by Kira Archer
The rain was definitely coming down harder. It seemed just within the last minute they couldn’t see more than a couple feet in front of them.
The car slowed down even more and Nathaniel flicked the hazards on.
“Nathaniel?”
“I’m trying to find a spot to stop. I can’t see a thing. This will probably let up in a few minutes and we can get back on the road. If I can find a spot. I guess a sudden downpour sends everyone scurrying under a bridge, no matter what state you’re in.”
Cherice snorted. He was totally right. It was impossible to find an empty bridge or even a side of the road when the rain was really coming down. But if the under-the-bridge spaces were taken, that left them with few possibilities.
“All right. I’m just going to pull over to the side here for a minute.”
Her stomach sank further and she sent up a quick prayer of thanks that Nathaniel had offered to drive her. The thought of being alone and trying to drive through this mess made her heart seize up.
He edged the car over as far as he could on the shoulder and shut off the engine.
They both sat staring out the windshield while the rain pummeled the car. The fat, heavy drops pinging off the car were unbelievably loud, sounding more like they were parked under a waterfall than on the side of the road.
“Well, this is fun,” he said after a few moments. “Let’s listen to the radio, see if we can find any weather reports.” His mouth quirked up in a little half smile that made her heart skip a beat.
She was going to respond with some cute little quip when the car jolted, sliding in the mud.
Cherice screamed, panic shooting through her so quickly her head spun. Or maybe that was because the freaking car she was sitting in just slid off the road and it threw off her equilibrium. She threw her hands out to grip the sides of the car like that would somehow keep it from moving. “What was that?”
“Shit,” Nathaniel said.
“What? Is the car sliding? It felt like it was sliding.”
“I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I just pulled over a little too far. We’re stuck in the mud.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Yeah, I figured now would be a great time for a joke like that.” He turned the car on and tried gunning it, but the tires just squealed uselessly in the mud.
“Shit,” Nathaniel said again, slamming the car into park. He grabbed his poncho out of the backseat. She started to reach for hers but Nathaniel held out a hand. “Stay.”
He got out and slammed the door, hurrying to the passenger side so he could squat down to take a look.
“Stay,” she scoffed, reaching for her own poncho and umbrella. “I’m not a dog, you big Ox. Sit, Cherice. Stay, Cherice. I don’t think so.”
Not that she particularly wanted to get out and stand in the rain, but she couldn’t let him get away with that nonsense. She pushed the door open. It wasn’t until she heard the startled yelp from Nathaniel that she remembered he was crouched down near the passenger-side tire. The door hit him with a sickening thunk followed by a muffled shout as he went sliding down the small embankment they’d parked next to.
“Shit,” she whispered.
She popped open her umbrella and peered down the hill. Nathaniel lay on his back about ten feet away. Luckily the hill wasn’t all that steep so he shouldn’t have a problem climbing back up. Unless she’d knocked him unconscious.
“Nathaniel?” she called down.
Nothing.
“Nathaniel!”
He lifted his head and looked at her. “Oz.”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” Irritation and relief washed through her, along with a rush of adrenaline so strong her head spun.
Wait. She wasn’t dizzy because she was relieved.
“Cher! Be careful!”
She tried to take a step back but she barely had time to shriek before the ground beneath her crumbled and down she went, rushing to the bottom of the hill along with a cascade of mud and water.
When she slid to a stop, she lay still for a second, taking inventory. First of all, rain boots, a poncho, and an umbrella offered no protection at all when caught in a mudslide. Secondly, the cute red sundress was now a soggy brown. Ugh. It was a really good thing she never went commando or she’d be in a world of muddy trouble. She’d never been so grateful for that thin silk barrier as she was at this moment.
“Are you okay?” Nathaniel asked, leaning over her, his hands searching her face.
It took her a second to drag some air back into her lungs past her furiously pounding heart, but the adrenaline was kicking in. She slapped at his hands.
“I’m fine. What the hell was that?”
“Mudslide. I guess parking in the mud wasn’t such a great idea.”
She didn’t find it remotely funny. “You think?”
Deep down she knew it wasn’t his fault but with the terror still flooding her system, and mud still flooding everywhere else, she wasn’t in the mood to be fair.
“In my defense, I couldn’t see where the asphalt ended in the downpour. Which,” he said, holding out his hand, “seems to be letting up a bit.”
She groaned and sat up. “Great. So instead of drowning we’ll just get really wet.”
Nathaniel got to his feet. “It could be worse.”
“Oh really, how?”
He reached down and hauled her to her feet. “The car could be down here with us.”
He climbed back up the hill, looked at the car, and then opened the back door, presumably so he could make a phone call without getting his phone wet. Guess it was a good thing the car was a rental, because they were both covered in mud and Cherice, at least, had no intention of standing in the rain waiting for whoever was going to come for them.
She started scrambling up the hill with her umbrella in her hand. Halfway up, she chucked the damn thing over her shoulder. Keeping dry was a bit of a moot point, anyway. When she was close enough to get a good peek at the tire, it had sunk even farther into the muck. Oh yeah. The car wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Which meant neither were they.
