Road Trip with the Best Man

by Sophie Pembroke

  ‘You like kooky roadside attractions too!’ Dawn declared. ‘Well, this is perfect, then. We can bond over them on our road trip.’

  She sounded so pleased with herself for figuring out something about him that Cooper had to pour cold water on her optimism.

  ‘Not much point in bonding though, really, is there?’ he pointed out. ‘Not when you’ll be out of my life, and my brother’s life, the moment you get your passport back. Right?’

  Because that was the deal here. He wasn’t helping her win Justin back. He was making sure she never even had the chance to try.

  And, the sooner she accepted that, the better.

  * * *

  ‘Right.’ Dawn dropped her feet from the dashboard and shoved them back into the stupid, uncomfortable wedding shoes her sister had insisted she buy.

  For a moment there, she’d let herself get carried away with the trip. With the escape. Running away was so appealing right now...but she wasn’t. She was running towards something.

  Justin.

  Not to win him back, exactly, whatever Cooper thought. But to figure out the truth.

  She had to remember what she was in this for: closure. Not kooky roadside attractions.

  Well, maybe one or two. They did have to take breaks, after all.

  Speaking of which...

  ‘Do you think we could stop somewhere soon?’ she asked. ‘Not to turn around or go back or anything. But you were right. I am hungry.’

  Breakfast and mimosas had been hours and hours ago, and she hadn’t been able to stomach lunch, when the ceremony was supposed to start at two. All she’d had since Justin’s non-appearance was half a bottle of Prosecco, a couple of canapés and a breath mint—all courtesy of Ruby.

  Cooper made an impatient noise in the back of his throat. ‘We can stop when we get to Sacramento.’

  ‘Sacramento?’ Dawn didn’t want to admit that she had no idea where that was but...she really had no idea where that was.

  ‘It’s only another hour or so from here,’ Cooper told her.

  Dawn wondered if her stomach might start to eat itself before then.

  ‘So, you know this route pretty well, then?’ she asked, more to distract herself from her growling stomach than anything else.

  ‘It’s mostly one road,’ Cooper answered. ‘Just follow the I-80 to New Jersey, and from there I’m practically home.’

  ‘Right. You live in New York.’ Too far to consider flying over to meet his brother’s girlfriend in California, of course.

  ‘When I’m in the country.’ And too busy to bother anyway. Even if he worked for the same family company as Justin, somehow Cooper managed to make it more all-consuming.

  What was it Justin had always said about his brother? ‘He doesn’t need love, he has work. It’s basically the same thing for him.’

  How sad that must be. Sure, Dawn was all for job satisfaction—that was what had brought her out to the States in the first place. Her company had needed someone to take over the marketing of one of their products on this side of the Atlantic, and they wanted someone who understood the true Britishness of it, as well as how to sell it to the locals. With her American mother and very British father, Dawn had been perfectly positioned for the job.

  But a job wasn’t a life. It was something to do in between the more meaningful parts—the parts of a life that involved other people. Relationships, family, friendships, love.

  The part of her life that had used to be all about Justin until that afternoon.

  Suddenly her job was looking a lot more appealing.

  ‘So, what is it you love so much about your job?’ she asked. Maybe she could learn something from Cooper. Such as how to forget all about the more painful aspects of her existence for a while.

  ‘You mean apart from the money?’ Cooper asked drily.

  Dawn raised her eyebrows as she looked at him. ‘Given it’s your family business, I’m pretty sure you’d still have plenty of money even if you didn’t work yourself half to death.’ The Edwards family had made the rich list every year for the last hundred, after all.

  ‘Who says I work myself that hard?’

  ‘Your brother.’

  A muscle jumped in his jaw at her statement, but he didn’t respond.

  ‘So I figure, if you’re working that hard it has to be for more that money. So is it love of the job? The challenge of it all? Or...?’ Another option occurred to her. One far more fitting to her own situation. ‘Or is it an escape?’

