Madison reached forward and covered my hand with hers. “I’m sorry, babe. But on the bright side, maybe the next guy will be more into oral.”

I sighed. The night after Andrew told me he needed a break, I’d gotten way too drunk and spilled my guts on some private things—namely, that Andrew only went down on me on my birthday. When I’d tried to talk about it with him, he’d said he just needed to be in the mood. Apparently, that mood never struck.

“I think I’ll put that on my match.com profile. Looking for a well-educated, handsome, financially secure man who isn’t afraid of commitment or getting up close and personal with my vagina.”

The waiter came by and opened our second bottle of wine. He poured two glasses, and Madison didn’t bother waiting until he was out of earshot before lifting her glass in toast. “To cunnilingus.”

I clicked my glass to hers. Maybe it was the topics we’d just burrowed through, but I found myself thinking… I bet Bennett would take pride in pleasing a woman, not limit going down on her to once a year.

***

I’d intentionally booked a different flight than my counterpart. Our assistant had asked if I wanted to travel with him, and even though I would’ve preferred to take the seven a.m. flight he’d already been booked on, I chose to take an eight thirty shuttle up to L.A. Our meeting wasn’t until one, and it was only an hour-and-a-half flight, but I liked to be early. Now I looked up at the big board and regretted making a business decision based on anything other than business. My flight was pushed back to eleven, and I’d be cutting it close to get to the meeting on time. Meanwhile, Bennett was probably taxiing right about now. Damn it.

I took my time at the Hudson News, perusing the latest bestsellers since I was going to have a few extra hours of sitting around. Settling on a popular women’s book about learning to accept who you are, I headed down to the gate to read. Only when I arrived, almost every seat in the boarding area was taken. I figured the flight before me hadn’t started its boarding yet. When I looked up at the sign over the check-in desk, I realized that’s exactly what it was, only the earlier flight was the one that had been scheduled to take off at seven to L.A.—Bennett’s flight.

I glanced around the waiting area, but didn’t see him.

“Looking for someone?” a low voice rumbled from behind me, and hot breath tickled my neck.

I jumped forward, dropped the bag with my book, and almost tripped over my own carry-on luggage. But a large hand gripped my hip and steadied me.

“Easy. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

My hand flew to cover my rapidly beating heart.

“Bennett. What the hell? Don’t sneak up on a person like that.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

I smoothed down my blouse and bent to pick up my book, which had come out of its bag. “Shouldn’t you be on the other side of the terminal if you saw me standing here?”

Bennett ran his fingers through his hair. “Probably.” He plucked the hardcover book from my hands as I attempted to stash it back in the plastic bag. “But apparently it’s a good thing I’m here.” He read the cover of my purchase. “You Do You. What is this? A self-help book on masturbation?”

I snatched it back and tucked it into the bag. “No. What it is is none of your business.”

“Boy, you’re cranky. I think you really need that book.”

“It’s a book about accepting who you are and not worrying about what everyone else thinks about you, if you really must know.”

He smirked. “That’s a shame. What I thought it was about would be a hell of a lot more interesting.”

“What’s going on with your flight? Do you know what the delay is about?”

“Weather delay in L.A., something about high winds. All the flights are backed up. Originally they said a forty-minute delay; now it’s up to two hours.”

“I was booked on the eight thirty. Mine’s pushed two and a half. I better see if they can get me on your flight.”

After a twenty-minute wait in line, the best they could give me was standby. Bennett was leaning against a pillar, scrolling through his phone when I returned.

“I’m waitlisted. Not sure I’ll get on.”

He winked. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it for us if you aren’t able to get there. I’ll relay what the client’s looking for when I get back.”

“Yeah. That’s a great idea. I’ll rely on what you come back with to prepare a pitch for a client you don’t want me to win.”

“Looks like you might not have a choice.”

I looked at the time on my phone—a few minutes after seven. It was a five-and-a-half-hour drive up to L.A. If I left now, I’d have six hours to get back home and get there. “I’m going to drive.”

“What? It’s over three-hundred miles.”

I picked up my bags. “I can make it. It’s better than sitting here for two more hours only to find out I can’t get on the earlier flight and then missing the meeting.”

Bennett looked at me like I had two heads. “It’ll take you an hour to even get back home with rush hour traffic now.”

He was right. I couldn’t go back for my car. “That’s true. I’ll rent one here. That’ll save some time. I’m going to go. Good luck with your flight.”

I turned and started to weave my way back through the terminal toward the exit. I dreaded driving half a day on the highway, but I dreaded the thought of living in Texas even more.

Luckily, I caught the Air Tran to the rental car center just as the doors were starting to slide closed. In the center, I picked the agency with no line.

“I need to rent a car for the day for a one-way trip to Los Angeles?”

The woman typed into her keyboard. “What size car are you looking for?”

“Whatever is the least expensive.”

“I have an economy available. It’s a Chevy Spark.”

“That’s fine.”

“Actually,” a deep, familiar voice said next to me, “can we get a full size, please?”

My head swung to find Bennett standing next to me.

He extended his driver’s license to the woman behind the counter and graced her with his signature, charming smile. “And put it under my name. I’ll be driving. I can’t take five and a half hours of listening to her drive.”

The woman looked between the two of us and then addressed me. “Would you like me to change it to a full size, ma’am?”

I addressed Bennett. “Did they cancel your flight or something?”

“Yep.”

I thought about sharing a car with Bennett. Six hours of him being mean to me or giving me the cold shoulder was worse than driving alone.

I looked back at the rental agent. “I’ll take an economy. Mr. Fox can rent a full size if he wants.”

“Seriously? I’ll pay for half. It’ll cost you less than an economy car by yourself.”

“It’s not a matter of money. The company will pay for it anyway. I just think it would be better if we drove separately.”

He looked perplexed. “Why?”

I looked at the agent, who raised her brows and shrugged, as if to say she’d like to know why, too.

“Because you’ve been a jerk to me. I don’t want to deal with that for the long drive. I’d rather be by myself.”

Bennett’s face fell. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought hearing me say that made him feel bad. We stared at each other. I could see the wheels in his head turning as he mulled over his response.

The muscle in his jaw clenched, and his eyes darted back and forth between mine. “Fine. I apologize.”

This man ran so damn hot and cold. “And you’ll be nice for the entire trip?”

He sighed. “Yes, Annalise. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

I looked back at the agent. “We’ll take a mid-size car.”

I caught Bennett’s mouth opening to say something in my peripheral vision, so I nipped that in the bud. “It’s a compromise.”

He shook his head. “Fine.”

And just like that, I was about to take a road trip with the Beast.

Chapter 16

* * *

Annalise

I didn’t argue over who would take the first shift driving—only because I really hate driving anyway. But I did use Bennett’s wanting to be behind the wheel to negotiate that the passenger had control of the radio.

We’d been on the road for about two hours now, and our conversation had been limited, mostly polite small talk about work. He seemed to be off somewhere else, although I wasn’t sure if he was lost in thought or maybe he liked quiet to concentrate when he drove. I figured I would follow suit on the limited talking in case it was the latter.

“There’s a rest stop in about a mile,” Bennett said. “I’m going to stop to use the restroom. But they also have a Starbucks if you want coffee or anything.”

“Oh, that’s great. I don’t have to go, but I’ll definitely grab a coffee. I need more caffeine. Want me to pick you up anything?”

“Yeah, that’d be great. Whatever dark roast they have with cream, no sugar.”