by Kira Archer
Becky frowned. “If you’d like me to check for flights into nearby airports…”
“Yes, thank you,” the woman said, plastering another smile on her face that looked like it was barely containing the panic. “I have to be in New York by this evening, tomorrow afternoon at the latest.”
Oz leaned against the counter and tossed in his two cents. “That would be great if you could check on other flights, Becky, thanks.”
Becky’s lips twitched into a modest smile in response to the mega-watt grin aimed at her. If the clamor of the crowd was any indication, she was about to have a really terrible day. The least he could do was be nice while he started it off.
After a few seconds of typing, Becky’s smile faded. “I’m sorry, but with the weather the way it is, there are no flights flying anywhere on the east coast.”
“What?” the woman squealed. “That’s impossible. It’s just a little rain.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m afraid I can’t even get you into other airports nearby. The weather is causing havoc up and down the east coast.”
Oz watched fascinated as one emotion after another chased across the woman’s face. Anger and panic eased into a weird calm, though he had no doubt a whole load of turbulence was seething just below the surface. Well, no point in standing there watching her implode and continue to waste Becky’s time. He needed to get to New York and if a plane was out of the question, he was going to hurry and get himself a car. Before everyone else had the same idea.
“Well, if there’s nothing you can do, there’s nothing you can do,” Oz said, shrugging and shoving his hands in his pockets. “Thanks for trying. I’m much obliged.”
…
Much obliged? How could he stand there looking so calm and collected? He’d just lost his flight, too. He winked at her and headed off into the crowd. Cherice fought to keep her nervous breakdown from escaping and scaring all the nice people with her crazy. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It wasn’t this poor woman’s fault the weather was delaying things.
But, she’d never hear the end of this. She was supposed to be there last week. Her parents already thought she was a total screw up. Not smart enough to get into the best medical school like her sister. Or any medical school, for that matter. Or charming enough to get their parents’ rich friends to throw money at the family charity like her twin brother. That, at least, was useful. She’d never been anything but a disappointment to her family. Now she couldn’t even manage to get from North Carolina to New York.
Well, then.
Her phone rang and she shoved her boarding pass back in her bag and grabbed it. Elliot, her twin brother. He was the only one that didn’t make her feel like she’d been adopted…or that she should be sent back where she came from.
“Hey Cher-Bear! You on your way yet?”
Cherice smiled at her brother’s nickname for her. He was the only person in her life who had ever called her by anything other than her full name. Her mother didn’t believe in nicknames. Felt they were low class. Too personal and informal.
“No, my flight was cancelled.”
“Oh shit. Well…do they have you on another one? Mom’s going to freak.”
Cherice sighed. She was well aware of that. “No. Apparently the little summer storm we are having here is a major hurricane warning up your way. All the flights into any airport near you are grounded.”
“Damn. I was hoping it wouldn’t be an issue for you. It isn’t too bad for us yet, but Mom is freaking out. If it hasn’t blown over by tomorrow morning, I think she’ll have a serious breakdown. How soon can you get up here?”
“I don’t know. There aren’t any more flights until tomorrow at the earliest.”
“But that’s the day of the wedding!”
“I’m aware of that.”
“You’re going to have to drive. Rent a car.”
The room spun a little at the thought. “You want me to rent a car and drive? All the way to New York? You’re joking, right?”
She hated driving. With a bright purple polka-dotted passion. She drove around town, to school and back, to the store, that sort of thing. But she avoided it at all costs if the weather was bad, which, apparently, it would be. Plus, she’d never driven long distance before. In fact, she couldn’t remember ever being in a car for longer than it took to get from New York City to her parents’ place in the Hamptons, and she’d never made the drive herself. Hell, she’d gotten lost once going to the library four miles from her apartment and that was with GPS. She’d never make it 1,000 miles.
The laughter on the other end of the phone made it clear her brother was thinking the same thing. “You still there?”
