Within minutes, they were checked in and heading to their separate rooms with the promise of meeting up in the lobby at seven to grab something to eat before getting on the road. Grace said she’d drive the first shift and Finn was more than okay with that.
Their rooms were next door to each other, and after saying goodnight, he stepped into his room and sagged against the door. In a million years, he never would have imagined himself in this sort of situation–not only with his brother leaving him stranded but taking a road trip with a complete stranger. And yet…here he was.
Stepping into the room, he looked around and cringed a little. It certainly wasn’t a deluxe hotel or even a mid-grade one. There was even a part of him that considered sleeping in the truck, but he knew he was just being overly picky. The place was fine for one night. He’d slept in worse places before, and he’d survive this.
The thought of getting a decent night’s sleep spurred him to strip down to his boxers and crawl into bed. His mind was still racing, but he knew if he watched a little TV, he’d be able to fall asleep. He was reaching for the remote when he heard a strange sound. Going completely still, he waited and then…
“Dammit,” he murmured. Grace was crying. The walls were fairly thin, and he hated how he was going to have to face her in the morning knowing she had cried herself to sleep.
Not that it came as a surprise. She may have been acting like an angry badass all night, but no one could have gone through something like Grace had and not feel even a little bit of sadness. All night he had been on the verge of asking her about all of it–how she was feeling, what she was going to do when she finally spoke to her fiancé, and what was going to happen when she got home–but she was giving off a pretty hard “back off” vibe, and he was smart enough to take the hint.
When she had rolled her wedding gown up in a ball and went to throw it in the dumpster behind the Walmart, he intervened. She might be angry now, but the gown looked pretty expensive, and he hated to think of her literally throwing it away.
She had growled at him but eventually stuffed the dress behind her seat. All the while wearing a pair of black yoga pants and a t-shirt that said, “Make today your bitch,” and he couldn’t help but think how accurate it was.
After that, it had been fairly quiet except for her request to go through a drive-thru for some food. He was glad she had not only eaten but had eaten a decent meal. Most women he knew would never opt for fast food, but Grace wasn’t picky, and he knew she needed some food in her to keep her strength up. Plus, he had been to enough weddings and heard enough stories about how brides starved themselves leading up to the big day in order to look their best. He had no idea what Grace Mackie normally looked like, but other than the bedraggled angry bride look she had tonight, she seemed to be an attractive woman.
Once she was out of the massive gown and high heels, he noticed she was a little shorter than he thought and a lot curvier. Her blonde hair had been up in some sort of twist style, but by the time she changed clothes, half of it had fallen out. Tomorrow morning was going to be a bit like meeting her for the first time because he had a feeling once she had a good night’s sleep and had washed this awful day off, she was going to feel a lot better–and look a lot different.
Finn hoped he’d have a better attitude in the morning too.
Which reminded him…
Getting up, he pulled out his phone, and although the battery was low, he knew he needed to try to talk to Dave one more time. When it went to voicemail, he wasn’t surprised, and he wasn’t overly angry.
“Hey, it’s me again,” he said wearily. “Can we please try to talk in the morning? I’m sorry if I overreacted earlier. I want to put this all behind us and get home together, okay? So…call me.” Hanging up, Finn knew it was all he could do and simply put the phone down and vowed not to think about the situation again until the morning.
Picking up the remote again, he was about to turn on the TV when the crying got louder, and she may have shrieked a little. Now, he didn’t know what kind of crier Grace was, but she didn’t seem like a shrieker.
Okay, maybe she did–she was a little scary–but still. The smart thing to do was to go check on her and make sure she was going to be all right.
With no other choice, he climbed from the bed, slid his jeans back on, and grabbed his room key. He felt a little dead on his feet, but once he could see for himself that she was going to be okay, he could go back to bed with a clear conscience.
He knocked on her door and waited. She pulled it open only as far as the chain on the old door would allow. Her face was red and blotchy, her mascara completely running down her cheeks. And for the first time tonight, he noticed how blue her eyes were.
“What?” she asked defensively, and Finn knew she probably wished he would just leave her be, but he couldn’t.
“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” he said softly. “I heard you crying and…”
“Oh, my God! You can hear me?” she cried and slammed the door shut. He was about to knock again when she opened it. “Sorry, I just…no need for anyone else to hear me.” Stepping aside, she motioned for him to come in.
Finn reluctantly stepped inside and saw the same dismal room as he had and wished it was someplace nicer for her. After everything she’d been through today, she shouldn’t have to sleep in a dive hotel. He was sure that the resort she supposed to get married at was posh. At least…judging by her gown and the description of the dinner menu, it was.
“I didn’t mean to bother you, Grace,” he explained.
She waved him off and sat on the bed. “You’re not. I was sitting here wishing I could talk to my mom or my sister, my friends, or…anyone, but my phone is dead, and it’s like three in the morning where they are, but they’re all probably worried sick by now!” She flopped back on the mattress. “What was I thinking? I mean, how irresponsible of me to take off like that! I should have gone in there and confronted Jared and stood up in front of our tiny group of guests and shamed him in front of all of them!”
