Page 44 of Not the Plan

“Unless?”

His shyness surged forward, but he didn’t let it win.

“Would you like to ride with me?”

She smiled with more excitement than he’d hoped for.She wants to be stuck in a car with me for eight hours? Excellent.

“That’s a good idea,” she said. “We could take turns driving.”

“You know how to drive stick?”

“Yes.”

“Of course you do,” he said, nodding, letting two fingertips glide down her bare arm.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She sighed.

“I’m pretty sure you can do just about anything, Isadora.” He nuzzled her neck again, her gasp giving him goosebumps.

“Thank you? I guess,” she whispered.

“I meant it as a compliment.”

“You keep complimenting me andmyhead’s going to get too big.”

He stood straight, smiling. “What time should I pick you up?”

“When had you planned on leaving?”

“Well, early. I didn’t think I’d have such an interesting evening.” He lifted the hand he’d been caressing and linked his fingers through hers. “Thought I’d have been in bed by now.”

Her sigh set off a shiver that made him wriggle.

“Me too,” she said.

“Maybe ten? That should give us both time to get a little sleep.”

“Okay, ten it is.”

She pulled her fingers from his and lined their fingertips up. He smiled, and she giggled.

Don’t think she wants to say goodbye either.He smiled at her toe on the doormat, her ankles crossed, the side of her foot against his.But one of us has to go first. Sooner I say goodbye, the sooner I can say hello again.

He leaned forward, caressing her cheek with his, bringing his lips to her ear.

“Good night, Isadora,” he whispered.

“Good night, Karim.” She smiled at him again, stroked his stubble one last time, unlocked her door, and went inside.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Isadora

“Listen. We do not have time for this.” Glaring at her hair in the mirror, Isadora shook the bottle of heat-protection spray again, pressing the trigger repeatedly in rapid succession, to get the remaining drops onto the last section of her hair. She kicked herself. It would have been wiser to start on the left. She’d be in the passenger seat; she should have made sure she was at her best from that side.

After two more passes with the flat iron, her hair was as straight as it was going to get. It was a ponytail day, and at least her edges were in order and the top of her head wasn’t puffy. She misted herself with a final layer of holding spray, unplugged the iron, and put everything else away at lightning speed. Karim was due any minute, and she wasn’t going to make him wait.

She’d put the iron on the stovetop to cool when she heard a car pull up. Taking a deep breath and calming her giddiness, she reminded herself of her goal.

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