Page 12 of The Getaway Guy
“Is it that or something else?”
“Let’s stick with that.”
She shifted in the seat to get more comfortable and ripped open the wrapping. “This,” she said softly, “is forbidden contraband.”
“What do you mean?”
She peeled back the wrapping with all of the delicate anticipation it deserved and ogled the black-and-white perfection. “Growing up, my parents had this thing about never having junk food in the house becausewe,” she stressed, deepening her voice to her father’s level of sternness, “had an image to uphold. ‘Pretty people sell goods, Quinley, and to sell our advertising services, we have to maintain our image.’”
“Your father was the food police.”
“Yup,” she said, popping the P just before opening her lips to take a bite. “O. M. Gee,” she said, the taste shooting her dopamine into orbit. “Worth every freaking calorie. Take that, wedding diet.”
“Food should never be used as a celebration or a punishment,” he said.
“Agreed,” she said, still chewing. “But when a woman is on her period, or she’s a runaway bride? Do not get in the way of her and chocolate. Trust me, nothing is going to stop this binge.”
“One package,” he said, “and then a protein bar and bottle of water.”
“Who’sthe food police?”
“You can eat whatever you like, but you need nutrients, too.”
“Aww, are you worried about my health, Elias? Because if you’d seen me earlier when my foot slipped off the balcony today…” she drawled, not even bothering with a bite this time and stuffing a whole cookie into her mouth. Dear God, let there be chocolate in heaven.
“Can we not talk about that? Other than to agree that you promise not to ever do something so stupid again?”
“All part of my escape,” she said simply.
“So you don’t regret it?” Elias shot her a look. “I’m just asking. We’re close enough to Carolina Cove that it’s not too late, Quinley. I can still turn around and take you back. You can try to work it out with your fiancé.”
She held his gaze and bit another cookie in half, tucking it into her cheek. “Nope, I’m good. Besides, I said I don’t want to talk about it anymore, remember? Not tonight. The binge has started and cannot be interrupted for wedding drama. That means you’re on the hot seat. Tell me all the Blackwell secrets—but only the juicy ones.”
ChapterFour
Elias lifted an eyebrow at her demand for juicy family secrets and shook his head. “We’re all pretty boring.”
“Ha! I know better than that. Every family has secrets and things they’d rather not have bandied about.”
“And if we do, why would I share them?”
“Because it’s a long drive, and I love Ana, and if any of you hurt her, I’ll be forced do something about it.”
He focused on driving but restated her words. “You love her but left her to tell your fiancé you were dumping him?”
Elias heard the crinkling of the cookie wrapper before she shoved the remaining piece into her mouth, the sight making him think of a chipmunk hoarding nuts.
“I’m not judging,” he said.
“Sure sounds like it,” she said, the words muffled.
He tried a different tactic. “Fine, I’ll put myself in your place, even though I’d never be in that situation. If I were the one walking away, I can’t imagine leaving one of my brothers behind to inform my intended.”
She chewed and swallowed and then released a gusty exhale. “It wasn’t my best moment, okay? I see that now. Your brothers would probably strangle you if you did that to one of them, which is exactly why I can’t go to Ana’s right now. But at the time, I had to get out of there, and it seemed like the thing to do. And I didn’t want Ana to worry about me, so I had to leave her a note. I just sort of combined the two into one. Who’s your favorite brother?”
A low sound left him at her obvious attempt to change the subject, but he let it slide, frowning when he saw her digging into the bag for more junk food. “I’m a twin, so it has to be Finn.”
“What’s it like having a twin?” She chose a bag of chips and pulled them open next. “Want some?”
