He responded a second later with a thumbs up.He was good like that, always kept their work communications professional and completely impersonal.
Even if a tiny, secret part of her that she didn’t want to admit to craved the opposite from him in person.
The elaborate wrought iron gate across the driveway slid open slowly, giving her a few more moments to think about Tristan.Something she had been doing far too often lately, no matter how hard she tried to stop.
Not good, and she wouldn’t let anything come of it.She needed more time on her own to heal before even considering dating again.And if she ever did, it definitely wouldn’t be a coworker.Not even someone like Tristan.
She’d been burned too badly to risk that kind of hurt and humiliation again.Besides, she liked where she was at now.Liked her independence, not having to work her life around someone else’s, or putting up with any bullshit behavior.Also, her kitchen and bathroom were always spotless now, and her house stayed exactly the way she’d left it when she got home.
Sure, it got lonely sometimes at night, or on the weekends when she was sick of her own company, especially now that Bristol was in the honeymoon phase of her relationship with TJ.But that was a necessary part of the process.She was still claiming her true self after climbing out of the toxic mess she’d stayed in for too long.She didn’t need a partner to be fulfilled.
The gate finally opened enough to allow her out.The ritzy neighborhood was quiet as she drove through it, not much activity except a few people out walking their dogs or landscaping crews doing fall cleanups on some of the large properties.
Since Penny didn’t look up from her phone, Cassie didn’t have to bother making conversation as she turned onto a main road and headed south along the coast.Today the ever-changing sky was sapphire blue and dotted with perfect marshmallow clouds.Golden rays of sunshine punched through the gaps between them, glinting off the water like twinkling stars.
The coffee shop was half a mile up ahead.She pulled into the drive-through.“What do you want?”
“Oh.Venti nonfat vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso.”
Cassie ordered it and pulled up to the next window.She accepted Penny’s phone to scan the app for payment, then waited for the drink and handed it to her.“Anything else before we head for the dunes?”The potential filming location was right on the northern edge of them.Some sort of period drama Becca was looking at producing as well as starring in.
“No, this is all I need.Cheers.”Penny resumed texting away while Cassie got them back on the road.
The northern edge of the dunes began another twenty minutes south down the coast.She took the exit four miles north of them, heading slightly inland using the backroads.There was hardly any traffic at all, and the farther east she drove, the sparser it got until theirs was the only vehicle on the quiet stretch of road.
The coastal landscape gradually gave way to drifts of golden sand on either side, the wind blowing drifts of it across the road.As she crested the next rise, she spotted a couple of vehicles up ahead in her lane.They appeared to be going under the speed limit because she was steadily gaining on them.
A minute or so later, a vehicle appeared in her rearview.It was coming up fast.
The section of the road they were on undulated up and down, an ocean of sand visible on either side of the narrow shoulders that dropped off into drainage ditches.She sped up as she approached the slower-moving vehicles ahead, preparing to pass them.Behind her, the other car appeared at the top of the hill she’d just come down.
The first stirrings of unease pricked the base of her spine when both vehicles up ahead slowed more, their brake lights coming on.She didn’t see anything in front of them to warrant it.
A glance in the rearview confirmed the SUV behind them was nearly close enough for her to see the front plate.
Danger, her instincts said.
She listened.“Penny, get down.”
Penny looked up from her phone to lock eyes with her in the rearview.“What’s wr—”
“Getdown.”There was no time to explain.They were being boxed in, and it didn’t look good.
