14. Chapter 14
Sadie
I climbed into the moving truck and stopped. Alyssa was buckled in the middle.
“You take the window,” I said, glancing behind me to see if Cole was coming.
“Why?” she asked. “Everyone wants the window.”
My mouth turned down. “Usually, but it’s going to be tight.” Not wanting my sister squashed against Cole didn’t mean I was jealous. At least that’s what I told myself.
She smirked. “Are you saying you want to be squished into Cole?”
“Maybe. Just move.”
I crawled over her knees while she scooted toward the window. The middle wasn’t going to be comfortable, but I wasn’t backing down.
“I’m smaller than you,” she said. “I fit in the middle better.”
“Being shorter doesn’t magically make you fit better.”
She giggled.
“What?” I asked.
“I love seeing you so flustered over a guy. I never thought it would happen.”
“I’m not flustered,” I said, fumbling with the seatbelt.
“Well, whatever you are, I like it. Just don’t distract Cole and make him crash or anything.”
I rolled my eyes. “I think we’ll be fine.”
“Don’t grab his leg or anything.”
I glared at her. “Do I look like a leg-grabber to you?”
“Whose leg are we grabbing?” Cole asked, climbing into the driver’s seat.
I pressed my lips together and ignored Alyssa’s snort.
“No leg grabbing,” I said.
“That’s too bad,” he teased, shutting the door. “Are we all ready? Nothing left behind?”
I ignored the warmth creeping up my neck. “We’re ready.”
He started the truck. “Then we’re off.”
I couldn’t help the smile as he pulled away from the curb. This was our new start, and we needed it. We were leaving behind memories of Mom and Grandma’s deaths, and Dad’s betrayal. We should have moved a year ago. It wasn’t good to live in the past.
“So you think we’ll ever come back?” Alyssa asked.
I slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Do you want to?”
She leaned her head against me. “No. I’m ready to move on.”
I squeezed her gently.
“I’m not saying I want to cut all my ties here,” Alyssa added. “But I can keep up with my friends from far away.”
She leaned toward the window and rolled it down. I spotted Hunter standing at the corner.
“Bye, Hunter!” she called.
His mouth lifted into a grin, and he waved. “Don’t forget me, Lyssa!”
“Never!” She blew him a kiss, and I wondered how we were related. I wouldn’t blow a kiss to a guy after one date… but marrying one I’d never dated? Apparently, that was fine.
She sat back and rolled the window up.
“I can stop so you can talk for a minute,” Cole offered.
Alyssa shook her head. “Nah. A clean break from Hot Hunter is probably for the best. It’s not like the two of us could ever be a thing.”
I frowned. “Why not? He kissed you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Geez, Sadie. Why don’t you just tell Cole all our sister talk?”
“Sorry.”
“Hunter’s rich. Rich guys don’t stay interested in peasants.”
Cole shifted beside me, and suddenly the cab felt smaller.
“You are not a peasant,” I said. “And Hunter’s a nice guy.”
“Yeah, but his dad is loaded. Do you know how awkward it is to be with a guy who has that much money?”
Was Alyssa really trying to make me squirm? I couldn’t remember what Alyssa knew about Cole’s family and their money. Probably nothing, so I couldn’t blame her.
“When our friend group stops at the convenience store, Hunter grabs whatever he wants. He doesn’t even look at the price. And he always grabs all of us something as well.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” I said, wondering what Cole was thinking.
“I’m not focused on guys right now, anyway,” she said.
“Right,” Cole said, glancing over at her. “You have to focus on those bodyguard skills.”
“Exactly.”
I groaned. “Don’t encourage her.”
“Why?” they both asked.
“It’s dangerous.”
“But someone has to do it,” Alyssa said. “Why should it be someone else?”
I sighed. “I’d rather you kept yourself safe.”
“I might do something else, but I’m still going to train.”
I leaned back against the seat, pretending I wasn’t already imagining worst-case scenarios. With luck, Alyssa was too small to ever qualify for something like that. I didn’t even know what the requirements were. There wasn’t a school for being a bodyguard… was there?
Why was I worried? All of this was in the future. And I knew Alyssa. She would do whatever she wanted to and probably be the best at it.
Cole pulled onto the highway. It was going to be a long drive with nothing to see. Just sagebrush, cacti, and dirt. I almost wished Cole was from a tropical place. Not New Mexico. Not that I’d been there, but I’d heard it was about the same as Arizona, and Arizona was all I knew.
We were all quiet. I’d thought Cole would carry the conversation, but he looked focused on the road. He probably wasn’t used to driving something so massive. He’d paid someone to drive his car so we could all ride together.
An hour in, Alyssa was asleep, her head resting against the window.
“She’s out,” Cole said, scaring me from my thoughts.
“She was up late.”
His arm rested on the seat behind me. I thought of protesting, then thought about the way I’d acted in the movie theater. I’d been plastered against him last night. His arm was barely touching me.
There was no way I could make a fair argument for telling him to move it. And I didn’t want him to. I hoped he didn’t know that, but somehow, I thought he might.
Sure, he knew I would have gone out with him in another life, but we still didn’t know each other well.
I glanced at Cole’s knee and cursed Alyssa in my head. She was the reason my hand suddenly wanted to rest there. I clenched both fists, just in case they moved on their own. How was I going to survive this trip? I should have let Alyssa sit in the middle.
She snored softly. Maybe not. She might be sleeping on Cole’s arm if we’d done that.
I pulled myself upright when I started to lean his way. Even if he didn’t mind, the last thing I needed to do was distract him from driving.
He took a deep breath, and his arm dropped a little. I could definitely feel it now, and I wanted to cuddle into him. I was going to make myself sick. Or worse—do something reckless.
“Can you talk about something?” I blurted, needing a distraction.
He glanced at me, then back at the road. “About what?”
“Anything.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” I leaned back slightly and pushed away the daydream where I reached over and stopped the truck, then kissed him silly.
“You want to know about my family?”
“Yes, just talk.”
“My sisters are Rylee, Brynlee, Nayvee, and Delainee. I fit in between the last two.”
I tried to memorize their names, but I could still feel the warmth of his arm.
“Then my brothers are twins. Chance and Dax.”
“Mmhmm.” I watched him as he talked, and my heart kept pounding. Was I really so desperate that I couldn’t even sit in a car with my fake fiancé without losing my mind?
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. “You look stressed.”
Stressed was better than whatever I was.
“I’m fine.”
My leg jiggled, and I told myself I was ridiculous. How was I going to survive ten years like this?
“I was always close to Nayvee,” he said. “We all got along, but the two of us had a connection.”
“I’m guessing you played football if you want to coach.”
“Yes. Football was my thing. When life got overwhelming, I learned physical things helped. Football, exercise.”
“Jump rope?” I teased.
He chuckled. “Of course.”
“I should get in better shape.”
“I can help if you want.” He grinned at me. “But I do like your shape.”
I swallowed. “You are not helping me, Hart.” That was an understatement. In a little more than an hour, I’d gone from ready for a road trip to wondering if a person could die from lack of kissing. And if the answer was yes, I was in serious danger.