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The balled pair of socks sail through the cab and bounce off my temple. I laugh loud enough to drown out the engine.
* * *
Aiden McRae built his cabin against a sheer rock face. It’s sheltered from the wind, tucked between pine trees on both sides, and I try to focus on that fact—that Luna will be warmer here than pretty much anywhere else, including my own cabin—to keep me from going insane.
Stones crackle beneath the tires as we pull up nice and close. No half mile hike from the road to get to Aiden’s place; he’s not an antisocial asshole like me. He cleared a makeshift driveway all the way up to his deck.
Did he do that for Luna? For his future wife?
She’s still sitting in the passenger seat, gnawing on her bottom lip. Those blue eyes are wide, staring up at the cabin before us, and her pulse flutters below her jaw.
“Nothing to be scared of,” I remind her. Fuck, why am I coaching Luna out of the truck? I should throw this piece of junk in reverse and get out of here. Should drive at breakneck pace all the way back to my cabin, and then… and then…
Then what? Can’t go back in time and force her to pickme, can I?
It’s out of my hands, anyway. The cabin door swings open, and Aiden McRae steps out, wiping his hands on a striped dishcloth.
He peers into the truck, visibly eager.
I scowl up at him, trying to find fault, any fault, in what I see. But the hard fucking fact is that Aiden McRae is probablyexactlywhat all those city girls picture when they daydream about their mountain man fling. He’s broad shouldered and strong, copper haired with a thick beard, and he’s taciturn. Doesn’t waste words when a jerk of his chin will do.
Of course, that might be down to the accident when he was a young man—the one that screwed his vocal chords.
Yeah, Aiden’s not much of a talker. Guess I can see why he’d rather date via email.
“Um.” Luna’s still frozen beside me, plucking at her seat belt but not making any move to undo it. Aiden watches her from the deck, patient and curious, and we’re like three wild animals caught in a standoff.
“I can drive away right now.” Let’s face it, I’m half offering for selfish reasons, but I mean it, too. Luna Lindgren will never do a single thing against her will, not while I’m around.
But: “No.” She sighs and clips her seat belt undone. “I need to talk to him.”
Right. She needs to meet her future husband. And apparently I need to sit here and watch it all like a third wheel.
“I’m going for a walk.” The words blurt out of me before I can even think them, then I’m shoving my way out into the morning air. “Give you two some privacy. Back in ten.”
“But—”
“I’ll stay in calling distance. Yell if you need me, okay?”
“Griff—”
“I’ll be close, I promise. Go talk to him, Luna.”
My boots crunch and slide over the rock-studded dirt, and I suck in desperate mouthfuls of pine scented air as I stride between the trees. Anything to chase away the lavender. Anything to soothe my racing heart.
This is the worst fucking day of my life.
Five
Luna
My legs are wobbly when I hop down from the truck, and I’m not sure whether that’s from sleeping the night folded upright, or from pure nerves. Feels like there are hot snakes writhing in my belly. I hate stuff like this.
Well, okay, I’ve never been in thisexactsituation before. But I’ve always hated disappointing people.
“Um.” My voice is hoarse, barely reaching the deck, but Aiden watches me closely. Moss green eyes catalog every detail about me, from my mussed hair and blushing cheeks to the way my fingers keep smoothing down my dress—then glance over my shoulder at where Griff strode away between the trees.
Aiden McRae raises an eyebrow.
