Page 26 of The Runaway Bride of Blitzen Bay (Blitzen Bay)

“Are you forgetting about the guy in Key West?” I say, turning the heat down a notch. I’m finally starting to warm up.

“Yeah, but he went to normal prison. Kidnapper’s offering to go to federal prison. It’s special. He’s a keeper.”

“No, I’m not a keeper. At all.” Nash picks the phone up off my lap and puts it on the dashboard. “I don’t want to be kept by either of you. Will you please come and get your cousin?”

“Wait, where are you?” Kit says, whispering again.

“We’re about a mile or so from the venue. He pulled over so I could call you.”

“No, Elle, bad idea. They’re looking for you. You need to get far away from here. Kidnapper, will you keep her? Just for a few hours or so.”

“So, now you want me to kidnap her?” Nash groans and rubs his hands over his face.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Well, maybe less like kidnapping and more like inviting a friend over to your house to chill for a few hours.”

He shakes his head. “We’re not friends.”

“Wow. Okay. Rude.”

“So rude.” Kit chimes in. “Oh damn, Leni’s making a beeline for me. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you on this phone when I’m clear.”

The phone goes dead. Nash looks at me—his mouth wide open. He throws his hands up. “So now you’re coming home with me? Will you please call Steve and work this out?”

“I don’t know his number.”

“That’s not the other number you have memorized?” He’s so exasperated. It’s adorable.

“No. It’s to the sushi place down the street from my apartment.” He’s squinting like he’s trying to figure out how to kill me without going to jail. “3-1-0-C-A-L-R-O-L-L, like California Roll. It’s cute, right?”

He shakes his head again and starts massaging his temples. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m driving you to Blitzen Bay—where I live—and getting you a room at the inn there. Then you’re on your own.”

He maneuvers the truck back onto the road.

“You live in a place called Blitzen Bay? Are you making that up?”

“No.” He’s looking away, trying his best to ignore me.

“Blitzen like the reindeer? Nash, do you live in a town named after a reindeer? Because that would be so precious.”

“It’s named after the German word for lightning,” he says, looking at me sternly. “Blitz. Lightening. No one would name a town after a reindeer.”

“Well, I mean, not an average reindeer, but I think Blitzen was Rudolph’s dad, so he could probably get a town named after him.”

“It’s not named after a reindeer.” He turns to me. “You know you seem pretty happy for a woman who just left her fiancé at the altar.”

I take a deep breath and look away from him. “Not happy. I guess more relieved than anything. And my adrenaline’s still pumping from the escape. I’m going to crash once my brain catches up with what I’ve just done. I think it’s going to get ugly.”

His voice gets softer. “You’ll be fine. Pretty women can get away with anything.”

“Aww, Nash. Do you think I’m pretty?”

“You know you’re pretty, although I can’t say you look all that great right now.”

“How dare you!” I cover my chest with my hand. “And on my wedding day.”

He laughs. “That look won’t work on me at all, but I’m sure it made your dad think you were innocent more than once.”

I grab his rear-view mirror and turn it toward me. “He knew darn well I wasn’t innocent. Do you mind if I use your mirror?”

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