Panic clawed at her. Her mother’s fury when she wasn’t there tonight and the very real possibility that they were in serious trouble had Cherice’s body in a full tremor. Either that or the aching cold that was spreading through her. Usually it felt good when it finally rained during the summer. It broke the humidity, like a giant water balloon that had been sitting around sweating condensation finally exploded. So why was she cold? She shifted uncomfortably, her wet dress slapping against her bare legs.
Nathaniel was on the phone but turned to her with a frown when her teeth started chattering. It was a bit cool with the sun down, but not enough for that. Maybe her nerves had finally snapped. He finished his call and shoved his phone back in his pocket.
“The tow truck is on its way, but it might be a few minutes. He’s on his way back to his shop with another car right now and then he’ll be right out to get us. We need to hang something from the window to help him spot us.”
He ducked into the car and rummaged through the bags, coming out with his new tie.
Cherice gasped and snatched it out of his hand. “You can’t use that! It’s for your interview.”
“Well, unless you’ve got something better, we’re going to have to use it. I guess we could use my new shirt, but I figured if I had to go into the interview missing an item of clothing, the tie would be the least noticeable. Then again, maybe it would help my chances if I walked in dressed in nothing but slacks and a tie…”
Cherice laughed which, judging by Nathaniel’s smile, had been his goal.
But that didn’t solve their sos flag problem.
“What about that other dress you bought?”
She shook her head. “Now that this one is ruined it’s all I’ve got that’s clean. Well, I’ve got a nightgown and the yoga pants, but they’re black so…”
“Yeah, no help.”
She sighed. “I’ve
got something we can use. But you have to turn around.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m wearing it and you are not going to watch me take it off, that’s why.”
“You watched me take my clothes off. Fair’s fair.”
“Nathaniel!”
“What?”
That eyebrow rose again and Cherice glared, waiting for him to do as she’d asked. He finally held up his hands and turned around, but his smile stayed in place.
She unsnapped her bra and pulled it, one strap at a time, out through the sleeves of her dress. It took a few minutes, and a few muttered curse words, since she was fighting against wet material, but finally, she got the damn bra off.
“Here,” she said, holding it out.
Nathaniel turned back around and froze, his hand halfway extended toward it.
“Well? Will that work?”
He swallowed and took the white lace bra from her, his eyes flicking briefly to her liberated breasts.
He couldn’t see anything, of course. She was wearing a nice red this time, not the white of her previous wet shirt incident, and covered by a poncho, albeit a see-through one. Still, the way he was staring at her was like she was standing stark naked in the middle of the road. And he liked what he saw.
He’s married! She reminded herself for the thousandth time. Cherice sucked her lower lip between her teeth and folded her arms across her chest.
Nathaniel cleared his throat and nodded, his fist clenching around the material. Cherice trembled again, imagining all too easily his hand closing around her instead.
“This is perfect. Why don’t you get back in while I get this rigged up?”
He ducked back in the car to snag a hanger from one of the bags and lowered the driver’s side window a fraction of an inch. Cherice made no move to get inside the car. Nathaniel straightened the hanger, threaded both straps of the bra through it, and jammed one end of the hanger through the crack between the window glass and frame. Within just a few minutes, Cherice’s bra waved bravely in the wind.
Nathaniel turned back around and frowned when he saw her standing there.
“You really don’t need to worry. We’ll be fine. We’ve got enough gas to last until he gets here, so we can keep the heat going if you’re cold.”
“That’s good.” She still made no move to get in the car. “Are you sure our weight won’t make the car sink farther? Or maybe make the car slide down the hill?”
“It’ll be fine.”
She shuddered. “It’s like a tomb in there when it’s not moving.”
Nathaniel’s eyebrow raised. “Are you claustrophobic?”
“A little.”
He frowned, studying her. A song filtered out to them from the radio that was still playing. His face immediately cleared and he leaned in to turn up the sound. Blind Melon’s “No Rain” blared from the speakers.
He held his hand out to her. “Dance with me.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his chest. “Maybe. But you don’t want to sit in the car and I don’t feel like just standing in the rain staring at each other. So let’s dance.”
He pushed her out, keeping hold of her hand so he could spin her back into him again.
“Nathaniel!” She laughed. “No.”
He grinned and twirled her again. She looped her arm around his neck so she could hold on.
And they danced.
His arm snaked around her waist and drew her tight against him, rocking with her through one of the slower parts of the song. She let her other hand rest on his chest. She could feel him staring down at her. But staring at him while he held her in his arms would be too intimate. They could not go there.
Maybe a quick peek wouldn’t hurt. She looked up. Met his gaze. His lips pulled into a lazy smile that made her heart skip over to high-five her lungs. Her breath hitched in her throat and she dropped her gaze.
So wrong, so wrong, so wrong.
He twirled, dipped, and swayed with her until she was breathless. Water cascaded down their faces and slipped into the neck of her poncho and she didn’t even care. He spun her again and her laughter echoed through the air.
