Chapter 1 The Long Day #3
“Why don't you just go around?” she asked out loud, as the car tailgated her. There are no other cars on the road besides us, so what’s this person’s problem?
Lana pushed on the gas pedal a little harder to put some distance between them and turned her left blinker on. Once she could see the car's headlights again in the rearview, she returned her eyes to the road ahead.
“Jerk,” she stated as she started to merge into the left lane, when suddenly the car, a black McLaren, sped around her at a tight right curve in the road, way too close.
Her heart pounded in her chest as the car lurched inches next to her.
Bracing herself, she squeezed her eyes closed and nudged the steering wheel to the right, hoping to avoid hitting him.
As she slammed the brakes, her truck fishtailed off the road and smashed into the guardrail.
She opened her eyes and saw the sparks her truck and the metal rail made from the impact in her passenger side view mirror.
Finally, it screeched to a halt. She panted uncontrollably as she gripped the steering wheel for dear life.
The McLaren slowed down and pulled over in front of her, the person cutting the engine.
Then the driver, a very tall man, jumped out of the car.
With her heart pounding out of her chest, she struggled to catch her breath as her body shook from the fright of the last few seconds.
Her legs felt like jelly, and her knees were knocking against each other.
She released the steering wheel, laid her head against the headrest, and started taking slow, deep breaths.
She caught a glance of her reflection in the rearview mirror.
Her warm brown skin had lost some color, and there was a sheen of sweat on her forehead.
She wiped her face with the cuff of her sweater, and the smell of the cherry-scented car freshener helped to calm her.
Lana closed her eyes to focus on slowing her heart rate.
Deep breath through the nose, slowly out the mouth.
The knock on her driver’s side window startled her, and she jumped up when she saw the well-dressed man there, running his hands through his hair.
He took a step back from the door, and she slowly pushed it open and climbed out.
As she stepped out into the cold air, it was like having a plastic bag removed from her head.
“Are you OK?” he asked, as he stepped towards her. Lana took a step back instinctively and glared up at him.
He was towering over her; he had to be six three or four against her five-six stature.
His dark hair fell into his face, and the sunglasses he wore hid his eyes.
People who wore sunglasses made her uncomfortable—for one, she could never tell where their eyes were looking, and two, she couldn’t tell what they looked like.
“I’m fine. My truck, however, is not,” she barked. “Are you completely insane? Why are you driving like an idiot?”
Lana stomped past him towards the side of her vehicle to inspect the carnage.
Standing against the guardrail, she placed her hand on it, leaned over, and looked down the side of her truck.
From what she could see, there was a long series of dents and deep scratches from the rear passenger side door all the way up to the front passenger side.
The fact that the side-view mirror was still holding on was a miracle.
“Great,” she stated sarcastically and stomped back over to square off with the stranger.
He had taken his shades off now, and they revealed eyes so pale blue and piercing she forgot her initial thought to slap him.
She could see his full face now, and it was something to behold.
High cheekbones, a strong chin, with a delicate but manly nose.
He also had a five o’clock shadow that made him look rugged and tough.
Lana could tell he had a muscular build under the expensive leather jacket he wore, and she was speechless for a moment.
Wow, she thought to herself as she looked up at his distracting face.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention back there. Here, take my card,” he replied as he reached into his Armani pants and produced a leather wallet.
He opened it, pulled out a business card, and handed it to her.
As she reached for the card, her hand grazed his, sending a small bolt of electricity through her.
What the hell was that? The wind started to pick up, and he smelled of a heavenly men’s cologne, which didn’t help her sudden lack of composure.
“Give me a call and I’ll pay for all the damages.”
She looked down at the card and back up to his concerned face.
At least he seems apologetic, but it doesn’t excuse his behavior.
She looked at the card, and the name Kayden Capshaw printed in embossed ink in fancy lettering jumped out.
She looked at him and tried not to focus on his eyes again.
She needed to stay focused, and his were like kryptonite.
“Why not give me your insurance information? Wouldn’t that be easier?” she asked.
