Page 180 of Deliverance

“I suppose I’d have to be at least a little crazy to play drums for The Deviant.” I crack a joke but it doesn’t seem funny to me.

Drew takes a step forward and presses her head in the crook of my neck and we just stand there, the salty air slamming into us from multiple angles, wrapping the soft turquoise folds of her skirt around my legs.

When the yacht finally reaches the dock, darkness has fallen over the harbor and the flickering city lights stretching across the hills for as far as the eye can see welcome our return to land.

After thanking the crew for their hospitality, I escort Drew down the small path that leads to the parking lot and steer her in the direction of the Lexus.

She’s too happy and excited to pay attention to the fact that I forgo an Uber. We simply walk past the rows of vehicles until I slip my arm around her elbow and gently stop her.

“What’s going on?” She glances up at me in confusion.

I pull her closer and whisper in her ear, “I’m going to give you your present now.”

She draws a shuddering breath. “I thought…this was the present.” She motions at the yacht we left behind. Among the other boats lining the docks, it’s hardly visible from this spot now.

“Part of it, yes.” I nod slowly and fish out a single fob from my pocket, then hand it to Drew.

She takes it carefully and stares at the buttons, eyes wide. “What’s this?”

“Well, I remember you talked once about getting a car… So—” My shoulders hitch in avoila!shrug.

Drew continues to look at the fob lying in the curl of her palm for a few more heartbeats, then asks, “This is a car key?”

“Yes.” It has a Lexus logo on it too, but I’m pretty sure she’s too stunned right now to see things clearly, so I point at the Unlock icon on the fob and add, “Okay, come on. Just press this button to see which one is yours.”

The adrenaline coursing through me is part dread and part euphoria.

“Are you kidding me?” She spins around, her gaze sweeping over the sea of vehicles that cram the lot. Most of them belong to people who’ve boarded cruise liners and are somewhere out and about.

I shake my head. “No, I’m serious.”

Drew does as I say, and in return, the Lexus bleeps, its slanted headlights flashing brightly. “Oh my God!” Like a kid who can’t quite believe it just yet, she presses the unlock button again and again, and the car responds with abeep-beep-beep.

I feel my pulse in my neck kicking into a sprint. There’s something very intimate about watching a person you love being ambushed by a present you know they wanted but never expected.

“It’s a Lexus!” Drew whirls to face me, her arms akimbo her hair mussed from being out on the water all day, her expression a combination of disbelief and awe.

“And it’s yours.”

She exhales loudly and spins toward the car again, then back to me. “You bought me a Lexus, Zander.”

“Yes, I did.” I nod.

“I haven’t driven a car in ages.”

“It’s automatic,” I explain.

Her lips spread into a grin and she rushes over to me, flinging her arms around my neck and hugging me so hard, my breath is knocked out of me.

In the distance, by the docks, a group of people have just stepped out from a small boat and they’re studying us with curiosity.

“It’s ridiculous,” Drew whispers against my cheek. “You’re ridiculous. I can’t accept a car.”

I pull back an inch and look at her. “You’re forgetting that I’m rich, baby.”

She tosses her head back and laughs and I just watch her until she’s calm enough to sit behind the wheel.

Once we settle inside, Drew showers me with endless questions.

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