There was no place else to sit but on the edge of the bed, so he did. “Grace, you weren’t wrong for feeling like you had to get out of there. Do you want to use my phone? Or you can use the phone here in the room. They’ll just charge it to you when we check out.”
Sitting up, she looked at him with wide eyes. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! It’s been so long since I’ve used a landline phone that it didn’t even register that there was one right here!” For the first time since he met her, she was smiling–genuinely smiling. Leaning in, she hugged him and gave him a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Finn! I’m so sorry I disturbed you. I know you’re exhausted, so really, please, go to bed. I’m going to make my calls, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
She bounded off the bed and reached for the phone. He knew he was all but forgotten and he didn’t mind. If making the calls and talking to the people she loved made her feel better, then he was glad he could help. He wished her a quiet goodnight before leaving the room, and her voice drifted out into the hallway as she got her mother on the phone. With another smile, Finn walked back to his room and locked the door behind him.
This time, the noise he heard through the walls was softer and calmer, and he felt relief for her. Maybe he should have called his parents and told them about what was going on. They would call Dave and talk some sense into him. It would be an easy solution, but the last thing he wanted to do was involve them. That was just one of the reasons he’d asked his brother on this trip–so he’d stop leaning so heavily on their folks. By calling them, Finn was putting them in the middle and in the position where they’d have to bail Dave out again.
“Nope. Not going to go there,” he murmured, slipping his jeans back off. Tomorrow was another day and he’d deal with his own mess then.
When he was back in bed, he turned on the television. Five minutes later, he was asleep.
The next morning, Finn was down in t
he lobby taking advantage of the complimentary continental breakfast and waiting on Grace. It was already almost eight o’clock and he was getting a little annoyed. He had almost knocked on her door on his way down but figured she was a grown woman who was capable of setting the alarm and getting up when she needed to.
Clearly, he was wrong.
Taking a sip of his coffee, he contemplated how much longer he should wait before going up and getting her. It irked him when people couldn’t be responsible. It had bothered the hell out of him when he had to do things like this for his brother, and it bothered him even more to have to do it for a stranger. He took the last bite of his bagel before clearing the table. His stuff was already loaded in the truck, and part of him was tempted to leave Grace here just as his brother had left him yesterday. They had agreed on a schedule and she was already breaking it. Storming off toward the elevator, he pushed the button as he got himself more and more worked up. The doors opened and he was about to step in when someone walked right into him.
“Sorry,” he muttered, not paying attention. He went to step around them when he heard his name. Looking down, he realized he’d walked right into Grace.
Who did indeed look very different this morning.
Her blonde hair was long and wavy. Her skin was flawless and her blue eyes were watching him curiously. “You okay?” she asked.
And damn if he wasn’t a little tongue-tied. He could handle the damsel in distress. And he could handle the angry badass. But this sassy woman standing in front of him in the snug yoga pants and clingy t-shirt that read “Okay, but first coffee”? Yeah, he suddenly wasn’t sure how he was supposed to act with her.
They both stepped off the elevator and she immediately apologized. “I know I’m late coming down here and I’m sorry, but I went to bed late after making like a thousand phone calls, and when the alarm went off, I just kept hitting snooze. Then I took a shower–and was pleasantly surprised at how great the water pressure was–so I stayed in there longer than I should have.” She paused and let out a breath. “Anyway, I can tell by your face that you’re annoyed and again, I’m sorry. I promise just to grab a cup of coffee to go and maybe a muffin, and then I’ll go check out, okay?”
He nodded as something hit him–her choice of t-shirts seemed to tell the story of who she was. It was both interesting and made him a little fearful of what else he was going to find out about her by reading her…breasts.
Yeah. That could get awkward fast.
“Is the coffee good?” she asked before walking away. “I can deal with mediocre coffee, but I draw the line at awful. So, is it awful? Should I get tea instead? Or maybe some juice, and then we can go through a drive-thru at Starbucks or something?”
“Uh…the coffee was good,” he said lamely. With a big smile, she walked away.
So…Grace Mackie–when not in crisis mode–was chatty.
This was not good news.
Not that Finn didn’t enjoy good conversation, but he had a feeling he and Grace probably didn’t look at things the same way or have a lot in common. He was not someone who talked just for the sake of talking, and if this brief speed conversation was a preview of how the rest of their interactions were going to go on this trip, he might consider driving through the nights and sleeping in shifts just to get home sooner.
In the blink of an eye, she was on the move and grabbing her breakfast while talking to the breakfast attendant. He heard her laugh and felt a slight tug of interest. He was glad she was happier today and not crying, but…she had a great laugh–a really great laugh. The only problem was…he could easily see Grace being a distraction–a serious one. If she were someone he happened to meet at a bar or through mutual friends, he would have asked her out on a date and maybe even kissed her by now. With everything going on in her life right now, that was not an option. For starters, she was supposed to get married yesterday. Even if she was hurt and angry over her fiancé’s betrayal, she had loved the guy enough to want to marry him. And if she was looking for a way to get even, Finn wasn’t so sure he wanted to be that guy. Playing the pawn in a revenge hookup or being a rebound guy was not his thing.