“Yes. I’m just…processing.” And possibly hyperventilating.
More laughter. “Look, Cher-Bear, I know driving freaks you out, but you don’t really have another choice. You can do this. It’s only like twelve hours. If you start now, you’d be here before midnight. That’s not too bad. You wouldn’t even have to get a hotel or anything. And you’ll probably beat the worst of the storm.”
Cherice stamped down the rising panic and looked up to find Mr. Hot, Blond and Married a few feet away, leaning against the counter at the car rental place, staring at her with a weird little half smile on his unbelievably full lips. She frowned at him and turned around so she couldn’t see him.
“Maybe you’re right. But it’s raining. I can barely drive when the weather is perfect.”
“You can do this, Cher-Bear. Just get a car, put on some tunes, and haul ass up here.”
“Yeah. Okay. Guess I don’t have much of a choice.”
Elliot snorted. “Not unless you want to deal with the Momster.”
Cherice repressed an actual shudder. “No, thanks. Ugh, fine, I’ll rent a car. Hopefully, I don’t kill myself on the way up.”
“You’ll be fine, I promise.”
“We’ll see,” Cherice said, dread filling her at the thought of twelve hours alone in a car, driving unfamiliar roads. “Let’s just hope the damn thing has GPS.”
Elliot snorted. “Like that’ll help. I’ll send out a rescue crew if you aren’t here by morning, I promise. Love you, sis.”
“Love you, too, Smelliot.”
She hung up to the sound of his laughter. Her smile faded quickly though when she realized she now had to go rent a car.
“Pull it together, Cherice,” she muttered to herself. “It’s a car, not an assault tank.”
She marched to the counter before her courage failed her. Wannabe Rhett Butler stood a bit to the side filling out some papers, so he’d obviously already been helped. Cherice decided it wouldn’t be too big a faux pas to butt her way in while he was busy.
“Hi, I need to rent a car. I don’t know what kind of a selection you have, but I definitely need something with GPS. And as much insurance as you can give me and whatever other extras are available. And do your cars have really good tires? Something that won’t slide around on wet roads?”
Cherice gave the startled woman a faint smile and then glanced over to the man who stared at her with a what-the hell-was-that look that was mirrored on the face of Car Rental Lady.
“I’m sorry. Jennifer?” Cherice added, glancing at the woman’s name tag. “I’m just in a bit of a rush, and I’m crazy nervous about driving in the rain.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay…it’s just that we are out of cars.”
Cherice’s stomach churned. “What do you mean you are out of cars? How can you be out?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. But with flights being canceled we were cleaned out. He got the last one,” she said, nodding at the man next to her.
“Hi,” he said.
Cherice just stared at him, panic overriding her brain until there was not a single, solitary thought left in her head.
She opened her mouth to say something and promptly shut it again, her throat growing tight with the sudden urge to cry. This could not be happening.
She stalked
over to the row of chairs near the counter and flopped into one, her head dropping into her hands.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening. Just shoot me now. Seriously,” she mumbled, fully aware she looked like a crazy person and not giving a hamster’s furry hiney.
A pair of scuffed work boots appeared in her line of vision and she looked up.
Mr. Gorgeous Blue Eyes was invading her personal space. Her face was level with his stomach and his shirt did little to hide the solid body underneath. It wasn’t skin tight, by any means, but it did fit very, very well. His well-worn jeans rode low on his hips and she had a sudden vision of him padding around her apartment in nothing but those jeans, the corded muscles of his hips disappearing into the soft material. Her breath caught in her throat and she straightened in her chair, pulling her prim and proper manners about her like a shield.
“Can I help you?”
“Sorry, I couldn’t help overhear your phone call earlier…”
Cherice raised an eyebrow.
He had the grace to blush a little, though Cherice was positive the slight pink in his cheeks couldn’t touch the bright red in hers. He certainly wasn’t catching her at her best.
