Chapter 12
Sloane
Twenty minutes later, we were in Knox’s Jeep, doors off and top down, the morning sun warm on my face.
I’d chosen jeans and a white tank top for our first fake date, pulling my hair into a high ponytail that whipped in the wind as we drove.
Knox wore his aviators and I tried not to stare at the way the wind plastered the fabric of his henley against his chest.
Knox’s hand rested casually on the gearshift, close enough to mine that our fingers brushed whenever he changed gears. Each accidental touch sent sparks up my arm. I wondered if he noticed. If he felt it too.
“Tell me about the trailheads,” I said over the rush of wind. “Where should we look?”
Knox’s hands were relaxed on the wheel, comfortable with the familiar roads. “We’ll hit the major ones first. Highland Woods to start. Jockey’s Ridge if we have time, though there are more dunes than true trails. The old access roads near the maritime forest too.”
“Are we looking for anything more than the VW bus?”
“Anyone who matches the description of the guy from the night of the attack.” Knox glanced at me. “You doing okay?”
“I’m fine.” With Knox beside me, having a purpose and a plan, I felt more in control than I had since the attack. “Really good, actually. I refuse to let that bastard make me fear the places I love.”
Pride flickered across Knox’s face. “That’s my girl.”
The casual endearment sent a cascade of warmth across my skin. My girl. Just part of the act, I reminded myself. Practice for when we have an audience, nothing more. But I loved it anyway.
We drove past several trailheads. Knox slowed each time to scan the small parking areas.
No sign of the VW bus, and the morning was heating up.
Autumn in Carolina Bay was never cold, but the temperature was always volatile.
Hot beneath the sun. Cool beneath the stars.
Wind off the water made it feel twenty degrees colder in some places than others.
But in the Jeep, at this moment, sweat gathered at my temples and against my lower back.
“We should stop for gas,” Knox said, nodding toward the gauge. “And grab some water. It’s going to be a hot one today.”
He pulled into a small gas station just off the highway, one of the local places that had been there for decades rather than a chain. I recognized it. I’d stopped here before on my hikes, buying cold drinks and trail mix.
Knox parked at a pump and climbed out. I followed. I reached for my wallet when his hand closed gently over my wrist.
“I’ve got it,” he said.
“Knox, this was my idea.”
“I know.” He squeezed gently, his thumb brushing across my pulse point. “But I would never let my date fill my gas tank.”
I met his eyes with mock defiance, loving the possessive feel of his hand on my wrist. “Fine. But I’m getting snacks.”
I headed into the small convenience store. The place smelled of old coffee and cleaning solution, the aisles packed tight with necessities for beachgoers and locals alike. I grabbed two bottles of water from the cooler and debated between trail mix and granola bars a moment too long.
“Sloane?” An unfortunately familiar voice asked. “I thought that was you.”
I turned to find Tyler standing in the doorway, flowers in hand and an expression of concern on his face. He wore pressed khakis and a polo shirt despite the heat, his dark hair styled with too much product, his smile bright and practiced.
Everything about him suddenly felt wrong. Too polished and artificial. Nothing like Knox’s rough edges and genuine warmth.
“Tyler.” I kept my voice level, pleasant but not encouraging. “What are you doing here?”
“I was on my way to your place.” He crossed to me, the flowers, expensive roses, probably from an overpriced florist on the mainland extended like a peace offering. “I saw you walking in here as I passed. I wanted to check on you. Make sure you’re all right after the other night.”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.” His gaze dropped to my throat, then my exposed arms, where the bruises were vivid and hideous. “Jesus, Sloane. Did you even try a little makeup on these?”
“No.” I turned toward the register, hoping to end this conversation quickly. “I appreciate your concern, but it’s not necessary. And I’m not ashamed of what happened to me. I was attacked.”
“Of course you’re wearing bruises as some twisted badge of honor.
” Tyler followed me, persistent as always.
“I don’t get you. You could have been killed.
I’ve been worried sick, and you’re out here alone.
Too stubborn to be more careful. Probably trying to prove something to your parents again.
