Page 53 of The Kiss that Captured a Billionaire
But as the road stretched out ahead, her mind circled back to Theo and Nikos’s conversation, the words still cutting like glass. Her chest ached, but she focused on the ridiculous fact that she was piloting a psychedelic van toward Nebraska like some heartbroken Scooby-Doo extra.
This wasn’t running. This was moving forward—one psychedelic mile at a time.
Theo’s jaw ached from grinding his teeth.
They’d been in Nebraska for all of two hours, and in that time, the GPS had tried to murder them twice— once down a cow path,and again at an abandoned grain silo with rusted tracks. Both times with a cheerful‘You have arrived’.
Now, finally, the correct mailbox loomed into view, the numbers painted in neat black script. Theo exhaled a long, slow breath, the kind meant to purge a man’s frustration before it turned homicidal.
“Turn here,” he said.
Nikos swung the rental SUV onto the winding drive, the tires crunching over gravel. A box truck sat in front of a sprawling white farmhouse with a wraparound porch, Evans Classic Furniture stenciled across its side in old-fashioned lettering.
Theo’s eyes tracked past it to the red barn beyond—picturesque, if you were into rustic postcards.
Then Nikos leaned forward, squinting. “What the hell is that?”
Theo followed his gaze—and nearly choked.
Parked beside the box truck was a van. Not just any van. A psychedelic, multicolored monstrosity—it looked as if the cast of Scooby-Doo had dropped acid and gone wild with a paint roller.
Nikos tilted his head. “Do you think they sell drugs along with their furniture?”
Theo didn’t laugh. He couldn’t even if he wanted to. His brain was too busy short-circuiting at the sight of the woman stepping out of said van.
Rose.
Her name whispered through his mind even as she turned at the sound of their tires against the gravel. Their eyes met. For a brief, hopeful moment, he thought maybe—just maybe…
But, no. He grimaced at the scowl of displeasure on her face. She shifted her weight, one hip cocked, arms folding slowly across her chest. Her chin lifted, her expression pure disdain—daring him to try her.
Nikos gave a low whistle. “Well… time and distance clearly didn’t make her heart grow fonder.”
Theo shot him a glare. “Stay in the car.”
“Not a chance. I’ve got to have a peek inside the Mystery Machine. Maybe it has a minibar,” Nikos murmured with a grin, already unbuckling his seatbelt.
“You’re no help,” Theo growled.
Nikos shot him a look of disgust. “No help! I’ll remind you that I had to agree to a blind date to get us here. I think that is a tremendous sacrifice on my part. I’ve heard my share of horror stories about them.”
“You might enjoy it,” he defended.
Nikos shot him a pained expression. “She does walking ghost tours of New York, Theo—during the daytime. Do you really think she’s going to be my type?”
“Probably not,” he agreed, shooting Nikos an apologetic glance before he slid out of the SUV.
He stared at Rose in silence, afraid she might disappear. His gaze ran over the van when she turned to place a box inside.
If she does run, and she does it in that van, at least it will be a hell of a lot easier to find her—even from outer space,he mused.
He released a deep sigh and walked toward her. Once he was a couple of feet away, he stopped.
“Rose.”
She arched one eyebrow and spoke in a voice sweet as vinegar. “Theo.”
His gaze ran over the ridiculous van again. “That’s an interesting vehicle.”