“Well, I’ve got to get to New York, too. Since I’ve got the last rental, I just thought, seeing as how we are going the same way…well, if you’d like a ride, I’d be happy to drive you.”
Relief flooded through her, followed almost immediately by suspicion. Why would a complete stranger want to be alone in a car with her for twelve hours?
“I’m totally trustworthy, I promise. It’s just a long way to drive on my own. Plus, I don’t see any point in leaving you stranded here when we’re going the same direction.”
Her face must still have been radiating Serial Killer Alert because he added, “Jennifer there has seen us together and has all my info so she could sic the cops on me if she needed to.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but that does make me feel a little better,” Cherice said, her mouth pulling into a half smile.
He laughed, his handsome features radiating Good Guy. He seemed normal enough. He had a wife and child, so he was probably safe. And it was only twelve hours, less than a day. It suddenly seemed a lot shorter since she wouldn’t have to drive. If she tried to drive herself she’d probably end up lost or dead, anyway. Not that she had a choice. Her only other option was probably the bus, if one was even running. She grimaced at the thought. She’d rather skip the trip entirely and face her mother, and that was saying something.
“All right,” she said, lifting her chin. “You’ve got yourself a car mate.”
Chapter Four
Judging by the look on her face, the woman would rather crawl to New York City on her knees than ride in a car with him, so Oz was kind of surprised she agreed. He hadn’t missed the quick perusal she’d done of him while she’d been making up her mind. Oh, part of her, at least, had liked what she’d seen. There’d been a little spark in her tawny eyes, a little hitch in her breath. He knew very well what happened when a woman liked what she saw, and they generally did when they saw him. He wasn’t conceited, but he knew he looked good. Long hours of hard work tended to whip a guy’s muscles into shape.
He’d seen those looks from women before. But behind the flash of heat in their eyes, there was the disdain. The slight nose wrinkle at the grease stains he’d never be able to get totally out from under his nails. The quick calculation of his net worth going by the worn jeans and cheap T-shirt he wore. The pampered princess in front of him was no different. He was good enough to perform whatever service she required, but the way she grimaced and jutted her chin said that was all he’d ever be good for.
It stung. It always did. But he wasn’t one to let his emotions off the leash so he slapped a grin on his face and stuck his hand out.
“I’m Oz, by the way.”
“Oz?” She took his hand, her fingers curling into the warmth of his. She left her hand in his longer than was strictly polite, then withdrew them quickly like she realized what she’d done. “Were your parents’ fans of The Wizard of Oz or something?”
His laugh boomed out. “Naw. My real name is Nathaniel Oserkowski. Kind of a mouthful. Oz suits me better.”
She blinked at him and opened her mouth like she was going to respond to that. Then she gave her head a little shake. “I’m Cherice Buchanan Debusshere. Nice to meet you.”
Oz blinked at her. “Wow. That’s quite a name you got there.”
She straightened her shoulders, her face flushing slightly. “They’re family names.”
He bit his tongue to keep from cracking a joke. She wasn’t like the flirty, good-natured women he generally chatted up. Teasing her about her name was probably the wrong way to go about getting to know someone he was about to be confined in a tiny space with for the next twelve hours. But damn, with a name like that, she was probably a stuck-up piece of work.
“Well, Cher…”
“Cherice. Not Cher.”
Yep. Totally stuck-up. “Okay then. Cherice. Let’s go find our car.”
Cherice Buchanan Debusshere. What the hell kind of name was that? The woman was begging for a good tumble. She needed something to loosen her up. Her designer outfit and sky-high heels would look great in a board room but would probably have been miserable on a plane, and wouldn’t be much better in a car. Her hair was slicked back into a sophisticated ponytail. He couldn’t help but wonder what those chestnut strands would look like flowing over her shoulders, damp from a nice hot shower.
