Page 19 of Forsaken Vows

But she pulled back—slowly peeling herself out of my arms like she didn’t want to leave. Her chest still heaving a little, not meeting my eyes.

Then she muttered something under her breath.

I caught it, barely. Sounded like,

“Jesus, be a fence…” or something like that.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it.

“What did you say?” I asked.

She glanced at me sideways, trying not to smile. “Nothing.”

“You said something,” I rebutted, but let it go.

I reached up and grabbed her hand. “Come on,” I said. “Let’s go get lunch before I make you tell me.”

She didn’t argue.

Chapter 10- Sam

Outside, she turned to me. “Can I drive?”

I narrowed my eyes. “My truck? It’s too big.”

She tilted her head, one brow lifted like she was daring me to say no. “It’s a Range Rover. Not a tank.”

“Sweetheart, it costs six figures.” I tried another excuse.

She smiled like she knew exactly what that smile did to me. “So.”

I stared at her for a beat, jaw flexing, but tossed her the keys anyway.

She drove like a madwoman.

She peeled out of the driveway like we were in aFast & Furiousreboot and she was Vin Diesel’s understudy. One hand on the wheel, the other switching through the playlist on her phone, thighs flexing every time she hit the gas.

“Jesus, Zane,” I muttered, bracing one hand on the dash. “You’re not being chased.”

She just laughed and kept going fast as fuck.

The music was loud—something slow and sultry from Mariah the Scientist—but her mood didn’t match it. She was hype, leg bouncing, grinning.

She started singing.

Half the words where off-key. And she was loud.

It should’ve been annoying.

It wasn’t. She made even annoying seem cute.

But then she took a sharp turn, one hand still doing air choreography like she was performing on Tiny Desk, and my life flashed before my eyes.

“Zane. The road. Pay attention to the goddamn road.”

She stopped mid-lyric, mid-gesture, and rolled her eyes so hard I saw it from the passenger seat.

“I’ve got it, Sam,” she said, real dry, like I was being ridiculous and getting on her nerves.