road so narrow I was terrified I’d careen off a cliff. That’s what they had in Montana, right? I tried to keep myself awake, but the exhaustion was starting to get to me. I wouldn’t be doing a cross-country trip by myself again.
“I’ll see what I can do, but don’t you mention a word to either one of them,” I told her.
“Who, me?” Cammie giggled. “I can’t wait to see the hunk you find. That will take the pressure off of me.”
“Uh-huh. You just go back to your little snookums or whatever you’re calling him now.”
“Honey drop.”
Oh, dear God. I was going to be sick. “I’ll call you when I get into town.”
“Be careful. The roads up here are getting slick.”
While I didn’t want to stop for the night, I might have no other choice. “Stop worrying.”
“You’re my sister. I’ll always worry about you.”
I tossed the phone on the seat, my entire body tense from anticipation. The last phone conversation I’d had with Mother should have been a red flag warning.
“You aren’t getting any younger, Wren. You need to settle down.”I was twenty-four, for God’s sake. I wouldn’t call that being a spinster in any language.
I chuckled and turned the wipers onto high. Now the snow was really coming down. Shit. I had several hours to go. I had to face the fact that if I came to a small town, finding a hotel for the night was the best choice.
Maybe my only choice.
My mind started to wander, creating the perfect hunky date in my mind. He had to be tall, buff, and rugged. I didn’t care if he could barely put a coherent sentence together. As long as he looked good in a suit, I could go with that.
Stop thinking about it.
How could I? Maybe there was a service I could use. I certainly had the money to pay for an escort. Ugh. What would he want in return? Hell, no. There wouldn’t be any touching, no kissing. Well, maybe a peck or two to convince my parents, and they’d be watching closely.
I rounded another corner, a shadow crossing in front of me, which forced me to put on my brakes. Shit. As the car started to swerve back and forth, I almost panicked.
Hold it together. Foot off the brake.
Even though I followed the little voice, the tires couldn’t maintain traction, ice pellets hitting the windshield a good indication of why.
Breathe. You’ll be fine.
This was supposed to be a celebration and all I could think about was finding a good-looking man who could walk and talk just like my father. Did that man even exist?
There wasn’t a perfect man in the universe. None.
Forced to pull the car to the right, the windshield starting to fog, I realized I was losing control. As the car spun around in a full circle, I kept both hands crushed around the steering wheel. At the least the car was slowing but…
Oh. No. No!
CHAPTER2
