Road Trip with the Best Man

by Sophie Pembroke

  Dawn tilted her head to the side. ‘I think so. This town...it’s desolate. Everyone—or almost everyone—has abandoned it and left it. But it’s still beautiful, in its own way. And one day, maybe that fire will stop burning. Maybe life can return here.’

  Was she describing the place or herself? He hoped it was the former. Although, he had to admit, he felt a sense of kinship with Centralia as she described it. As if he were the town, and the fire burning the place up from the inside was Rachel’s and Melanie’s betrayals, and everything that had ever made him feel like he couldn’t trust the world.

  Maybe it was time to put that fire out at last.

  Time to feel something again.

  Maybe even love.

  ‘Then let’s go.’ Cooper tugged on Dawn’s hand and led her back towards Claudia. He hoped her ghosts were gone.

  But he knew for certain he was leaving his own behind in this ghost town.

  * * *

  Dawn shuddered a little as she pulled Claudia away from Centralia and back towards the interstate. The town had been interesting, if creepy, but the most fascinating part to her had been how Cooper had reacted to the place.

  She didn’t mind that he clearly hadn’t been listening too attentively as she’d given him her best tour-guide impression, because he’d obviously been lost in thought. He’d taken her hand again, and kept hold of it as they walked, as if that were just normal for them, now. Better still, she’d actually been able to see his expression turning lighter, his shoulders relaxing.

  Odd as it sounded, something about that eerie, toxic, abandoned town had let Cooper release something. She hoped it might be his past.

  ‘We should make it to New York tonight,’ Cooper said as the more familiar landscape of the I-80 surrounded them once more. ‘What do you want to do then?’

  ‘What are my options?’ she asked.

  ‘Well, we could carry on, arrive at the beach house late tonight and bring this whole road trip to a close.’ He left that hanging there, obviously waiting to see how she liked it.

  Dawn’s nose wrinkled up. She didn’t like it very much at all, as it happened. ‘Or?’

  ‘Or we could stay in New York and have a night on the town before we go get you your closure.’

  ‘I suppose it would be better to arrive in the morning than late at night,’ she said, giving him a small smile.

  He returned it. ‘Closure does work better when you’re well rested, I’ve heard.’

  ‘Plus it would just be rude to arrive so late,’ Dawn went on.

  ‘Exactly.’ Cooper grinned. ‘I guess I’d better find us somewhere to stay, then.’

  He pulled up the familiar hotel app on his phone, and Dawn bit her bottom lip, forcing herself to keep her eyes on the road and not on his phone screen.

  Not even to check if he was booking two hotel rooms or just one.

  * * *

  They switched driving again when they stopped for coffee in New Jersey, and as night started to fall Cooper drove them through the Holland tunnel and into the bright lights of New York City.

  ‘Where are we staying?’ she asked as they stuttered through the stop-start city traffic.

  ‘You’ll see,’ was all Cooper would say.

  She assumed he’d have booked one of the more famous hotels, mostly because she knew he liked quality. Which was why she was surprised when he pulled into a small, private parking garage right next to Central Park.

  ‘Where are we?’ she asked as he cut the engine.

  He flashed her a smile. ‘Home sweet home.’

  ‘You have an apartment in New York.’ Of course he did. How had she not remembered that before?

  ‘I do.’ He reached out across the seats and took her hand. ‘Care to stay here with me tonight? I can book you a hotel, if you’d rather. I did look, but given the luck we’ve had with that booking app lately... I figured, if we had to share a bed, I’d rather it be mine.’

  She saw the real question in his eyes and swallowed hard. This wouldn’t be like last night—awkward distances and pretending to sleep until her body overcame her mind and she passed out. This wouldn’t be two friends sharing a bed out of necessity.

  This would be them. Together.

  Tomorrow they’d be with Justin. She’d find her closure and be ready to move on—to go and find her own future. And Cooper... Well, he was ready to find love again, she was certain. But it couldn’t be with her.

