Page 21 of Crash with Me

I blink. “You’re joking.”

“I’m serious. So…” She bats her eyes, giving my arm another squeeze. “What do you say? Want to ditch this and find somewhere we can be together. Alone?”

I burst into laughter.

Pulling back as if I’ve struck her, Kelly’s bottom lip quivers and big, fat tears roll out of her eyes.

Despite the ridiculousness of her question coming an hour before her wedding to my dad, the man she left me for, I stop laughing.

“Hey, there’s no need to cry.”

“No. There is.” She swipes at her face, smudging mascara. “I know you don’t want me. Heck, I’m not even sure I want you.”

“Then what exactly is going on here?”

“I don’t know.” She sniffles. “I guess I was just feeling a little… sensitive and jealous.”

“Jealous?” I frown. “About Heidi and me?”

“No.” Her tear-stained gaze lifts to mine. “About Heidi and your father. I saw them disappear into her hotel room a few minutes ago.”

SEVEN

HEIDI

Walter walks past me and into the room before I can finish a greeting.

I frown at his back. “Are you here to see Seth? Because he is out in the garden helping Stacey with the decorations.”

“That’s fine.” He waves me off and begins pacing the floor back and forth. “I didn’t come here to talk to him. I came here to see you.”

“You wanted to see me.” I shake my head. “Why would you?—”

“Do you find me attractive?”

If possible, my eyes would pop right out of my head and my tongue would roll out of my mouth. Like I’m a freaking cartoon character.

“I’m sorry. Did you just ask…”

“Do you find me attractive?” he repeats. “It’s a simple yes or no.”

“And it’s simply inappropriate.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re going to get.”

He stares at me. And, it’s a little creepy. His eyes are just like Seth’s. Dark. Intense. Only there’s something I haven’t seen in his son’s. Something that keeps me from reaching out and slapping him.

There’s a haunted sadness.

“I know you aren’t really here to proposition me. I know you don’t hate your son that much.”

Now it’s his turn to gape. “Of course I don’t hate Seth. Why the hell would you think that?”

“Is it really such a jump to think there might be a little animosity between a father and son when one steals the other’s girlfriend and asks her to marry him.”

He huffs. “It wasn’t like that.”

---