Since You've Been Gone (Welcome to Paradise) (5 page)

Spending a couple of weeks with Austin exploring small towns sounded unbelievably fun, and if she were being honest, she wouldn’t mind meeting his family. He’d definitely triggered her curiosity with the whole baby-daddy drama, which kind of made her want to put faces to all the names in the tawdry tale.

“I don’t know,” she said slowly.

“If you’re worried I’m going to hit on you, I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman,” he told her in an earnest tone. “I’ll even spring for two motel rooms when we stop for the night.”

The sleeping arrangements hadn’t even occurred to her, but now that he’d brought it up, an image of sharing a bed with this sexy man flashed into her head and damned if her pulse didn’t speed up. The two-room offer brought a strange pang of disappointment, but she realized that if she were to agree to this, separate rooms was probably a good thing.

Truth was, her free-spirit nature didn’t extend to her love life. She didn’t do casual flings. Never had, never wanted to. As a result, she’d had only two serious boyfriends in her life—a three-year relationship in high school, and a two-year one with an artist in Chicago, which had ended more than a year ago.

“I’m serious, Mari, I don’t want anything from you but friendship.”

Ouch.

She frowned at him. “Are you saying you’re not attracted to me?”

Much to her annoyance, his lips twitched as if he was fighting back laughter.

“For real?” she demanded.

Austin finally let out a chuckle. “That is not at all what I’m saying. I find you unbelievably attractive.”

“Really?”

“Yup.”

She hesitated. “I find you attractive too.”

He looked pleased.

“But,” she added, “I don’t do flings, and I’m not into casual sex. So if I say yes, I think the two-room arrangement is a good idea.”

“I’m not into casual flings either,” he said gruffly. “And even if I was, I’m not sure now is the right time for me to get involved with anyone. As you can probably tell, I’m a fucking mess.”

Her heart did a silly little somersault, but she couldn’t help it. It was so rare to meet a man who was willing to show any vulnerability.

“Are you sure you really want me around then?” she asked him. “Wouldn’t you rather be alone?”

“Trust me, that’s the last thing I want.”

Mari heaved out a breath. “I’m worried that you don’t know what you’re getting into. I can be a handful.”

The amusement returned to his face. “Yeah, how so?”

She pursed her lips, then recited a list. “Well, I talk a lot. I’m annoyingly cheerful in the morning. I have a small bladder, which means I need to pee a lot. Oh, and I’m a million feet shorter than you so if we walk anywhere together like we did today, you’ll have to go extra slow to meet my strides.”

She could tell he was trying not to laugh again. “I’m pretty confident I can handle a few extra bathroom breaks and walking in a slower gait.”

Indecision coursed through her, even though she knew the only word that should be leaving her mouth was
no
. Except…she didn’t want to say no. She wanted to hang out with Austin for a few days. Or weeks. Or at least until one or both of them got sick of the other.

But saying yes would be…crazy. It would be super freaking crazy.

On the other hand, sometimes crazy was fun.

And didn’t she deserve some fun before she moved back to boring old Des Moines?

“So?” Austin said, cocking his head.

She bit her lip again. “If I decide I don’t want to go all the way to Colorado, would you still be willing to drop me at a bus terminal?”

“Of course.”

“And you’re not going to murder me in my sleep?”

“Probably not.”

She glared at him. “Ha-ha.”

When Austin grinned, Mari’s breath caught. Because wow, he looked so sexy when he smiled. His jaw became looser, his green eyes donning a playful flicker that made him appear younger and far more approachable. She suddenly decided she wanted to see him smile more often. She wanted to
make
him smile. She suspected he hadn’t done much of that over the past year, and the thought of his family turmoil cemented her decision.

“All right, I’ll tag along,” she announced.

Austin’s grin widened. “You will? That’s awesome.”

“I’m not sure you’ll be saying that once I bust out my driving playlist. I’m warning you—Ace of Base is on it.” She unbuckled her seatbelt. “Do you mind if I go and call my folks? I need to give them a heads-up that I won’t be home today.”

“Take your time,” he said easily.

Mari took her phone and slid out of the car. She already knew exactly how her parents would react, but she still forced herself to dial their number, then waited until her father’s voice boomed over the line.

“Sweetheart, where are you?” Jerry Smith demanded after she’d greeted him. “You said you’d be here by three. It’s nearly five! Your mother and I were getting worried.”

“I’m sorry, I lost track of time, Dad. My friend and I ended up stopping for ice cream.”

“Your friend? You mean the fellow whose driver’s license you sent me earlier? You said he was a Good Samaritan who stopped to help.”

“He did, but it turns out we have a mutual friend, so he’s not a stranger after all.” Okay, she was lying, but it was better than telling her father that Austin was indeed a stranger.

Yet for some reason, she trusted the guy. He hadn’t triggered her BS meter or raised any danger flags inside her, and if he’d wanted to hurt her, he could have done it any number of times already. Instead, he’d bought her ice cream and held her hand—not exactly the actions of a crazy psycho or would-be rapist.

Of course, that could all be part of his evil plan to get her to lower her guard, but she seriously doubted that. And she truly didn’t feel threatened in Austin’s presence.

“So you know him from Chicago?” her father said sharply.

Mari shrugged, even though her dad couldn’t see her. “I know
of
him. He’s a photographer, a really acclaimed one too. He does spreads for
National Geographic
.”

Suddenly her mother’s voice chirped over the line, which didn’t come as a surprise. Mari suspected her father had told Patricia to pick up the other extension the second he’d seen their daughter’s number.

“Like in
The Bridges of Madison County
?” Mari’s mother sounded delighted.

“Yes, exactly like that,” she couldn’t help but exclaim. “
Thank
you. Would you believe he’s never seen that movie?”