He shook his head, trying to dislodge the image from his mind. Ms. Debusshere didn’t seem the type to put one manicured pinkie out of place, let alone go slumming with a guy like him. He should have kept on walking when he’d overheard her phone call. But she had seemed genuinely terrified of having to drive. And they were going to the same place. Besides, twelve hours was a mighty long time to keep himself company. It would be nice to have someone to talk to.
Another glance at Cherice almost changed his mind on that one. She didn’t seem like the chatty type. At least not with someone like him. If things had worked out differently in his life, he might have been sitting in one of those fancy offices where women like Cherice worked. He wouldn’t be covered in oil from his job as a mechanic at Billy’s garage, or have dark circles under his eyes from his second job delivering newspapers in the middle of the night. Or his weekend janitor job.
But he did what he had to do. His sister and nephew needed him and he’d do what it took to provide for them. And if he had to deal with women like Cherice looking down their noses at him, well, it was a small price to pay to see the smile on his nephew’s face when he got home from work every day. To see the boy thriving, and healthy, and happy.
Now, however, the perfect opportunity had opened up. He had a shot at his dream job. A long shot, sure. But a shot, nonetheless. If he made it to the interview.
Oz put on his brightest smile and made chit-chat on their way out to the car rental parking lot but Cherice was remarkably hard to draw out. Until she saw their car.
“What is that?”
“A Ford Focus.”
“Do they have a more recent model? The newer cars tend to have better safety features, don’t they? It’s raining and it’s supposed to rain all day. That means the roads will be slippery.”
“I’m sure this one is safe. As long as we don’t go off-roading or anything like that, it should be fine.”
She frowned, chewing on her lip. “It has GPS, right?”
“Yep. And we’ve got enough insurance on it we could drive it off a cliff and get reimbursed. Is it okay?” he asked. It wasn’t like she had a choice, but he figured it didn’t hurt to ask. Maybe he’d get lucky and she’d decide she didn’t want a ride after all.
“Of course,” she said with a small smile. “Does it have all-weather tires?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh good. Do you mind if I ask a few more questions?” Twenty minut
es later, Oz stood watching while Cherice worried about every safety hazard she could think of and asking the poor car rental guy to reassure her. He’d known she was nervous, but she was crossing the line into paranoia. As long as the car wasn’t going to blow up when he turned it on, he was cool with it. His phone buzzed and he took it out, smiling at the cute picture of his nephew that his sister texted him.
R U in the air yet?
He grimaced. Flight canceled. Gonna drive.
Oh no! U r driving the whole way? B careful!
No worries. Sharing the car. I won’t fall asleep with her sitting next to me.
Her? Do tell ;-)
Oz snorted. Lol. Don’t even. There will never be anything to “tell” with her.
You say that now…
He glanced up to watch Cher buzzing around the car, her face creased with concern while the attendant continued to assure her everything was fine. No…believe me. She’s a serious piece of work. And not in the good way.
If you say so…
I say so :-)
Drive safe. And check in at some point so I know you aren’t dead in a ditch somewhere.
LOL will do. Love ya! Give Tyler a hug for me.
Will do <3
“I think I’ve alleviated most of her concerns, sir.”
“Sorry,” Oz muttered, holding out his hand for the keys.
The attendant just walked away, shaking his head.
“All right, then,” Oz said, sliding into the driver’s seat. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Cherice slipped into the passenger seat. Oz started the car and got his mirrors and seat adjusted while she buckled up and arranged herself. He turned on the radio and bobbed his head to the song pouring from the speakers. Ah, “Lowrider.” Excellent driving tune.
He pulled out of the lot and wound through the lanes of the airport leading to the freeway, singing the lyrics and lightly tapping his hands on the steering wheel along to the beat. His shoulders relaxed, the tension starting to drain out of him.
Oz merged into traffic and turned the volume down in case she wanted to pass the time by chatting. Apparently, she didn’t. After five minutes of dead silence, he couldn’t take it anymore. Did she really plan on just sitting there for the whole trip, not saying a word?
