She twisted around in her seat to face him. “Yet Dad doesn’t seem to realize that he’s forcing me to do what he refused to do -let his parents select his spouse.”
“Are your grandparents on either side still alive?”
“No. However, I do remember them while growing up. I didn’t have a chance at having a normal childhood because both of my grandmothers considered themselves etiquette queens, and when I was born, they believed it was their job to make me into one, too.”
When he didn’t say anything, she figured she must be boring him. At least he had been warned about her father. They’d driven a few more miles when he surprised her by asking, “How did you become a model while still in college? Especially one who ended up on the cover of Vogue?”
She smiled. That was the one thing she enjoyed talking about -her budding future as a model and how it got started. “I saw a notice on campus that Vogue was looking for the next superstar-model, and I figured, why not try out? It had been a dream of mine for years. A month or so later, I received a letter from them saying I’d been one of five women selected. They suggested that if I was interested in pursuing this further, I should get an agent. And so I did. The next thing I knew, I was doing photo shoots for them between classes. They didn’t see it as a problem since it was less than a year before I graduated.”
“I gather you didn’t tell your parents.”
“I saw no reason to. Although they were pushing marriage down my throat, I knew that wouldn’t happen. I figured that once I turned twenty-one, I could do as I pleased. I was wrong on that account.”
She paused a moment and then added, “Everything was going fine. Mark and I had talked and agreed that no matter what our parents said, we wouldn’t be forced into marrying.”
“When was the last time you saw Mark?”
“He and his parents joined mine at my graduation earlier this month. Three days later, I received a call from my agent, informing me that Vogue had selected me from out of the five superstar-models as the one whose face would appear on the cover of their January issue. I hadn’t counted on that. Nor did I know that the January issue would be released in the US and Europe right before the holidays. My parents saw it and went bonkers. They demanded I come home immediately to start planning a June wedding. I refused. That’s when Dad went on the warpath.”
Drew shook his head. Some people with money acted downright weird. As if they owned the world and everybody else in it. “Has your father always been controlling?”
“Yes, but it never bothered me before, because I never had reason to defy him. I enjoyed a good life, with access to funds whenever I needed them, a new car every year, and credit cards with unlimited available credit. I don’t have any of that now. Dad told me not to drive my car, so I left it in New York and caught a train to Philly and then a bus to Trenton. I had never caught a train in my life, but a nice lady told me everything I needed to do. I checked my bank account earlier today, and it’s closed. If I had known Dad would do that, I wouldn’t have given Beth all the cash I had.”
Still, a part of her didn’t regret it. Beth had told her that she and her daughters had left in the dead of night while her crazy husband had been in a drunken stupor. The woman had been determined to drive the thirty-five hours from Trenton to Phoenix. Eden was glad she could make the trip less financially worrying for Beth by ensuring they ate well and had beds tosleep in at good hotels each night. She had been aghast that Beth’s plans had been for her and the girls to sleep overnight at rest stops.
“Earlier I told you that when I got into the back of your truck, it felt like the right thing to do. But I didn’t tell you why. A stranger, not someone sent by my father, but a big man in jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed me when I stepped out of a phone booth.”
Drew’s head snapped around and his eyes met hers. She swallowed and continued, “He seemingly came out of nowhere and grabbed my arm. He told me that if I screamed, he would break it. People were standing around, but nobody paid us any attention. They were busy shopping. Even when he tried pulling me over to a beat-up pickup truck, nobody looked our way. Until…”
“Until what?” Drew asked her.
“Until I used one of the techniques I’d learned in a self-defense class my parents made me take. I went straight for his jewels and kicked him hard with my pointed-toe boots. When he doubled over, howling in pain, I took off running. I ran for what seemed like a couple of blocks, then I saw your tractor-trailer. The back was open, so I climbed inside.”
She glanced out the window. The weight of what could have happened had she not known how to defend herself began pressing down on her.
“Eden?”
She glanced back over at Drew. “Yes?”
“I’m glad your parents made you take self-defense classes.”
Eden nodded, releasing a deep breath. “Me, too.”
She then turned to gaze out the window again. They were traveling west on Interstate 10, and she was enjoying the desert landscape along the way. This was her first time in Phoenix, and other than the facts that she’d almost been abducted, and her father’s men were looking for her, she did her best to enjoy theview. Phoenix was a beautiful city. Hopefully, if and when she came again, it would be under more favorable circumstances.
Eden considered keeping the conversation going by asking Drew a few questions about him and his family. Like…was he married? She assumed he wasn’t, since he wasn’t wearing a ring. And hehadmentioned to Fred that he’d be alone for Christmas and New Year’s at some lodge. Still, it was always better to ask.
“Are you married, Drew?”
“Nope, and I don’t plan on it.”
“Why not?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“I like women too much to ever settle on just one.”
“Are you saying that if you got married, you might cheat on your wife?”
“What I’m saying is that there isn’t a woman out there who would be enough for me to just want only her. So why would I get married?”
