Page 22 of One Night Stand After Another
She looked up from her budget airline search.
Zane hit a button on the dashboard. A website appeared on the car screen.
“What’s that?” She was instantly captivated by the vivid colors and complex textures of the graphics. “Can I?” She lifted a finger.
“Of course.”
She tapped “Enter site,” and her jaw dropped.
Yarn Heaven. It promised to blow your stitch-loving mind, one fiber at a time. Rooms of yarn. Each picture more jaw-dropping gorgeous than the next. So much color. Texture she immediately yearned to explore. Her hands clenched. She’d transferred her crochet hooks and knitting needles from her packed luggage to her carry-on, and those pictures made her want to crochet right damn now. “Where is this place?”
“Only forty minutes out of our way, but I will sacrifice the time I was planning to spend worshipping your hot body if you will allow me the pleasure of buying you a truly appalling amount of yarn.” His gray gaze glowed and that sinful mouth of his held a soft grin she wanted to kiss, even as she knew their relationship wasn’t the casual, affectionate kissing type.
“Are you trying to buy me off with yarn?”Because it’s working.
“Not unless you want me to.” His gaze grew serious. “Which means I can also afford to pay for whatever flight you find for us, no matter how ridiculous. I’d love to spend time getting to know you again, though, taking you to a few of my favorite places, and discovering yarn awesomeness with you. But do whatever makes you happiest.”
“Who are you?” she blurted. “I mean, seriously. Who makes that kind of offer?”
He shrugged. “You have the chance to find out. Lots of time to talk on the road.”
She did a gut check. Her gut wanted to say yes, kiss him, drive right to the nearest hotel and—nope. She couldn’t trust her gut. Apparently, it didn’t care about ten wasted years. But what was the harm in a couple more days? She’d planned to arrive in California early to spend time on the beach, but she could cancel most of her boutique hotel reservation and only lose a night’s deposit.
What if I don’t make it in time for my meeting?A lot could happen on the road. But even if she booked that wildly overpriced flight, it could get canceled—again. She was starting to think she was jinxed.
Zane pocketed his phone, and the inspiring display of yarn on the car screen vanished. “I’m going to grab a cup of coffee and call Roman Gallagher while you think about it. Want anything?”
She shook her head. “No, thanks.”
She watched him walk toward the gas station, a man who could afford to pay for expensive flights but was going to drink gas station coffee so he could stay awake to drive her across the country, a man who made her a very attractive and thoughtful offer but wasn’t pressuring her. Just like last night, he was giving her room to think, to choose. To choose him.
You promised yourself you would be true to your heart.Which was why she’d quit her job when she’d saved enough money to finally make her move. Yes, she hoped to get the Fiber Kingdom job. But even if she didn’t, she had enough liquid cash to live for a year. She didn’t need Zane’s money to buy that stupidly expensive flight. She could book it right now. But she didn’t want to. She wanted to drive with Zane. Zane, who had hurt her ten years ago, but wanted to make it up to her by getting her to California in time for her meeting.
He wanted other things, too.
And she wanted to say yes to all of it.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
She grabbed her phone.
“I’ve got a problem,” she said when Brittany answered the phone.
“Damn right you do,” her best friend shot back. “You left me hanging last night. What the hell, girl?! Did you apologize to Jack? What did he say? What happened?”
“I’ve only got the time it takes to buy a cup of coffee and make a phone call, so don’t interrupt.” Clara heaved a sigh and dumped her messy emotions right on top of her best friend in the world, her college roommate who had been by her side as she worked her way to an MBA and enough money to change her life.
She talked fast. She spared no detail. She managed to compress all the info into, “Jack forgave me instantly. His wife is totally cool. Zane literally swept me off my feet, carried me to a supply closet, and delivered the best apology I’ve ever heard. Then he propositioned me. I missed my flight this morning, so he drove me Philadelphia, but then that flight got canceled, too. He’s booking a meeting in LA, so he offered to drive me across the country on a food, yarn, and sex spree. No strings attached. He’ll take me to Los Angeles, and then we’ll go our separate ways as friends. He’s getting coffee now. You’ve got two minutes to tell me if I’m making a terrible mistake.”
“Dude—that’s a lot. I need to process.”
“You don’t have time to process! He’s at the checkout counter. I want to say yes, but I know I can’t trust myself with this—”
“That’s your answer.”
“What is?” Clara practically yelled.
“Yes.”
