He started to pull out of the stall. A few turns later and Annie guessed they were on the main road. “Where are we going?”
She could see the flash of white of his teeth when he smiled. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
“Under the circumstances, I don’t think you need to worry about keeping the excitement level up.”
He laughed and shot her a glance. “You’re funny.”
“And you’re stalling.”
He sighed. “Back to the inflatable.”
She groaned. “I thought you might say that.”
“They could be watching the airport and ferry.”
“You think there were more than those two?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who were they?” He shrugged, which she was beginning to recognize as a sign that he didn’t want to tell her. “The police?”
“I don’t think so.”
She sucked in her breath. “So I was right? They were Jean Paul’s men?”
“It’s a possibility,” he hedged.
“You think they want to shut me up?”
“I think they want something.” He glanced at her again, this time sharper. “Is there anything you aren’t telling me?”
She tried not to take the question defensively. But it hurt that he thought she could be hiding something from him. “Unlike you, I’ve told you the truth about everything.”
She could see his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Annie...”
It sounded like some kind of warning. “Don’t worry. I don’t expect parity in the two sides of this equation.”
He must not have liked that, either, because his jaw clamped down hard.
“Will you tell me one thing?” she asked after a minute. Taking no no for a yes, she asked, “Is Dan your real name?”
She’d lifted up her head a little, and he held her gaze in the rearview mirror for a moment before answering, “No.”
She hadn’t thought so, but she still hated to hear confirmation. Wow, she was experiencing all kinds of firsts with him. First casual hookup and first casual hookup where she didn’t even know the guy’s name.
She couldn’t quite cover up all the hurt in her voice. “So what do I call you?”
“Dan is fine. I’m sorry, Annie. If it was just me, I would tell you. But it’s not. Okay?”
“All right.” What else could she say?
A few minutes later, the car came to a stop. “We’re here.”
She sat up and saw that he’d parked along the side of the road not far from the beach and the hut where they’d stored the boat.
“I was hoping I’d seen this place for the last time,” she said glumly, not looking forward to getting back in that leaky boat.
“It won’t be so bad. I checked on the inflatable yesterday and did a little repair work. I’d hoped we wouldn’t need it again, but...” He shrugged.
