I let out a groan. “I almost feel worse for them than I do for myself. So, where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I gave him a suspicious look. “You hate surprises.”
“I know. And if you keep giving me a hard time, I’m going to hate them even more.”
Without meaning to, the corner of my mouth tipped upward.
“Wow,” he said with mock awe. “The first smile of the day.”
I scowled immediately, snatching my bag to hide it. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”
From across the hallway, Kevin called after us, grinning like an idiot. “Bye, Dr. T! And Dr. T’s rude, stubborn, emotionally unavailable but extremely attractive husband!”
I spun around. “Kevin.”
Khalifa raised an eyebrow, amused. “Is that what you call me behind my back?”
“I’m pretty sure I call you that to your face,” I said. “Minus the attractive part. I havenevercalled you that in secret or in public.”
He smirked, holding the door open for me. “But you think it.”
“Oh,barf.” I brushed past him, cheeks flaring.
“Your face says otherwise,” he murmured as we stepped outside.
And maybe it did—because despite everything, despite the lawsuit and the death of three people that still clung to me like smoke, I found myself smiling again.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
KHALIFA REFUSED TOtell meanything.
Not the destination. Not the plan. Not even how long it would take to get there. He just said, “Trust me,” like those two words weren’t the verbal equivalent of jumping off a cliff blindfolded.
We’d barely merged onto the highway before I started asking.
“Are we there yet?”
His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “We’ve been driving for eleven minutes.”
“Time is a social construct.”
“It’s not.”
“It feels like it’s been at least...forty-seven.”
He didn’t dignify that with a response.
Five minutes later: “Now are we there?”
“No.”
“Are we close?”
“No.”
“Are we—?”