  Because that would explain it. But what was he trying to escape from?

  ‘You know, it’s funny. My brother never told me all that much about you at all. Whirlwind romance, was it?’

  Dawn looked away at his obvious attempt to turn the questioning round on her. ‘I wouldn’t say “whirlwind”.’

  They’d been together over three months before Justin had proposed. That wasn’t whirlwind, was it?

  ‘And a short engagement too.’ He glanced away from the road to raise an eyebrow at her.

  ‘Well, my work secondment was almost over, and if I wanted to stay, well, we had to make some decisions quickly.’

  ‘I’m sure. Of course, I know my mother was scandalised at having to try and plan a whole wedding in so short a time.’

  ‘We were lucky her name opened a lot of doors when it came to finding a venue,’ Dawn admitted.

  ‘You mean her money.’

  ‘Both, probably.’ Of course, that had also meant that Mrs Edwards had had the first and final say on where they held the wedding, what it looked like and who they invited.

  ‘Hmm.’

  Dawn frowned. ‘Is there something you’re not asking me? I mean, something you want to know?’ Because it felt very much like he was skirting around some accusation she couldn’t quite grasp. ‘Wait—did you think we had to get married? You know, for...old-fashioned reasons?’ The kind of reason that would have had her father on Justin’s doorstep demanding he marry his daughter now he’d ruined her.

  ‘You mean, did I think you were pregnant? No.’ Cooper’s words were blunt, unemotional, but the image they brought up stung Dawn’s heart all the same.

  She’d imagined it, even if he hadn’t. Her life with Justin. A family of her own. All of it.

  And now it was never, ever going to happen.

  Turning in her seat, Dawn stared out of the window at the lights and landscape rushing past. San Francisco Bay stretched out under them as they crossed the road bridge back to the mainland, on the interstate at last. The road that would take them all the way across the country. All the way to Justin and closure.

  ‘You might as well try and sleep some more,’ Cooper said suddenly. ‘I’ll stop in Sacramento so we can eat. Then it’s your turn to drive.’

  Her turn. Right.

  ‘You’re sure you don’t just want me to drop you off somewhere so you can fly home?’ she asked. ‘I promise I’ll look after the stupid car.’

  But Cooper shook his head. ‘No. We’re in this together now.’

  ‘Why?’ Who in their right mind would want to take this trip with her?

  ‘I have my reasons.’ And obviously no interest in sharing them with her.

  Dawn sighed and rested her head against the window again. If she needed to drive on the interstate, she really should try to sleep.

  Besides, apparently she had plenty more days ahead of her to figure out exactly what Cooper was getting out of this crazy road trip.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  AT LEAST SHE didn’t snore. Cooper supposed that he should be grateful for small mercies, given the current situation. The car was running fine, the interstate was as clear as it ever was and Dawn didn’t snore. She did, however, sleep all the way to Sacramento, a full hour and a half’s drive. Not that he was complaining. He was a long-time fan of his own company a
nd rather less keen on hers.

  As the road swung towards the north of Sacramento’s centre, Cooper kept an eye out for any decent looking place to grab a coffee and maybe something to eat. He’d promised Dawn, after all, and besides, his own stomach had started to remind him that it was a long time since lunch—and there hadn’t been much of that, anyway. He’d been saving himself for the wedding breakfast—not expecting to be on the road by the time everyone else sat down to eat it.

  Spotting some familiar lit-up signs, he signalled to leave the interstate and pulled into a parking lot shortly after. The retail park wasn’t huge, but it had both chain restaurants and stores. Since he hadn’t exactly packed for this trip either, he could do with picking up a few things—and getting the hell out of the tux his mother had insisted he wear. Suits were one thing—Cooper could appreciate the value of a good suit. But bow ties were simply never going to be his style.

  He glanced across at his companion and the wide lace skirts covering every inch of the passenger seat. At least he had to be more comfortable than she was. And that corset style top looked actually painful.

