Page 74 of Take the Wheel

Ari looked saddened. ‘Damn. Gonna miss you behind the wheel.’

Nancy regarded her carefully. ‘Maybe you could drive yourself?’

Ari didn’t say anything, and Nancy wasn’t sure how she’d taken the suggestion. But then she nodded. ‘Maybe I could. Maybe I could do alotof things for myself,’ she said philosophically. ‘Maybe Ishould.’

Ari turned to Nancy with a shy smile. ‘One thing I want to check… Given you’ve been sitting outside a police station waiting for me, I was just wondering if that might make anything… I guess what I’m asking is how many rooms will we need at the hotel?’

Nancy could see the vulnerability in her eyes and wanted to get rid of it quickly. She wanted Ari to know she was in this with her. All the way.

‘One room, Ari. Nothing has changed. I still…’ A terrible thought occurred. ‘I mean, ifyoustill…’ Nancy trailed off, her heart skipping in anticipation.

‘I want you,’ Ari said immediately, her voice steady and sure, as if there was no room for doubt.

Nancy’s heart jumped, a swell of emotion rising in her chest. She decided not to look away this time. ‘I want you too.’

The moment was a touch too intense, and the pair started to laugh together nervously. The promise of them was so big, it was nearly overwhelming. But Nancy was ready to stop fighting the inevitable. She was feeling ready for everything she and Ari might be.

Then she remembered something. ‘Oh, you haven’t mentioned the necklace.’

Ari shrugged. ‘It’s time to let that go. It’s been absorbed into the madness. Nothing I can do.’

Nancy coughed sheepishly. ‘Umm, well…’ She reached into her purse and pulled out the necklace.

Ari’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. ‘WHAT! HOW? WHAT?’

‘Paris’s clutch was justsittingon the floor next to her while those security guys wrestled her,’ she said, her fingers playing nervously with jewellery. ‘It was… easy. Everyone was screaming, Cal was crying. It was chaos. After they took her out, I just grabbed it and looked inside. And there it was.’

Ari’s mouth was a circle of joy as she held it aloft. ‘You stole it back?Again? In the middle of that?’

Nancy nodded. ‘I tied it around my neck under my dress so no one would notice.’

Ari’s eyes lit up in surprise and joy, her mouth opening in disbelief for a moment before she let out a laugh. ‘You were wearing that all through your interview?’

‘Yeah,’ Nancy said. ‘I just had to get it to you because I know how much—’

Before she could finish, Ari was reaching for her face, pulling her into an urgent kiss. Nancy’s body responded instantly. After a moment, Nancy realised just how carried away she was getting. She laughed breathlessly as they pulled back, feeling like she could float.

‘We should stop,’ she said, a smile playing at her lips. ‘Before we get arrested for indecency outside a cop shop.’

‘I can pause,’ Ari promised with a smirk. ‘For now.’

Just then, the cab rounded the corner and pulled up.

Nancy took one last look at Ari and then squeezed her hand as they stepped into the car together.

Nancy told the driver to head to Edinburgh, and they’d figure out an address as they got closer. ‘Sure thing,’ he said and pulled out.

Nancy glanced down at Ari’s hand. ‘Hey, keep that necklace safe,’ she said as she buckled up.

Ari clicked her belt in and looked down at the item in her hand. She examined the clasp. ‘Guess I’ll need to find a repair shop.’

‘Can’t hand it to your mother in that condition,’ Nancy noted. ‘Or that’s all she’ll see.’

Ari looked at it again, examining the piece carefully in her fingers. ‘You know what?’

‘What?’ Nancy asked.

‘Kinda thinking once it’s restored, I might just, I don’t know, stick it in the post to her?’

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