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But Marfa had botched my plans. It forced me to slow down enough to hear the distant sound of wind brushing through the sparse grass. I tasted the dryness of the air as faint dust particles settled on my skin and white blouse.
This town still had a few surprises in store for me. And Maximilian James Fletcher might just be the biggest one of them all.
It didn’t help that the insufferable man was chortling.
2
Max
Iclutchedmystomach,laughing at stubborn Anna Bennett as she struggled with her car.
She thrust her head out of the window.
“What’s so funny?”
I shrugged, not wanting to look too closely at her again.
“Just thinking how some things never change.”
“And what would that be?”
Good, she is responding,my treacherous brain muttered.Keep her talking.
“You. Always rushing. Never taking the time to enjoy the moment.”
Her face reddened. She frowned, her lips sticking out in that slight pout that made her so beautiful.
“There’s nothing enjoyable about a broken-down car in the middle of nowhere!”
I chuckled and looked away.
“You’re not looking at it right.”
Ididn’t want to keep lookingat her.
In the enveloping darkness, her blond hair seemed to capture and hold onto the fading light. Her blue eyes were as deep as pools of water from the sea.
Memories flickered at the edge of my mind. They were moments I’d captured and held from a time when she was the center of my universe.
She popped the hood, got out of the car, and slammed the door. She hunched over the hood, the scent of hot metal and faint gasoline wafting over the crisp air.
That was when I realized that the woman standing before me wasn’t my Anna. My Anna would have asked for help, no matter how angry I’d made her.
Instead, the person who stood with her body and scent was different. The city had claimed her, refining her edges, sharpening her tongue. She now wore an I-can-do-it-all aura, foreign to her gentle nature.
Her sigh echoed around me.
I found my boots moving over the gravel road before my mind registered the decision. It was an instinct. A pull as old and familiar as the leather of my gloves guided me toward her.
She looked up, her eyes challenging yet wary. She was still that fiery city girl I remembered, all bottled up in an infuriatingly enticing package.
“Looks like you’re in a bit of a pickle, Anna.”
I chuckled, attempting to ease the tension between us. She glared at me.
“Oh, how observant of you, Max. What gave it away? The fact that my car refused to start?”
I frowned at how she could effortlessly needle me.