  Yeah, they should stop and change. If nothing else, pulling up at a motel with a bride in a few hours’ time was just going to look tacky.

  ‘Dawn?’ he said softly, then repeated it louder when she didn’t stir. ‘Dawn.’

  Her eyes flickered open. ‘Are we there?’

  ‘We’re in Sacramento,’ he said, unsure if she was awake enough even to know where she was asking if they were. ‘Come on. We can pick up some supplies and get something to eat before we carry on.’

  She nodded, but her eyes were fluttering closed again. Cooper rolled his eyes and climbed out of the car, slamming the door loudly behind him.

  That woke her up.

  He locked up then took off towards the nearest store that looked as though it would stock everything they needed for the next few days. When he reached the door, he glanced back and saw Dawn struggling to catch him up, her wedding dress tangling around her legs and hampering her movements.

  ‘Honeymoon over already, huh?’ an older guy asked, stacking carts by the door.

  Cooper ignored him. Yeah, they really needed to get some different clothes.

  Inside, the harsh overhead lighting turned Dawn’s lace dress almost a pale yellow, but they were still getting plenty of stares from the other shoppers.

  ‘Let’s split up,’ he suggested. The whole bridal thing was making him uncomfortable, and she wasn’t even his bride. ‘It’ll be quicker.’

  Dawn nodded her agreement. ‘Fine. I saw signs for the bathrooms at the front of the store, so I can get out of this dress too.’ She looked almost as happy as him at the prospect. ‘Where shall I meet you?’

  ‘The burger joint across the way?’ Cooper had a sudden, unusual hankering for a proper burger and the place looked big enough that they should be able to seat them, even if it was busy. ‘Whoever gets done first can get us a table.’

  ‘Works for me,’ Dawn said, shrugging as she headed off towards the women’s clothes.

  Cooper moved around the shop quickly and efficiently. Years of business travel—and the occasional lost suitcase—meant he knew exactly what he needed to survive a few nights on the road, and at least this time he didn’t need to replace any of his suits. A couple of pairs of jeans, some tee shirts, a slightly thicker zip-up top, underwear, socks, sneakers and essential toiletries, and he was done. They might not be of his usual quality or brand, but they’d do for a few days. He headed to the tills to pay, then straight to the restroom to change, hoping they’d at least be clean.

  He felt better just for being in casual clothes. With autumn still a few weeks off, it was definitely far too hot for a tuxedo in California. And if he had to take this stupid road trip, he at least wanted to be comfortable doing it.

  Pushing open the door, he headed back out to the front of the store, planning to stash his discarded clothes and the rest of his new purchases in the car before heading across to check out the burger bar menu. But when he stepped out into the small corridor outside the restrooms, he found Dawn waiting for him—still in her wedding dress.

  ‘Let me guess,’ he said, drily. ‘You neglected to pack your wallet and now you need money from me.’ How predictable. But Dawn wouldn’t be the first woman to use him as her personal ATM, and as long as it meant that she couldn’t worm her way into the family’s finances longer term he was willing to live with it. Especially as even he knew that wedding dresses didn’t have pockets.

  But Dawn blinked at him with confusion, then held up a bag of clearly already paid-for shopping. ‘I had my credit card in my clutch bag. I just can’t undo this dress on my own.’

  Oh. Oh. ‘You need my help.’

  ‘Please.’ She looked pained just to have to ask him, but she turned and presented her back to him all the same. ‘If you could just loosen the corset ties enough, I should be able to wriggle out of it myself.’

  As she spoke, the doors to the main store opened again and two large men walked through, their curious eyes fixing instantly on Dawn and her wedding dress.

  Cooper scanned the doors leading off the small corridor. He was not undressing a woman in public, with an audience to boot.

  ‘In here,’ he said, giving her a gentle push towards the baby-change room and hoping it wasn’t already occupied by a squalling infant with a dirty diaper.

  Fortunately, it was free. Cooper locked the door behind them before addressing the issue of Dawn’s gown.

