Page 60 of Take the Wheel

Nancy exhaled sharply. ‘You’re chaotic, you know that?’

A muffled laugh from the other side of the door. ‘So I’ve been told.’

Nancy kept her palm pressed flat against the wood. ‘You kissed me, and now you’re telling me to leave,’ she noted.

‘You kissed me back,’ Ari shot back.

Nancy clenched her jaw. ‘So what?’

‘So what?’ Ari’s voice was quieter now, and Nancy hated how much she wanted to see her face, read whatever expression she was making. ‘You shouldn’t have done that. Not if you knew…’ Ari sighed.

‘Knew what?’ Nancy asked, confused.

‘You think I don’t know how this works? I get it, Nancy. I know what I am to you. Just a spoiled brat you drive around,’ Ari said.

‘I don’t see you that way,’ Nancy said, almost angry. ‘Look, you were the one acting like it was no big deal.’

‘And you told me I’d screwed up our working relationship,’ Ari shot back.

Nancy groaned quietly. What the hell was happening? Did Ari really feel… God, this was all too much.

‘You know we don’t make sense,’ Nancy said eventually.

‘Maybe it doesn’t need to make sense?’ Ari’s voice was steady, but there was something raw underneath it. ‘That maybe it justis?’

Nancy let out a slow breath. ‘You’re not making this easy.’

Ari snorted. ‘When have I ever made anything easy for you?’

That made Nancy smile despite everything. She let her head rest against the door, staring up at the ceiling. ‘I don’t want to screw this up,’ she admitted. ‘Whatever this is.’

A beat of silence, and then Ari said, quieter than before, ‘Neither do I.’

Nancy shut her eyes. She wondered, not for the first time today, if she was falling in love or going mad. The trouble was that the difference was simply too slight.

‘So what do we do now?’ Nancy asked.

Ari exhaled. ‘I’ve changed my mind. Break me out.’

Nancy nodded, glad of something to do. ‘If you want me to, I’ll try. Might take a minute.’

‘Obviously,’ Ari deadpanned. ‘That’s why I’m still in here.’

Nancy stood and turned, checking out the lock. ‘I mean, it’s a padlock, which is possibly pickable. I just don’t have anything to…’

Ari jumped in. ‘You know how to pick locks?’

‘I’ve picked a couple,’ Nancy muttered. ‘Stole a car once in my teens.’

A dense pause passed. ‘What?’

‘Rebellious phase. Everyone has one.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me that before?’ Ari demanded.

‘You’d have enjoyed it too much,’ Nancy told her.

‘It’s a tiny bit funny. I’m not going to lie. You’re sostraightlaced.’ She paused. ‘Hold on, we could have just picked Paris’s door!’

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