  ‘Just for tonight?’ She met his gaze and saw understanding there.

  This couldn’t be anything more. They both still had healing to do to move on from their past relationships. Not to mention the fact that family gatherings would be beyond awkward. And hadn’t he been the one to point out that she’d never be happy living the life of the corporate wife he—and Justin—both needed?

  For once, Dawn was stepping into something without thinking about forever. Tonight wouldn’t lead to a white dress and a happily ever after. When it was over, she’d still be the same Dawn she’d always been, the Dry Run. And Cooper... He’d do what men always did after they left her—find the love of his life.

  She could give him that.

  She’d take one night of pleasure in his arms then set him free to find his happy ending.

  And maybe, just maybe, she’d find hers one day too.

  But until then she was going to enjoy the moment, for a change.

  ‘Just for tonight,’ Cooper murmured back to her, the air thick between them.

  Dawn smiled. ‘Then lead the way.’

  * * *

  ‘I can still take you out for that fancy night on the town, if you like?’ Cooper offered as he pushed open his front door. How long had it been since he’d been back to his New York place? It couldn’t have been more than a month or so, before the Europe trip and the wedding that wasn’t. But somehow it felt much longer, as though he was a different person, now he was here again.

  Or maybe it was just that he wasn’t used to being here with company.

  He dropped Claudia’s keys and his own into the bowl on the kitchen counter, and ignored the stack of mail sitting next to it. His housekeeping staff in the building kept the place in good shape while he was away, and he knew anything of importance would already have been forwarded to the office.

  ‘Maybe...it might be nice to actually spend a quiet night in, for once,’ Dawn said, a soft, promising smile on her face.

  Did she know what that look in her eyes did to him? The one that told him that whatever she had in mind for him wouldn’t be all that quiet?

  Probably not, which might actually be why he found it so damn appealing.

  He could see how Justin had fallen for her all too easily. What he still couldn’t understand was how his brother had come to the conclusion that Dawn was a gold-digger. Everything he’d learned about her over the last week had showed him a different person altogether.

  A woman he’d fallen for, even when he’d thought his heart was dead. Even when he’d believed the worst about her, he’d wanted her.

  And now, finally, he might get to have her.

  He wasn’t thinking about tomorrow, wasn’t going to imagine what might happen when she saw Justin again or when Justin realised the truth about her. She said she was over him, but she didn’t know the whole truth yet.

  And, as much as Cooper knew that he should tell her, he couldn’t. Not when it might take away this one small chance he had with her.

  Tomorrow, all their truths would come out. But until then he was more than happy to keep living the lie.

  ‘A quiet night in sounds perfect to me too.’ Leaving his bag beside the counter, he moved closer, towards where she stood by the front door. ‘So, would you like the full tour?’

  ‘Sounds great,’ she said. Her tongue darted out across her bottom lip, and Cooper bit back a groan.
<
br />   The woman was trying to kill him.

  Worse, she was killing him and she wasn’t even trying.

  Another step and the space between them disappeared. Dawn dropped her own bag by her feet and leant in when he raised his hands to her waist, resting against another of her mesmerising, brightly coloured tee shirts. The ones he’d been dreaming of stripping off her for almost a week.

  Would tonight finally be his chance?

  He bent his neck, his lips achingly close to hers. But he couldn’t kiss her. Not without being sure.

  ‘Dawn...’

  Her eyes were dark when her gaze met his, holding it firm until he couldn’t have looked away if he’d tried.

  Not that he wanted to try.

  ‘I want this, Cooper,’ she said, her voice low and dark. ‘I want you. Just once. Just for tonight.’

  Just for tonight. That was the deal. Tomorrow belonged to Justin. But tonight...

  Tonight Dawn was his.

  ‘Let’s start our tour in the bedroom,’ he said, and his blood burned as she smiled her agreement.