  ‘How did you even get into this thing?’ he asked as he fumbled with the corset laces at the back of the dress.

  ‘I had help,’ she said drily. ‘Lots of help.’

  ‘Your bridesmaids?’ How could a dress possibly be as complicated as this? There must be a better way of getting her out of it. What if he pulled on that end of the lace? Would that make it better or—?

  ‘Ow!’ Dawn cried as the dress tightened around her middle.

  Right. Worse.

  ‘Yes, my bridesmaids,’ she went on as Cooper quickly went back to loosening the laces the slow and boring way. ‘My four sisters, all of whom had their own wedding day experiences to draw on to tell me exactly how I was supposed to do things.’

  She didn’t sound particularly pleased about that, Cooper noticed.

  Finally, the last of the laces gave way and the wedding dress parted at the top, leaving the long, graceful curve of Dawn’s back uncovered. No bra with the strapless dress, he realised. Cooper found himself staring at the expanse of bare skin, his fingers still gripping the edges of the dress, wondering if she was wearing anything at all under the wedding gown...

  Dawn glanced back over her shoulder at him, her green eyes wide and innocent as she held the top of the dress tight against her chest.

  Cooper blinked and stumbled back. What was he doing?

  ‘Right, you’re out,’ he said, reversing towards the door at speed. ‘I’ll, uh, wait for you outside.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Dawn gave him a grateful smile—one without any hint of come-on or desire in it—and he cursed himself again for his most inappropriate thoughts. ‘But why don’t I meet you over at the restaurant like we planned? This might take me a few minutes.’

  ‘Right. Stick to the plan.’ Cooper unlocked the door and slipped through it without opening it too far, to try and preserve Dawn’s modesty.

  Then, once he heard her lock it again from the inside, he strode away as fast as he could towards the burger bar across the parking lot. It was Dawn’s turn to drive next. Maybe a beer would help him erase the image of his brother’s fiancée’s skin and the unexpected urge he’d felt to touch it.

  * * *

  Dawn let out a long breath as she locked the baby-change room door and heard Cooper’s footsteps rushing away. For a moment there, she’d seen something in his eyes she couldn’t quite ident
ify but, whatever it was, it had caused him to tense up completely.

  She sighed. They had a long way to go on this road trip. She couldn’t afford awkwardness between them.

  Still, getting out of the damn wedding dress would help. It wasn’t even as if the lace and silk concoction was one she’d chosen. Her gown had been picked by committee—the only dress out of the hundreds she’d tried on that she, her mother, Justin’s mother and all her sisters could agree on.

  And now it was just another reminder of this most terrible day.

  Dropping the dress from where she held it against her bare breasts, Dawn shoved the fabric down over her hips and stepped out of it, suddenly feeling free again. With a smile, she dressed quickly in the new underwear, denim skirt and pink tee shirt she’d bought—cheap, cheerful and easy to wash and wear again. She’d picked up a pair of white sneakers too, along with extra undies, a couple of other thin tee shirts and a sweater for if the evenings grew cooler. None of it had cost much individually, but all together it made her even more nervous about the price of motel rooms on the road and the remaining credit left on her card.

  Next, she pulled out the pack of cleansing wipes she’d bought and set about removing every trace of the make-up her sister Beatrice had carefully applied that morning. Normally, Dawn wouldn’t have expected it to last so long but, given the trowel Bea appeared to have applied it with, maybe she wasn’t so surprised.

  ‘You want it to stay in place all through the photos, Dawnie. Just leave this to me.’

  Finally, after removing forty-eight hair grips—Dawn had counted—she pulled out the new hairbrush from the bag and began brushing out the artful curls and braids her other sister, Jennifer, had insisted on. Then she tied it back into a simple ponytail to keep it out of her way, finally feeling like herself again.

  She shoved everything else back into the bag her purchases had come in—all except the wedding dress, which was too huge and unwieldy to fit. She’d have to lug it over to the restaurant as it was.