before leaning away from the table and meeting her gaze.
“GPS in your cell phone.”
Her eyes narrowed. “There’s no reception up here. I turned my phone off before I even arrived.”
One side of his mouth twitched, and she could have sworn he was smirking at her.
“Yes, but you had it on when you left the city and for a while after. I tracked your last few locations, then did a search and discovered that your family owned property not too far from those pings.”
Fine. Maybe he’d earned the right to smirk.
“But what if I hadn’t been here? What if I’d changed my mind and gone on to Las Vegas or Canada or Mexico?”
He raised a brow as if to say “O ye of little faith.”
“Then it might have taken me a couple more days, but I still would have found you.”
That same shiver of awareness stole over her. The one that made her feel like a damsel in distress finally rescued by her strong, conquering knight in shining armor.
No doubt Reid was the strong and conquering type. As well as possessive. But none of those traits had ever been overwhelming. He’d never made her feel small or weak, controlled or manipulated. He’d only made her feel safe. Safe from harm, safe inside her own skin, safe to be herself around him.
With everybody else lately, she seemed to be playing a role. Pretending to be happy. Pretending to be excited about her upcoming nuptials and content in her relationship with Paul.
And she didn’t have to pretend only around Paul or her parents, but around her sisters, too, which was probably the hardest part of all. She knew they would be completely supportive if she told them the truth, confided in them about what had been going on with Paul—the growing animosity and on-again, off-again engagement—and how close she’d become to Reid.
But for some reason, she just couldn’t. It was still all a jumbled-up mess in her head. If she couldn’t make sense of it, how in heaven’s name would they?
“Well, I hope it’s clear to everyone—once you tell them where I am, of course—that I wasn’t really running away. I just needed some time to myself. Otherwise I really would have gone to one of those other places. Far, far away, maybe even overseas.”
For some reason, it was important to her that people understood that. It made her somehow less of a coward. She hoped. Less of a horrible, despicable bridezilla/runaway bride for humiliating Paul the way she had.
Reid reached for his wine. His eyes darted to her still-full glass, and she held her breath, waiting for the inevitable inquisition that was to come. But he merely took a sip of his own Bordeaux before returning the glass to the table.
“I already talked to them. And I told them as much.”
Juliet sat forward as though her chair were an ejector seat. “You talked to them? Who? Lily and Zoe or my parents? Or Paul? What did you tell them? What did they say? How did you talk to them? There’s no reception up here.”
She said the last with suspicious, narrowed eyes, and Reid had the gall to grin at her. It was enough to make her want to pick up the flower centerpiece and launch it at his head.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell them exactly where you were. I spoke with Lily and reminded her that she hadn’t wanted anyone to know where she was when she ran off to Los Angeles, so she understood. I simply assured them that I’d located you, made sure you were all right and that I was also going to stick around awhile to make sure you stayed that way.”
“They were okay with that?” Juliet wanted to know, still doubtful.
“I’m extremely reliable,” he responded with only a hint of offense in his tone. “Besides, I promised to call again if anything changed and keep them updated on the situation.”
She supposed she should be grateful but only managed to purse her lips.
He reached for his wine again. “Oh, and I’ve got a satellite phone. That’s how I reached them when your phone wouldn’t.”
Behind her
“GPS in your cell phone.”
Her eyes narrowed. “There’s no reception up here. I turned my phone off before I even arrived.”
One side of his mouth twitched, and she could have sworn he was smirking at her.
“Yes, but you had it on when you left the city and for a while after. I tracked your last few locations, then did a search and discovered that your family owned property not too far from those pings.”
Fine. Maybe he’d earned the right to smirk.
“But what if I hadn’t been here? What if I’d changed my mind and gone on to Las Vegas or Canada or Mexico?”
He raised a brow as if to say “O ye of little faith.”
“Then it might have taken me a couple more days, but I still would have found you.”
That same shiver of awareness stole over her. The one that made her feel like a damsel in distress finally rescued by her strong, conquering knight in shining armor.
No doubt Reid was the strong and conquering type. As well as possessive. But none of those traits had ever been overwhelming. He’d never made her feel small or weak, controlled or manipulated. He’d only made her feel safe. Safe from harm, safe inside her own skin, safe to be herself around him.
With everybody else lately, she seemed to be playing a role. Pretending to be happy. Pretending to be excited about her upcoming nuptials and content in her relationship with Paul.
And she didn’t have to pretend only around Paul or her parents, but around her sisters, too, which was probably the hardest part of all. She knew they would be completely supportive if she told them the truth, confided in them about what had been going on with Paul—the growing animosity and on-again, off-again engagement—and how close she’d become to Reid.
But for some reason, she just couldn’t. It was still all a jumbled-up mess in her head. If she couldn’t make sense of it, how in heaven’s name would they?
“Well, I hope it’s clear to everyone—once you tell them where I am, of course—that I wasn’t really running away. I just needed some time to myself. Otherwise I really would have gone to one of those other places. Far, far away, maybe even overseas.”
For some reason, it was important to her that people understood that. It made her somehow less of a coward. She hoped. Less of a horrible, despicable bridezilla/runaway bride for humiliating Paul the way she had.
Reid reached for his wine. His eyes darted to her still-full glass, and she held her breath, waiting for the inevitable inquisition that was to come. But he merely took a sip of his own Bordeaux before returning the glass to the table.
“I already talked to them. And I told them as much.”
Juliet sat forward as though her chair were an ejector seat. “You talked to them? Who? Lily and Zoe or my parents? Or Paul? What did you tell them? What did they say? How did you talk to them? There’s no reception up here.”
She said the last with suspicious, narrowed eyes, and Reid had the gall to grin at her. It was enough to make her want to pick up the flower centerpiece and launch it at his head.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell them exactly where you were. I spoke with Lily and reminded her that she hadn’t wanted anyone to know where she was when she ran off to Los Angeles, so she understood. I simply assured them that I’d located you, made sure you were all right and that I was also going to stick around awhile to make sure you stayed that way.”
“They were okay with that?” Juliet wanted to know, still doubtful.
“I’m extremely reliable,” he responded with only a hint of offense in his tone. “Besides, I promised to call again if anything changed and keep them updated on the situation.”
She supposed she should be grateful but only managed to purse her lips.
He reached for his wine again. “Oh, and I’ve got a satellite phone. That’s how I reached them when your phone wouldn’t.”
Behind her
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