The rain let up a little and the moon was trying hard to break through the clouds. Once the rain completely stopped it was going to be miserably muggy. But for the moment, with the rain keeping the worst of the heat at bay, it was actually kind of pleasant dancing under the dark sky. In his arms.
The song ended, but Nathaniel didn’t let her go. “Feel better?”
She nodded, not meeting his gaze. She wasn’t sure if she was having a sudden attack of shyness, or just didn’t trust herself to raise her mouth within a few inches of his. Because she was definitely feeling things she really shouldn’t be feeling and she’d never been great at resisting temptation.
“Come on. Let’s have a seat for a few minutes.”
Cherice still wasn’t certain she wanted to get in the car.
Nathaniel anticipated her argument. “Only the front wheel is stuck in the mud. The back wheels are on solid ground. We won’t slide anywhere. I promise. We can sit in the back so we aren’t putting any more weight on the front. Here, I’ll even get in first.”
He climbed in, shutting off the music and then leaning his back against the door frame and leaving one leg stretched out along the backseat. Then he looked back at her, his piercing gaze burning right into hers.
“Come here,” he said, cocking a finger at her.
Cherice wasn’t so sure what she feared more. Causing another mudslide or snuggling against the mouthwatering man who reclined in the backseat of the car, his legs spread, waiting for her.
“Cher, come here.”
She took a deep breath and climbed into the backseat with him, pulling the door closed behind her. She leaned back against his chest, her body rigid. Not with cold. But with something much more confusing. And so, so wrong. He’s married, he’s married, he’s married, she chanted in her head.
“There,” he said, draping one arm across the back of the seat. “Now you can see the exit at all times. Does that help?”
She took a tremulous breath. It actually did help. As long as she kept her attention on the bit of sky outside and not on the very large, very warm man behind her, she should be fine.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he said, his voice shifting from its normal tone into something much huskier and infinitely more sensual.
She trembled.
“Cold?”
“No,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry,” he said, reaching under her poncho to rub a hand up and down her arm. “The tow truck will be here any minute. Let’s talk. It’ll keep your mind off all this.”
“Okay. Sure. What do you want to talk about?”
“You,” he murmured, somehow making that one word more erotic than every romance novel she’d ever read.
“Me? Why me?”
“Because, all I know about you is that you have a terrifying family and you want to be a life coach and they’d never approve. So, what do you plan to do about that?”
Okay, the inexplicable desire she’d been feeling started to fade. The man really knew how to kill a mood. That was good, she supposed. No moods allowed.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what are your plans for your life? You said your parents had wanted you to go to med school and they aren’t too happy about your current job. So, if they aren’t happy with what you are doing anyway, then why not just do what you want?”
She groaned. “You still don’t get it. It’s really not that easy.”
“Sure it is. Just dip into that pile of money you’ve got stashed somewhere and go to school, or open your store or do whatever you have to do. It’s not like they’ll be more mad at you, right?”
“I don’t know why you think I have some huge pile of money just sitting there waiting for me to play with. Yes, my parents are well off
and help me out every now and then, I’ll admit that. But for the most part, I’ve been on my own since I graduated from college. Even if I did have a stash of cash somewhere, I still wouldn’t be able to just pick up and do whatever I wanted. I have a little more consideration for my family than that.”
“So, you have no plans for your life except to wait and do whatever Mommy and Daddy tell you?”
Cherice pushed away from him. He drew his knee up so she was no longer resting against his leg, but he didn’t move it off the seat. She turned to face him. “The problem isn’t that I don’t have plans for my life, it’s that you don’t approve of what they are.”
His eyebrow raised. “I can’t disapprove of something that doesn’t exist. Sitting there waiting for someone else to dictate what you will do with your life isn’t a plan, Cher. It’s a cop-out. It’s easier to let them tell you what to do then take a chance and maybe fail, again.”
“Don’t think you know so much about my life.”
“I’m not wrong, am I?”
She sucked in a breath, fury burning through her. But some of that anger was aimed at herself. Because he was right. She’d never wanted to be a doctor, but not getting into med school had been a huge disappointment. It had completely derailed her whole life. Making a stand against her parents about the shop was going to be nearly impossible as it was, piggy backing on the mcat failure. But if she failed again and had to come crawling back? No way in hell would she put herself through that.
But the alternative was just as terrifying. There were really only two ways she could be of use to her family. The first—become a hugely successful doctor/lawyer/professional of some sort and help build the family name and fortune. The second—make an advantageous marriage and increase her family’s connections and prospects through her husband. She’d not made any progress on the first. The second made her physically ill. But she was pretty sure that was what her mother had in mind for her. And what better place to get that ball rolling than at her sister’s wedding?
Her mother had made some vague comments about meeting some new people this week, and had name-dropped a certain doctor her father was thinking of setting up a practice with, on several occasions. Cherice had no doubt that her scheming mother had the perfect someone picked out already.