AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER 3
Abby
Track 3: “Crash” by The Primitives
I called my father from the road on the way to the inn.
“This place looks like something out of a movie, Dad. Rolling hills, stone architecture. I can’t believe I never thought to visit the English countryside before.”
“Well, I’m happy you arrived in one piece and that it’s off to a good start. Please keep me posted on everything. If something doesn’t feel right, you come right back home, you hear me?”
I swerved to avoid oncoming traffic. “Thus far, the only thing that doesn’t feel right is driving on the left side of the road.”
“Oh, don’t tell me that. I’m worried enough as it is.”
“It’s a pretty narrow country road, too. But it’s fine. I’m getting used to it.”
“Okay, well, don’t talk while driving. Concentrate. And call me when you get there safely.”
“I will, Dad. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
It didn’t matter how old I was, my father would always worry about me, especially when I was far from home. I’d only been out of the US once before, to Mexico with a group of people during my high school years. My mother had been alive then, so Dad had a distraction. Now, with her gone and my sister across the country, his focus was mainly me.
Two weeks ago, Phil and Kate had called to say Britney’s husband wanted me to come to the UK to meet him before he agreed to the surrogacy. He’d offered to send a ride to get me from the airport, but I preferred to have a car while I was here so I could explore the sights. He’d ordered me a rental instead, which I’d picked up before driving to the countryside. He’d messaged me the name of the inn where I’d be staying, The Bainbridge in Westfordshire. Apparently, it was run by a friend of his. I had no idea when I’d be meeting the man himself. I didn’t even know what he looked like—not that it mattered, but it would’ve been nice to have some idea going into this. I hadn’t wanted to be rude and ask Phil and Kate for a photo. A Google search had turned up nothing, aside from a fuzzy photo of him and his aristocrat cousin in a gossip rag from years ago. There’d been some kind of scandal involving the cousin... Anyway, the idea of meeting this guy for the first time was nerve-wracking, despite my excitement to be visiting a new place.
I rolled down the car window, breathing in the scent of grass and something that smelled like chamomile. Or maybe that was the daffodils that had popped up everywhere along this road. My hair blew in the wind as I soaked in the fresh air. A week would not be enough to enjoy this magical place.
I had about a mile left to go when I came upon an open field of what appeared to be hundreds of sheep. It was like all the sheep I’d counted in my head to get to sleep as a child suddenly came to life. A living dream.Wow.Simply breathtaking. My car slowed…
Boom!
Oh no.
No.
No. No.
I’d been so distracted by the sheep that I’d slammed right into the car in front of me. Thankfully, I hadn’t been going fast, but I could already see a small dent.
Shit. Shit. Shit!
The car pulled over to the side of the road, and so did I.
A tall, dark-haired man got out. He was strikingly handsome, which made this whole thing so much more embarrassing.
I got out, too, noticing barely a scratch on the front of my rental car.
“What the hell?” he demanded.
“I’m sorry. I took my eyes off the road for just a split second and—”
“Clearly. What in God’s name were you looking at, your phone?”
“No.” I pointed to across the road. “The sheep. They’re so beautiful. And there were so many. I got distracted.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Sheep.”
