Page 40 of Runaway Bride and Prejudice

“We shall never speak of this,” I whisper, wiping a hand over my mouth just in case I drooled. “Never.”

“You don’t kiss and tell—got it.”

My cheeks are flaming. “I don’t—we didn’t. There wasno kissing,” I hiss, really hoping I’m right. I may have slept through thigh groping, but I wouldn’t sleep through a kiss. “And nothing to tell.”

Van says nothing. His widening smirk—says a lot.

Wait. Did I … do more than just snuggle him in my sleep?

“No,” I whisper. “I didn’t. I wouldn’t!” Blood surges to my cheeks. Panic claws at my chest. I grab Van’s arm and squeeze as I lower my voice. “Did I kiss you in my sleep?”

For a long moment, Van says nothing, and I wonder if it’s possible to literally die of embarrassment. The way my heart is sputtering in my chest and the air is struggling to pass through my lungs, I think maybe it is. They keep defibrillators on planes, right?

Then Van’s smile shifts to something less devilish and more soft. Almost … tender. He reaches out, fingertips grazing my cheek as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Relax, Mills. I’m just messing with you. I’m the one who pulled you over here and said to rest. You needed it. We’re fine. There was no kissing. Okay?”

I nod dumbly, grateful for the easy out he just gave me.

But then he leans closer, his breath hot on my neck as he says, “Besides, kissing me is not the kind of experience you’d be able to sleep through. Though you might dream about it …”

I poke him in the chest,hard, and he laughs and allows me to shove him away. “Shut up, you.”

But as I sit up and start to gather my things, I catch sight of a red smudge peeking out of Van’s open shirt right next to his tattoo.

A perfect imprint of my lips on his skin.

“You don’t need to do this,” I repeat, but the stubborn man I’m calling my travel companion for the next four days doesn’t listen.

“I’ll take the Range Rover,” he says to the man with the nametag. “Always wanted to drive one of those.”

I want to scream.

After we got off the plane, we ran into trouble. Starting with—my bags not making it to Tampa. It’s late, and there was nary a person at any counter to help us, only an automated number to call and report the missing bags.

Which means now Van and I are both only wearing the clothing on our backs. Between us, we have one phone and two wallets, though mine isn’t particularly helpful considering my financial situation.

Then we got to the rental car counter, where it turns out I can’t pick up the car we reserved. Or should I say Drew reserved. In only his name.

The issue isn’t that I’m a day early to pick up the car. The issue is that Drew didn’t put my name on the reservation. Guess he assumed he’d be the only one driving it.

The man behind the counter refused to give me information on our reservation or any credit toward a new vehicle. Nothing. It’s like I don’t exist.

Because I’m not Drew.

At that point, Van whipped out his black credit card for the second time tonight. I’m keeping a mental tally in my head of how much I owe him, and it’s already too much. A last-minute, first-class airline ticket and now he’s renting a high-end car? I’ll be paying him back forever.

Especially since I’ll have to look for a new job.

Oh, and did I mention I used up my pretty meager savings and last paycheck to cover the final payment of my credit card?

Someone should really explain to college kids how those cards work. Especially considering the way companies pass them out on college campuses like parade candy or Oprah in that one meme:You’ve been preapproved! And you’ve been preapproved! You’ve all been preapproved!!!!

Okay, so my daddidexplain them to me. I half listened, then ignored all his advice in lieu of things like ordering pizza,upgrading to a new laptop, buying new, adult clothes right after graduation. Plus any wedding stuff over the past year that Dad deemed “unnecessary.”

I didn’t go nuts. But I also paid the minimum most months, falling right into the credit card company's clutches until I was up to my eyeballs in stupid debt, growing steadily because of the thing I wish I’d listened to my dad about:interest.

Dumb. So dumb. But I learned my lesson, paid off the card little by little and then dumped all my remaining money into paying it off this week so I could get married debt-free.

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