Page 25 of Ardently Yours

“I have it on excellent authority that not everything of value should be measured by how much it costs.”

“Arden?” The driver who introduced himself as Reese pokes his head around the sign. “We’ve got a report of press en route. Time to roll.”

I startle, adrenaline coursing through me. “What?”

Arden’s demeanor changes in a flash, the warmth draining away to leave someone imminently practical in its place. “I knew stopping in town first was risky. Head for your car, Charlotte. If we leave now, no one can prove either of us was here, let alone together. If word gets out and anyone asks, this meeting was in reference to the future of the theater only. Direct all questions to my office. Tell them you and I have a professional relationship, not a personal one.”

With his hands on my shoulders, he guides me toward the lot, before pressing a kiss to my temple. His voice, this time, is gentle. “Go, honey.”

I lurch toward my hatchback as Arden strides away.

The other driver, the man whose name I don’t know, joins me, steering me with a light touch on my elbow. “Into your vehicle, ma’am. Mr. McRae will take care of everything else.”

I hustle inside, slamming my door shut as he heads toward Arden.

I’ve barely got my key in the ignition before the driver jogs back and taps on my window.

Drive away. You do not need to get involved in whatever this is. Go, Charlotte.

I roll down the darn window and peer at him cautiously. “Yes?”

“Ma’am, Mr. McRae says you owe him a scarf.”

He cannot be serious.I unwind the one Arden put on my neck, but the driver shakes his head. “He said he wants the homemade one.”

Okay, then.Through the open window, I pass him the royal-blue scarf from my passenger seat. “What is with the whole chauffeur thing?” I mutter.

The man’s eyes widen, and he appears to suppress a smile. “I’m not a chauffeur, ma’am. You don’t know who you were talking to?”

I frown. “He’s Arden McRae. A lawyer.”

“Yes.” He stretches the word out, as though I’m missing something.

At my confused expression, he whistles under his breath. “To be a fly on the wall when you figure it out.”

Same Day

The computers at theuniversity are slow, but they’ll be faster than my clunky dial-up internet at home. If Arden is as rich or important or aswhateverhis driver was implying, there’ll be something about him online. Right?

It’s not too late for a Saturday, and my parents don’t have any set time that they expect me to pick up Bronnie.

I sling my red JanSport bag over my shoulder and set out from the parking lot behind the Russell Hall dormitory, heading for the library. The buzzing streetlamps create pools of light that cut through ominous darkness. I should have parked in the main lot. It’s a longer walk in the cold, but it’s better lit and more public. I pick up my pace and clutch my keys between my fingers. There are too many places for someone to hide here.

You’re being paranoid.No one followed you. No one is lurking on the path from the dorm to the library on a Saturday night.

“Charlotte? Charlotte, wait.” A woman’s voice calls behind me. I freeze, then close my eyes.

Bianca Polford catches up to me with a breathless gasp of exertion. Dressed in a purple velour tracksuit, a long white coat she’s left unbuttoned, and sneakers, Bianca doesn’t have a hint of makeup on her face. Her hair is in a ponytail, and I can’t decide if she’s dressed for a workout at the university gym or if she’s ditched the high heels and high-maintenance look altogether, along with her loser husband.

She looks good . . . healthy, though I don’t ever remember thinking she was sickly before.

“What do you want, Bianca?”

She presses her lips together and picks at the cuticle on an unmanicured fingernail. “I saw you. And I’ve wanted to apologize to you. For not standing up for you back then,” she says haltingly.

Of all the things I thought she could possibly have to say to me, this didn’t make the list. “It’s a little late now, isn’t it?”

She swallows hard but lifts her head to look me in the eyes. “I’ll be ashamed of myself for the rest of my life.”

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