She almost wished he would put the sunglasses back on, as she felt silly having a conversation while trying not to look someone in the face.
Instead of calling the police like she should, Lana found herself growing nervous and intimidated while he just stood there and looked at her.
Usually, she would have ripped him a new one at this point, but she was entranced by him.
He may have been the most handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on.
He certainly made Sam look like a gargoyle.
“If you don’t believe me, just follow me to the next exit, and we can find a garage,” Kayden pleaded.
She thought about it for a moment, and it was a decent offer, but it would add way too much time to her trip.
“I’ll agree if you can get me a rental so I can finish my drive. I have a long way to go, and I can’t wait around for it to be fixed.”
“Sure, that sounds great. Shall we then?”
Instinctively, she looked into his eyes, saw his sincerity, and nodded her head in submission.
A huge white smile spread across his face, and it almost took her breath away.
He was more than attractive; he had to be an actor or something—regular men did not look like that.
Immediately, she felt embarrassed, realizing she’d been staring instead of talking, and quickly collected herself.
“Fine,” she replied quickly, “you really need to chill with the fast and furious road antics. You could kill someone.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, his face serious.
Other than the words between them, it was almost completely silent on the road.
The sky was a deep cobalt blue with thick white clouds squeezing by one another.
With the tall looming trees lining the road, it could have been an oil painting they were standing in; it looked so perfect.
Everything was instantly too quiet, too intimate, and very intense as they stood there sizing the other one up.
Lana turned away slowly and reached for the door of the truck.
“I didn’t get your name,” Kayden continued, taking a step towards her, and Lana held her breath.
Doesn’t this guy believe in personal space? She felt her stomach tighten, being less than a couple of feet away from him now, his smell assaulting her senses.
“Lana,” she replied quickly and pulled the door open.
She climbed into the SUV, slammed the door shut, and hit the door lock.
He chuckled at her and walked back to his car while she tried to catch her breath, for very different reasons this time.
Lana watched him walk away, his stride containing a sense of pride and sophistication.
He had to be someone important. She held her breath again when he glanced back at her over his shoulder and smiled.
AS HE TURNED away from her SUV, Kayden couldn’t help the smile that sprang on his face.
She was beautiful and kind of shy, but he liked her stubbornness and the way she handled him.
He wasn’t used to women speaking to him that way, and he really liked it.
He opened the door to his car and turned back to her, and smiled again.
She was gorgeous, and he couldn’t help but steal a glimpse of her bending over the guardrail to check out her truck a few minutes earlier.
The jeans she wore fit every curve in all the right places.
He would definitely look forward to her call later, he thought as he jumped in the car and took off down the highway.
LANA SLUMPED IN the truck and watched as the McLaren sped away. He was driving way too fast for someone she was supposed to be following. She started the truck, pulled onto the roadway, and hit the gas. He was running! She should’ve known better and called the police—it served her right.
It didn’t take a genius to see that she reacted to him like a grade school crush, and when he caught on, he played her like a fiddle.
Lana slammed her hands down on the steering wheel as she accelerated towards the car from hell.
As hard as she pressed the pedal, the aging Ford couldn’t catch up to the McLaren.
As her truck went up a steep incline in the road and came back down, the sports car was nowhere in sight.
“Damn it!” she yelled and took her foot off the gas, letting the vehicle slow down to speeds it was more accustomed to.
She glanced down at the business card in the middle console and rolled her eyes.
Kayden Capshaw had probably spent his entire life getting out of things like this because of his looks, and she was just his newest victim.
Taking another deep breath, the cherry scented car freshener slammed into her nostrils and made her feel nauseous.
She grabbed it off the rearview mirror, rolled the window down, and threw it out.
She knew she’d have to find a way to track him down and make him pay for her truck, but that was tomorrow’s problem.
She just wanted to get off the road and make it the rest of the way to Hamby, safe and sound.
As pissed as she was with him, she couldn’t get his gaze and those eyes out of her mind.
She wiped the thought away, and for the first time in a long time, she wished her car radio actually worked.