  * * *

  Okay, so maybe the ‘being well rested before seeing Justin again’ part of the plan wasn’t happening, but Dawn had to admit she felt more relaxed and content than she had in years—even if she might need a nap later to make up for all the lost sleep.

  Cooper’s apartment faced east and, since they hadn’t bothered to close the blinds the night before, sunlight filtered in over them the next morning. Dawn stretched against the expensive cotton sheets, feeling all the kinks and knots in her muscles from the long days in the car giving way under the force of her bone-deep satisfaction.

  If all she ever got was one night in Cooper Edwards’ arms, at least she’d made the most of every moment of it.

  The man himself slumbered on beside her, and she smiled as she watched him sleep. She liked to think he’d remember the night fondly too. Maybe even their whole week together.

  He was right, she realised as she sat up, wrapping the top sheet around her naked body. Their trip had felt like a week out of time. Like they were living another life.

  But in a few hours they’d be in the Hamptons, where Justin was waiting.

  And then her real life started up again. The life in which she’d been abandoned at the altar by yet another man who’d decided she wasn’t good enough for him.

  Except...she wasn’t that Dawn any more. Life on the road might not have been real life, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t changed her—every bit as much as Cooper said it had changed him. Or maybe...maybe it hadn’t. Maybe it had just given her the opportunity to be herself again. She’d spent so long trying to be what someone else expected—Justin, her family, every other guy before Justin—that she’d almost forgotten who Dawn was.

  But a week on the road with Cooper Edwards had helped her find her again.

  She knew now that she was more than just the Dry Run sister. She was more than ‘poor Dawn, let down again’. She was worth more than all the sympathy and the pity.

  And she knew that she never wanted to wait at the end of another aisle for some guy, or to sit at a romantic restaurant breathlessly waiting for him to get down on one knee.

  She wasn’t married. So what? She could go out and chase a hundred other dreams—like driving Claudia from coast to coast with the hottest guy she’d ever seen naked—and have a hell of a better time than she ever had waiting to get married.

  Yes, she still wanted love. Still wanted someone to love her unconditionally, just the way she was. But she knew now, without a doubt, that Justin wasn’t that man.

  She liked the Dawn she’d been on her road trip with Justin’s best man—but she knew that Justin wouldn’t have. He’d have hated the cheap tee shirts with tacky logos, would never have sung along to Elvis on the radio. He’d have wanted consommé in diners that only served waffles, and complained about the beer on tap. And he’d have hated Claudia after the first twenty miles. He’d have loved people seeing him driving such a cool car, but Dawn knew without a doubt that they’d have ditched it for something state-of-the-art with Bluetooth within the first twelve hours.

  And, for all that Cooper was supposed to be the workaholic of the two of them, Dawn suspected that Justin wouldn’t have been able to stay away from his emails and deals the way Cooper had that week.

  Not to mention—although it made her guilty to even think it—the fact that Justin had never made her body sing the way Cooper had last night.

  Beside her, Cooper stirred, turning under the covers to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her back down against him.

  ‘Good morning, beautiful.’ His voice was rough and heavy with sleep, and it made her blood hum with anticipation.

  Yes, they had to face Justin today.

  But maybe not just yet.

  ‘Good morning,’ Dawn said, and kissed him.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ‘GOT EVERYTHING?’ COOPER leant against Claudia as Dawn approached with her bag. She’d eventually kicked him out of his own apartment to fetch them breakfast for the road, and so that she could ‘actually stand a chance of keeping some clothes on’.

  ‘Think so.’ She handed him her holdall and he stowed it in the boot, an action so familiar it was impossible to imagine that this might be the last time he ever did it.

  ‘What about that lacy pink bra I last saw hanging from my bed frame?’ It had been a delightful discovery that her lingerie matched the candy colours of her tee shirts.

  Dawn’s cheeks were tinged with pink. ‘Yep, got that.’