” He turned and glanced through the doors toward the lot.
“Where’s your car? You aren’t hiking are you? ”
“No, and my car is at home. Please tell my parents you saw me. I am fine and well protected.”
“Protected by what?” He cast a mocking glance around the mostly empty store. “You’re wandering around all alone. These are for you, by the way.” He extended the bouquet again, but I made no move to accept it.
“I’m not alone.”
Tyler looked around once more, then peered through the glass to the gas pumps. He groaned, and I assumed he saw exactly who I was with. “The guy from the catering company? Sloane, you don’t know anything about him. He could be dangerous.”
“He is,” I assured. “But not to me. Knox saved my life.”
“He could be playing the hero to get close to you.” Tyler waved the flowers between us with more force than necessary. “You’re vulnerable right now. You’re not thinking clearly. That’s the only explanation for why you’d spend time with some random stranger.”
Heat flooded my face in a wave of anger. “You don’t get to question my choices or tell me I’m not thinking clearly. Also, we’re not together anymore, Tyler. What I do and who I spend time with is none of your business.”
“I’m trying to protect you—”
“I don’t need your protection.” I grabbed the granola bars, ready to pay and get out of this conversation. “I need you to respect my boundaries and leave me alone.”
The door chimed, and Knox walked in. His gaze swept the store in one practiced movement, landing on Tyler and me with sharp focus. His posture shifted seamlessly from relaxed to alert.
He headed toward us, and I felt my breath catch when he arrived. He slid his arm around my waist, pulling me against his side. The touch was possessive, protective, and it sent electricity racing down my spine.
“Everything okay here?” Knox’s voice was calm, but there was a hint of warning in the words.
Tyler’s eyes narrowed as he took in Knox’s casual clothes, the easy way he touched me, the familiarity between us. “Seriously?” he asked me. “This guy?”
“I think we’ve met, but I’m Knox Hawthorne.” Knox extended his free hand, the gesture polite but his grip undoubtedly firm when Tyler accepted the shake. “Sloane’s boyfriend.”
The word hung in the air. Boyfriend.
My breath caught.
Knox’s fingers tightened on my waist, and heat flooded through me. This was supposed to be fake. An act. A cover story.
So why did hearing him claim me make my heart race?
Tyler released Knox’s hand as if it was on fire. “Boyfriend? You’ve got to be kidding me. Didn’t you just meet?”
“No,” Knox said flatly. “And I never joke about Sloane. Now, excuse us. We have plans.”
“Sloane,” Tyler scolded. “This is insane. We just broke up a few months ago. You can’t possibly have moved on this fast. With a stranger!”
“I can and I have.” I leaned into Knox’s side, selling the performance. “Trust me when I tell you we are not strangers.”
Knox’s chest puffed, and I suspected he was attempting not to laugh at Tyler’s wholly stunned expression.
“You’re just trying to make me jealous.” Tyler trailed us to the checkout counter. “I know you, baby. This isn’t real. You’re still hurt about what happened, and you’re trying to make a point. I get it. You can stop now. We can talk it out.”
Knox stopped short, and I bit my lip in anticipation of what he might say next. I’d tried for months to get rid of Tyler, but my parents kept him around, feeding him false hope despite my complaints. He chose to believe them instead of me, because he only heard what he wanted to hear.
Luckily, at the rate this interaction was going, Knox would be rid of Tyler before we left the gas station.
“Do not call her baby.” Knox’s voice was hard as steel. “And don’t presume to know what she’s feeling or why she makes her choices. Sloane told you she’s moved on. That is the end of the conversation.”
Tyler’s hands clenched into fists, and I worried for the pretty flowers. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you have no authority here.”
Knox leaned slightly forward. “I’m the guy who’s going to stop you from speaking for a while if you don’t stop on your own right now.
” He shifted again, positioning himself more fully between Tyler and me.
The movement was subtle but unmistakable.
A warrior’s instinct, protecting what was his.
“Sloane has been through enough without you adding to her stress,” he continued.
“So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to take your flowers, get in your car, and drive away.
