Page 48 of The SEAL's Duchess
Her hands shook as she fumbled for the car keys in her coat pocket. They slipped from her numb fingers, landing in a dark heap against the pristine snow. She bent to retrieve them, a faint chemical tang stinging her nostrils for a second. She frowned, but the wind carried it away.
She scooped the keys up with stiff fingers, jabbed the unlock button, and yanked the car door open. The engine coughed to life, wipers scraping through the light crust of snow on the windshield.
If I stay, I’ll want everything.
A future. A family. Him.
And I don’t get things like that.
She pulled onto the road, hands clamped on the wheel as she focused on the narrow tire tracks carved through the slush—theonly sign this was actually a road. The dashboard glowed in her peripheral vision. A quick check showed plenty of gas. The red ABS light flashed briefly, then disappeared. Probably nothing—but a sliver of unease curled in her gut.
Take it easy.
She’d driven in snow plenty of times during winter ski trips to Scotland. This was manageable.
The car picked up speed as she turned onto the main road heading back to Aurora Cove. Guilt twisted in her stomach—she’d left without even saying thank you to Sarah and her brothers. They’d shown her nothing but kindness, made her feel welcome in a way she couldn’t remember experiencing in years.
She touched her tongue to her lower lip, still tasting him. Heat pulsed where his mouth had claimed hers.
That kiss.
The way he’d made her feel. How her body had responded to his touch without hesitation.
Want clung to her ribs like smoke, slow and choking.
God, I want something just for me, for once.
“You can’t do this, Ivy. There’s too much at stake.”
The heater wheezed uselessly, and her breath fogged the glass faster than it could clear. Her chest tightened, pressure building until she couldn’t contain it.
She slammed her palm against the wheel. “The deal. The bloody estate. That’s who I am—useful. That’s all I’m allowed to be.”
Her voice broke on the last word, tears scalding her cheeks. She scrubbed them away, furious, her breath coming in painful gasps.
“I’ve asked for nothing my entire life, and I still don’t get this?”
She choked back a sob as she tugged a hand through her damp hair.
Ryder had looked at her like she was a woman, not a function. He sawallof her—even the parts she’d buried to survive. How was she supposed to go back to being invisible after that?
The wipers thumped against the glass, blind to everything. Snow hurled itself at the windshield in furious flurries, and she had to lean forward to see through the growing accumulation.
She blinked away the sting of tears.
Concentrate.
The lane lines had vanished completely under the snow, leaving only vague shadows marking the edges of the road. Her speed had crept up without her noticing, so she eased off the gas.
The rental’s back end gave a soft sway as she hit a patch of ice. Ivy corrected by instinct, applying light pressure to the brakes. They felt spongy for a moment, then seemed to respond normally.
She flexed her hands on the wheel, breathing slowly through clenched teeth. The speedometer showed thirty miles per hour—safe for these conditions. She could do this.
A bend appeared in her headlights, the same curve she’d navigated carefully on the way to Sarah’s house. She slowed further, remembering how treacherous it had looked even then.
The headlights created a tunnel of white, snow swirling like moths too close to a flame.
She eased into the bend, feathered the brake?—