“But it’s a classic,” Patricia said in dismay.

As usual, her father put an end to one of the rare moments of camaraderie between mother and daughter.

“So when are you getting in?” he barked. “Where are you now?”

“We’re about two hours from Des Moines, but that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve decided to tag along on Austin’s assignment. He’s photographing small towns in the Midwest. His last stop is Colorado—I might go all the way there, or I can always hop on a bus or plane if I decide I’ve had enough of the nomad life.”

Her father’s response was precisely what she’d anticipated. “I don’t like this. You hardly know this person, Mari.”

“He’s a good guy, Dad. A real gentleman.”

Patricia’s tone was equally skeptical. “How long is this assignment of his going to take?”

“A week, maybe two.” Mari’s gaze strayed to the SUV, where Austin waited patiently, his dark head bent over his cell phone. “Look, my job interviews aren’t for another six weeks, so there’s no reason for me to rush home yet. I promise I’ll text and email every day to let you know where I am, and I’ll be staying in my own room every night when we stop, so I’ll give you the motel numbers too, okay?”

“All right,” both her parents said at the same time, in the same grudging tone.

She knew they weren’t thrilled about her plans, but she wasn’t surprised that neither one voiced an argument. Mari had always been strong-willed and stubborn as hell, and her parents knew how futile it was to argue with her once she’d set her mind on something.

“Be safe,” Patricia said urgently. “Please call us every day, sweetie.”

“And if that fellow so much as looks at you wrong, I want you to call the police,” Jerry ordered.

A few moments later, they said their goodbyes and Mari disconnected the call. It had gone a lot easier than she’d thought it would, and she almost wished her folks
had
tried to talk her out of it.

Because this was nuts, right?

Traveling with a man she’d just met was either the start of a great adventure, or the setup for a television show about unsolved murders—starring her as the murder victim.

She took a breath, her gaze once again straying in Austin’s direction. He hadn’t given her any indication that he was anything but a nice, funny guy making his way home to deal with a difficult situation. And he was hot.

Lord, was he hot.

Just friends, remember?

Mari exhaled slowly, knowing that little voice was right. She’d agreed to this road trip because she wanted to have some fun and explore a few small towns, not to get laid. No matter how attractive Austin was, with those deep green eyes and messy brown hair…and that deliciously toned bod…and his muscular arms…and the killer grin…and—she promptly snapped herself out of lust mode, realizing she’d lost her train of thought.

Friends, she reminded herself. That was all she and Austin would be. She wasn’t cut out for flings, and he was in no position to have one either, so it was best to just push any naughty ideas of hooking up right out of her head.

Nodding with resolve, she headed back to the car and climbed back inside. “Thanks for waiting,” she told Austin.

“No problem.” He set down his phone. “You spoke to your parents?”

“Yep. They know not to expect me for a while.”

He studied her face. “You sure you’re up for a road trip?”

After a beat, Mari buckled her seatbelt. “Yeah, I think I am.” Then she turned to him with narrowed eyes. “Don’t make me regret this, Bishop.”

Those green eyes twinkled. “I’ll do my best to make sure you have the adventure of your life, Smith.”

Chapter Four

Three days later, Mari decided that saying yes had been the best decision ever. She’d wanted fun, and boy, had she gotten it. Austin was so easy to talk to, and each town they visited was more idyllic than the last. She was even enjoying the constant driving, when normally she didn’t like being cooped up in a car for too long. But Austin made the long drives entertaining—he didn’t mind listening to her cheesy playlists or indulging her by participating in the silly car games she invented on the spot. Today she’d been too lazy to think of a game off the top of her head, so they’d settled for an app on her phone, which was proving to be ridiculously frustrating.

“Name an animal you might find on a safari,” she ordered.

He instantly answered with, “Hyena.”

“Name a kitchen appliance that’s expensive to fix.”

“Toaster.”

Mari groaned. “Oh, for the love of Jeebus! What kind of answers are those? At this rate, we’ll never win Fast Money.”

Sure enough, after she’d entered Austin’s responses, his total score came up to thirty-eight. She needed to get a hundred and sixty-two points if they wanted to win the game.

“You are terrible at Family Feud,” she muttered.

“I told you, I’m not good at coming up with shit on the spot,” he protested.

“No kidding. Hyena for safari animal? What about lion or tiger or giraffe? And why on earth would you say a toaster is expensive to fix? You can pick up a new one for ten bucks at fricking Walmart!”

“What are you complaining about? At least we beat the Chang Family!”

“Yeah but I want to win the twenty thousand dollars! At least one time.”

Unfortunately, she didn’t get her wish. Thanks to Austin’s disastrous round, she couldn’t make up the points, even though four of her five answers were the number one responses. Sighing, Mari closed the game app and crossed her arms.

“You’re hopeless,” she announced. “I’m going to give you the silent treatment for a while.”

Austin just laughed and turned his attention back to the road. “Fine, be that way,” he taunted.

Mari hid a smile, focusing on the scenery whizzing by the car window. Well, if you counted never-ending cornfields as
scenery
. All she saw were endless stretches of yellow and green, with a farmhouse or barn nestled in the landscape every mile or so. They’d just crossed the Iowa-Missouri border, headed for a small town called Virgil. It was a dumb name for a town, but Mari had insisted Austin not skip it because according to Virgil’s website, the town sold the world’s best maple fudge.

Sadly, the way to Virgil was blander than ever, and Mari wasn’t tempted even once to pick up her sketchbook and capture the sights.

The sultry temperature probably added to her lack of desire to draw. It was so hot out, the sun a relentless presence in the clear blue sky, the air drifting in through the open windows muggy as hell.