Page 43 of Beautiful Distraction

I roll my eyes. “No, I finished college two years ago. LikeI said, just a road trip.”

His laughter rings through the air, taking me by surprise.It’s so deep and rich and full, I trip over my feet and barely manage to avoidtaking a tumble facedown into the mud—which I’m sure he’d very muchenjoy.

“Okay, if youmustknow,we’re here to see Mile High.” He stops and turns around, waiting until I catchup to him.

“Really?” he asks, resuming his walk.

“Yeah, really,” I say in the most bored tone I can muster.

“You don’t sound excited.”

“Sorry, I can’t help myself. I’m not really a fan.” I shrug,feeling the need to apologize. “I just don’t get all the hype about this band.”I peer at him sideways, surprised to find that he’s listening intently, holdingmy breath as I try to catch his expression. There’s nothing on his face.

“So I gather the trip wasn’t your idea.”

I shake my head, more out of irritation with Mandy forcoming up with her grand plan than out of need to confirm Kellan’s statement.“I’m just doing my best friend a favor. If it were up to me, I would have soldthe tickets and enjoyed this road trip, but Mandy is a big fan. She’s like asister to me. And then there’s my job.” He glances at me, and I feel the needto clarify. “I’ve been offered an investigative position with a businessmagazine. That’s been my dream for ages. But it’s demanding work. There won’tbe much time left for friends and family. Mandy had it all sorted out, youknow, see a bit of the world before we get stuck behind a desk for the rest ofour lives, so I went along with her plan.”

“Sounds like an optimistic outlook. What happened?”

I grimace. “She took a shortcut.”

“In the middle of a storm? In your old car?” He soundsincredulous, which is an understandable reaction, given that he doesn’t knowMandy, or how durable my car was…before we entered Montana and the enginefailed.

“In her defense, I’ll have to stress that it wasn’t rainingwhen she decided to cut through God knows where. But she definitely knew that astorm was on the way.” I cannot help but feel a bit defensive of her.

“Now you’re stuck here.” Kellan stops and turns to regardme. To my surprise, I find that his smile is genuine, maybe even kind, asthough he understands that the trip hasn’t been a pleasant experience so far.

It’s been scary and dangerous and pretty unpredictable.

Just like him.

Kellan reaches out and brushes a strand of hair from myface. The gesture is slow and innocent, but because he’s standing so close, italmost feels intimate.

“I’m glad we met again,” he says.

“Yeah?” I frown. My voice is low and slightly hoarse,probably from the cold wind that’s left a cotton ball sensation in my mouth.

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“I’m just surprised. After all, you didn’t seem particularlyhappy to see me.”

“I might have overreacted a bit.”

“Well, I put a dent in your precious Lamborghini.”

He lets out a laugh. “Yeah, you did, but it’s just a car. Iguess I’ll survive the shock.” Another gust of wind. It’s so strong, it almostknocks me over. Kellan wraps his hands around my waist to steady me.

The gesture is too intimate.

I take a step back to put some distance between us. “Whatare you doing here, Kellan?”

He frowns. “I grew up here. I enjoy the countryside. Don’tyou?”

“It’s not so bad.”

“No?” The skin around his beautiful green eyes crinkles, andhis expression softens even more. “So you’re not such a big city girl afterall.”

Which is kind of not true.

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