And you’re not going to bother her again. ”
Tyler turned a livid face in my direction.
“What you’re doing right now is called harassment,” Knox said.
“Sloane’s already made it clear to you and everyone in this store that she wants you to leave her alone.
If you keep pushing, we can involve the sheriff’s department.
Nash Sullivan loves nothing more than talking to pushy-ass men about respecting boundaries. ”
Tyler looked between us, his jaw working. I could practically see him calculating his next move, trying to find an angle. Finally, he stalked toward the door.
“This isn’t over, Sloane,” he called over his shoulder. “When you come to your senses and realize you’re making a mistake, I’ll be waiting.”
He tried slamming the door behind him, but the hydraulics made that impossible. He looked unfathomably more ridiculous for the attempt.
“You all right?” Knox asked, his arm still around my waist.
“Yeah.” I looked up at him, enjoying the way his hand was splayed across my hip. “Thank you for that. He doesn’t handle rejection well.”
“I noticed.” Knox’s gaze was intense, searching my face. “Does he bother you a lot?”
“He’s been persistent since I ended things. My parents are partially responsible for that. But he’s mostly just annoying, not threatening.”
“If that changes, and he becomes threatening, I need you to tell me immediately.”
“I will.”
We stood there for another long moment, the air between us electrifying the way it had in my kitchen. Then Knox stepped back and cleared his throat.
“We should pay and get out of here,” he said, his voice slightly rougher than usual. “We’re burning daylight.”
The only bad thing about autumn, I thought. The days are getting shorter by the minute.
The teenager working the register looked from Knox to me with barely concealed curiosity.
“Y’all are cute,” the girl said as she rang up the water and snacks. “I saw that whole thing with the other guy.” She glanced toward the exit where Tyler had stormed away. “You traded up,” she told me. Then, she gave Knox a lingering once-over. “Way up.”
An unexpected laugh broke from my lips.
Knox pulled me closer. I felt his lips brush the crown of my head, soft, warm, and deliberate, while the cashier bagged our items. My eyes fluttered closed.
For the cashier, I told myself. For the act.
But my racing pulse suggested otherwise.
Outside, we climbed into the Jeep in silence. Knox started the engine but didn’t put it in gear. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“That was...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Intense. Your ex was so far out of line I can’t believe that interaction was real.”
“Welcome to my world.” Or just girlhood in general, I thought.
I took a breath. “Was it too much? What I asked you to do?”
Knox’s eyes found mine. “No. Was it too much for you? Me touching you like that?”
My heart hammered. “No.”
His expression shifted, softening. “All right.”
I twisted the cap off one of the water bottles as we got back on the highway, and I took a long drink, trying to cool down from more than just the heat.
“That was good,” I said finally. “What you did in there. Very convincing. With the little kiss and everything.”
Knox glanced at me. “Yeah?”
I thought about the weight of his arm around my waist, the possessive way he’d pulled me against him, the fierce protectiveness in his voice when he’d defended me to Tyler. And how unequivocally safe I’d felt, how right.
“Yeah,” I said softly. “You did exactly what my idea of a perfect boyfriend would do.”
“I’m glad. Because I meant what I said. I’m not going to let him harass you.”
“I know.”
We drove in silence for a few minutes, the tension between us thick and complicated. Finally, Knox spoke again.
“We can’t change our minds about this now,” he said quietly.
My heart jumped. “What do you mean?”
“That was the first time we went public with the relationship story and acted like a couple in front of someone who knows you.” Knox stole a glance in my direction, before fixing his attention back on the road.
“By tomorrow, everyone on this island will know that Sloane Mercer is dating Knox Hawthorne.”
The weight of it settled over me. We’d just made a big commitment, and we were now bound to maintain the story. We couldn’t fake breaking up and still explain Knox’s constant presence. The line between performance and reality felt suddenly very thin.
“Then I guess we better make it believable,” I said.
I reached across the console and took his hand, threading our fingers together the way a real girlfriend would.
Knox’s thumb stroked my knuckles. He muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like a prayer for strength as the Jeep picked up speed.