Not now. Not ever.
Grace looked over her shoulder at him as she waited by the front desk to check out and smiled.
Yeah. Distracting.
Chances were she was just a friendly person. Just because he was noticing all kinds of things about her that he found attractive did not mean the feeling was mutual. More than likely, she was just being nice to him, and he was going to have to force any thoughts of her and all the things he liked about her out of his mind. They weren’t going to help the situation and it was already awkward enough with them being confined in the small cab of a truck for the next four to five days.
Raking a hand through his hair, Finn walked out of the hotel and went to stand by the truck. Maybe if he held on to his annoyance at Grace being late, he could forget about the rest. They were going to have to stop for phone chargers at some point this morning. That was a must. Then they were going to continue on U.S. 95 toward Vegas where they could make their first stop and he could take over driving. If they drove in three- to four-hour shifts, no one would get too worn out.
Then an idea hit him.
What if he found out his brother really did stop in Vegas? Then he could simply get his car back and send Grace on her way. It was brilliant! She could go to North Carolina, he could go to Georgia, and they’d never have to see each other again. It was the perfect plan and, honestly, the best solution overall. He was mature enough to know he could make it through this road trip with Grace if he absolutely had to, but he was also realistic. If he was already starting to notice all kinds of great things about her–her smile, her laugh, her…everything–then chances were it was only going to get worse the longer they were together. No, the smart thing to do was to plan on going their separate ways in Vegas.
He was almost excited enough to high-five himself but refrained. No need to look like a lunatic in the middle of a parking lot. Once they got going, he’d try to reach out to Dave and find out where he was. If he knew his brother–and Finn was fairly confident he did–he would have driven straight through to the Strip and stayed at one of the hotels. And, again, knowing Dave, he would have stayed where he won the most money–which was the Park MGM.
With a plan in mind, Finn leaned against the truck and waited for Grace to emerge from the hotel, praying she wasn’t standing at the front desk socializing when they should have been on the road already.
“That’s good,” he murmured, “keep that annoyance going, and maybe you’ll survive this without making a fool out of yourself.”
He was feeling pretty good about being able to do that.
And he was feeling even better about tracking down his brother and getting his car back.
But once Grace stepped out of the hotel and she spotted him, she waved, and her smile grew. In the light of day, she looked even more attractive, and her snug t-shirt and yoga pants showed off a fantastic figure. When she was beside him, she rested one smooth hand on his forearm and he could smell the strawberry shampoo she must have used.
“Okay, I’m up first, right?” she asked happily. But before he could answer, she was already on the move and walking around to the driver’s side. “Let’s do this!”
And at that moment, Finn knew he was in deep trouble.
3
Okay, so clearly Finn wasn’t a morning person.
And possibly not an afternoon person either.
Honestly, Grace wasn’t sure what kind of person he was because he had kept himself fairly busy on his phone once they had stopped and purchased new phone chargers. He had mumbled something about his brother and when she tried to ask about him, Finn turned on the radio.
At a high volume.
Message received.
“When we get to Vegas, let’s stop and grab some lunch,” he said sometime later.
Snark was her first reaction, but she kept i
t to herself. “That sounds great,” she replied with a big smile. “I’ve never been to Vegas. Do you think we can stop at one of the hotels?”
Finn turned to her and for the first time today, smiled. “Actually, uh…yeah. Sure.” Then he paused as if thinking about something. “How about the Park MGM? We stayed there on the way out here and it was great. They have a really good restaurant there and you can get a burger or a sandwich or even a salad. Will that be okay?”
Grace didn’t have a clue about the hotels in Vegas, so she’d take his recommendation. “Absolutely! I’m just excited to see what all the fuss is about finally.”
“Fuss?”
She nodded. “So many of my friends have done weekends in Vegas, but it was never something that interested me. I’m not a gambler and I’m not into overpriced shows, so…it seemed pointless.”
“There’s definitely a lot to see and do even if you’re not a gambler,” he explained. “I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s something Dave and I do together.”
“And Dave is your brother, right?”
Now it was his turn to nod. “Yeah. This trip was supposed to be about us bonding. It was his idea to extend the trip and go to Carson City. He said he’d heard the casino there could rival any Vegas one. I was doubtful, but I was trying to go with the flow and humor him.” He shook his head. “And look where that got me.”
“Have you heard from him?”
“I’ve been texting him all morning and haven’t gotten a response. Not that I’m surprised.” He paused. “Then I checked in with my shop to let them know I was going to be a bit delayed coming home. I know I’m not going to be gone an extra week or anything, but my guys know I’m pretty punctual. If I’m going to be even a day late, I want them to know.”
Drive Me Crazy: Road Tripping Series Page 4
