“Guess it worked on me.” His fingers drummed on the steering wheel. “I asked her to marry me five years ago, and she turned me down. I’m hoping when she sees me at the wedding, she’ll…I don’t know…regret her decision…want me back…or something.”
Ellery sucked in a surprised breath. “You’re planning to break up her wedding?”
“No, it’s her sister’s wedding. Allegra’s still single.” The muscles bulged along his jaw, accented with a few days’ growth of beard. “I know from my mother’s gossip Allegra’s had quite a few boyfriends, but never married. She never gave me another chance, though.”
“Maybe you’re just not her type.”
“If I knew what she wanted, I could change.”
“You can’t change yourself to be her type,” Ellery said. “Maybe she’s intimidated by you. Maybe she doesn’t want to compete with a smokin’ hot billionaire.”
“You think I’m hot?”
Sizzling was more like it.
“I think you’re fishing for compliments.”
“No, seriously…I was kind of pudgy back then, and I thought that might’ve been the problem with Allegra. But I’ve worked out every day for the past five years. Maybe she’ll notice I’ve improved.”
It was weird to think a guy that good-looking would be insecure about his appearance. She wanted to tell him Allegra wasn’t worth it if she was that shallow. But it really wasn’t her business. He’d look a lot better if he got his hair cut, but that wasn’t her business, either.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. I think she’ll notice.” Unless she’s blind.
His jaw flexed. “I hope you’re right.”
What would it be like to have someone love you so much, they were willing to change everything about themselves to please you? Not that she would want someone to do that for her, but it would be nice if anyone cared that much.
“She must be pretty special for you to go to that much trouble on the slim chance she might change her mind someday.”
“She is special. She’s gorgeous. Flawless.”
The opposite of me.
“You need more than physical attraction to build a relationship. What’s she like on the inside?”
“She’s smart. Sophisticated. We grew up next door to each other. She was part of the in-crowd, but I was a dorky nerd. Still, she always hung out with me, even when her friends made fun of her for it.”
They rounded a curve in the highway, and the red tail lights thickened, brake lights flashing warnings in every lane. In her chest, her heart thumped, gaining speed. He must’ve sensed her tension, because the conversation stopped.
“It’s always like this close to the Galleria.” His anxiety mirrored hers. “It won’t last long.”
Ellery pressed her lips together, saying random numbers in her head. He changed lanes, zipping into a faster moving lane, but soon traffic slowed to a crawl. As they crept around another curve, swirling red emergency lights assaulted her. A crumpled sedan. An ambulance! She clutched the leather seat, squeezing her eyes shut. The air was thick.
Breathe in two, three. Breathe out two, three, four, five.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she lied through gritted teeth. Lights were flashing ahead
“That wreck is causing this traffic jam, but we’re almost to the mall exit.” His voice sounded like a distant radio. The blinker clicked, and the car veered to the right. Her stomach lurched with each shift in velocity, and she tightened her grip on the seat. A warm hand covered her left one. “Hang on. We’re almost off the interstate.”
The car jerked to a stop, sending her body plunging against the shoulder strap, and she cried out.
“Sorry!” His voice was anguished. “The car ahead of me slammed on their brakes.”
Hyperventilating, she shrank into her seat, the inside of her head fogged up like the bathroom mirror after a shower. His hand left hers, presumably to clench the steering wheel. She didn’t dare open her eyes to see.
I hate this. I thought I had it under control.
Time blurred, but at last the car came to a stop, the blinker clicking in a regular rhythm.
“We’re off the highway, if that helps. It’s only a few blocks to the mall.”
Heartrate slowing, she pried one eye open far enough to see the traffic light as it turned green. By the time the car came to a stop in the mall parking lot, her pulse was only twice its normal rate.
“I’m sorry.” Her face burned with embarrassment.
“It’s totally my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed when you said you didn’t want to come. Your roommate said she was on board as long as I didn’t leave you alone at the wedding. I didn’t realize—”
“You couldn’t have known,” Ellery cut him off. “I’m fine now. Let’s not talk about it.”
CHAPTER 4
Logan was so busy beating himself up, he jumped when someone knocked on his window.
“Are you Logan West?” The smiling young man gave him a broad grin, most likely expecting gratuity in proportion to the size of the delivery. “I’m Jack. Everything’s in my trunk, right over there.”