  ‘Shame.’

  He pulled her in for a kiss before opening the car door for her, enjoying every last second he could keep her in his arms. He might be resolved to give her up at the end of the day, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make the most of the time he had.

  They hadn’t spoken about what might happen next but, as he pulled out of the parking garage and into the sluggish New York traffic, he knew that it was on her mind as much as his. He could feel it in the way the silence filled the car. There was no Elvis on the radio, no ridiculous roadside attractions to aim for, no twenty questions, I Spy or even much in the way of conversation at all.

  Instead, there was just the two of them staring out at the road ahead, his hand resting on her leg and a sense of encroaching dread.

  Normally, once Cooper was out of the city, he started to breathe more easily, the open road along the coast to the beach house automatically relaxing him. Today, however, the sight of the ocean only made him feel even tenser.

  He’d avoided thinking about this for as long as he could, but now the moment was here he couldn’t put it off any longer.

  Dawn had to know the truth—that Justin had left her because he believed a lie. Whether that would change her feelings, he couldn’t predict. But he was fairly sure that Cooper’s assurances that Dawn wasn’t after the money would go a long way to convincing Justin that it was okay to love her—to marry her, even.

  If she still wanted to.

  God, what if he’d screwed up his own brother’s chance of happiness? How could Justin ever forgive him?

  How could Dawn?

  No. He might be a despicable human being, but he knew Dawn now. He knew that she had wanted him every bit as much as he had needed her, and if she’d truly loved his brother that couldn’t be the case, right?

  Maybe, one day, they’d all look back and say that this was all for the best. Somehow. Even if it was impossible to imagine right now.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Dawn asked as they approached the familiar road that led to the Edwards family beach house. Had she even been here before? He couldn’t remember. Not that it mattered, he supposed.

  Nothing much did now.

  ‘I’m fine,’ he lied. Then he spotted something on the side of the road he didn’t remember from his
last visit and forced a smile. ‘Hey, one last stop? For old times’ sake?’

  He gestured to the new ice-cream parlour, promising the best frozen desserts this side of the Atlantic, and Dawn nodded.

  ‘You and your sweet tooth,’ she said fondly. ‘I don’t know how you’re going to go back to salads and vegetable juices after this.’

  ‘Neither do I.’ But he wasn’t talking about his diet. He meant all of it.

  How could he go back to that office and stare at a screen, or play internal politics with the board of directors, when he’d spent a week staring at the open road and the ever-changing landscape of his country? How could he be interested in contracts and deals after he’d had giant polar bears, time capsules and ghost towns?

  But most of all how could he go home alone every night, when he’d grown used to having Dawn with him every moment of the day? Just two nights of sleeping in the same bed, and already he couldn’t imagine her not being in his arms when he woke up. Just one night of them being together, as close as it was possible to be, and he already couldn’t bear to think about never feeling her, touching her that way again.

  He should have known that one week, one road trip, with Dawn would never be enough.

  He wanted it all. And instead he had to give her back to his brother because that was the honourable thing to do.

  And because, however much he wanted it—wanted her in his life forever—he knew that wasn’t how it worked for him.

  He’d sworn he’d never fall in love that way again, that he’d protect his heart at all costs. And he couldn’t break that vow. Not even for Dawn.

  Could he?

  ‘Mint choc-chip?’ Dawn asked, and Cooper realised he’d been staring at the flavours board for minutes without even seeing them. ‘Or do you want to get a couple and share?’

  ‘You pick,’ he said, stepping back. ‘Get a few for us both to try. I’ll...find us a seat.’

  He left her debating the merits of honeycomb over rocky road and collapsed into the nearest booth, the smooth plastic seat hard against his back.

  He couldn’t love her. It had been less than a week! And, okay, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent so much time with anyone, but this was Dawn. His brother’s fiancée. The woman who, until a very short time ago, he’d been convinced was only after Justin’s money.