Page 1 of The Getaway Guy
ChapterOne
Nothing said more about a woman on her wedding day than how she looked making a run for it.
Well, as much as shecouldrun considering her form-fitting white dress banded around her hips, thighs and knees, requiring her steps to be short and quick like a crazed ballerina. Or one of those zippy little animals escaping a predator on an African plain. What were they called?
Focus, Quinley.
She panted as she tried to step up on the balcony railing, but her foot kept slipping off, thanks to the ridiculous designer heels that cost more than the yearly rent of her first apartment.
God forbid a woman be comfortable on a day filled with stress. All that mattered was how she looked. But she shouldn’t complain because when it came to picking out her wedding attire, she’d let the mothers do it because— Dare she actually admit it?
She hadn’t cared. She hadn’tcaredabout the dress or the details and let the mothers and Rhys handle everything, telling herself she was busy with work and they liked handling those things, andthatshould’ve told her whatever she needed to know as to how she found herself here in this moment?
Growling her frustration because she didn’t have the time to spare to take the uncomfortable bejeweled heels off, she grabbed the sun-warmed metal railing and took a fortifying breath before she tightened her grip andflungherself over the side, ever so grateful for those long-ago summer camps that had repeatedly forced her and fifty other girls through difficult obstacle courses with high walls, not to mention her current Pilates and CrossFit classes because of the strength and flexibility they instilled.
She hugged the railing like a sloth to a tree as she crossed over and tried to find her footing on the too narrow ledge.
Just don’t look down.
Had she lost her ever-loving mind?
Seeing as how she hung off the balcony of a high-rise hotel in her wedding dress, the answer was most definitely yes.
God knew her parents were going to kill her when they discovered what she’d done, and her intended would— Well, she wasn’t surewhathe would do, but he definitely wasn’t going to be happy about her disappearance. The hotel burst at the seams withveryimportant guests from all over the world. Hollywood celebrities were in attendance along with politicians and the elite of the elite. There was even a sheik wandering around somewhere downstairs.
And the swarms of paparazzi trying to get pictures?
Panic surged and left her heart racing like a thoroughbred’s. The unease she’d fought for months had finally taken over, and now that same sense ofOMG runpropelled her on.
Please forgive me,she mused, though she wasn’t sure whom she addressed. Her fiancé, her parents, her BFF Ana, or the many guests who’d traveled far and wide to take part in the beautiful day.
All she knew was that she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t go through with the ceremony, and if the wrong people discovered her before she could make her escape, sheknewshe’d be guilted and coerced into going through with the wedding, because that was partially how she’d wound up in this situation in the first place. Because she’d given into them and the awareness of the fact she wasn’t getting any younger and she wanted a family.
Think later. Focus now,she thought as she inched along the outside of the railing to the column between the penthouse suites. Her stupidly tight dress kept catching on the metal and the rough concrete, forcing her to let go long enough to yank loose before moving another inch or so and doing it all over again.
Almost there. So close. Just a few more steps.
The problem was shelikedher fiancé. Truly liked him. She even loved him in her own way. He was tall and handsome, funny at times, smart and successful. He treated her like a queen. Though the gifts he bestowed seemed to occur more to placate her whenever he cancelled plans than for any other reason.
So what was the problem?
Why didn’t she feel the way she ought to toward him? Why wasn’t she putting all of this effort and energy into racingdownthe aisle toward the wonderful man instead of away?
And then there was Ana.
Her best friend and maid of honor wasnotgoing to be happy when she got back from getting the drinks Quinley had insistedonlyAna could get. Once Ana realized why she’d been sent away and knew what Quinley had asked Ana to do…
Ana had been asking her for weeks to confide in her, but Quinley hadn’t because…
How could she explain the nuances of her engagement? The fact that she and her intended got along well, were compatible inlotsof ways, and yet…something was still missing? Somethingbig. Something she’d been content to ignore the lack of because she was realistic enough to know not everyone got a fairy tale when it came to love and maybe this was her version.
But once Cole and Ana had reunited? Once she’dseenwhat was missing and felt that lack deep in her soul? Knew she didn’t want to—couldn’t—settle down with Rhys because of that missing piece?
How could she explain her parents—namely her father—pressured, demanded and insisted she accept the ring when it was offered? How could she convey the convolutedmessof emotions she felt to be a good daughter because her entire life all she’d wanted was her father’s love and approval? Toss in her supreme hatred of personal bodyguards andtrackersand intrusions into her life all in the name of security? Into being the woman expected of a billionaire’s wife?
Quinley inched along the column, one careful slide of her six-inch heels and thoughts at a time, until she was close enough to the neighboring balcony to grab hold of it.
Once Ana had left the hotel suite on the mission Quinley had sent her, the excited chatter of her younger sisters and bridesmaids had shredded the last of her frayed nerves and she’d firmly ordered them out of the penthouse atop the Lachlan Hotel and Resort—owned by said fiancé and his obscenely wealthy family— where they were all getting ready for the big day.
