Chapter 13♥“I, Uh, Take It the Two of You Are Okay?”
Elinor had eaten far too many Skittles and was enjoying herself entirely too much. They had forgone music for the drive back and instead just talked about everything and nothing. At times like this, it was easy to forget that Edward was her boss. She should probably remedy that, figure out a place to work with less complications. But it was a worry to kick down the road like everything else about their relationship.
As soon as she had enough saved to get a car, she’d have more employment options, though the thought gave her less joy than it should. She liked working for Rosa and Edward. She liked everything she was learning about finances. Edward had insisted on opening a 401K for her and matching her contributions, as small as they were right now.
But those were the practical reasons for wanting to work for him. It was the impractical ones that really had her worried—like being able to spend time with Edward without having to go out of her way to do it. As his employee, she had a built-in excuse to see him every day.
“Hey.” Edward touched her arm. “I can’t tell if you’re sleepy or stressed out.”
“Sorry. I guess I zoned out there for a minute. This has got to be the ugliest stretch of road I’ve ever seen.”
“For some reason, I feel a little insulted by that.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t sayyouwere ugly.” Far from it. He was a much better view than the one outside, but she’d done enough staring for one trip.
Edward reached for another handful of Skittles from the bag perched between them and she held her hand out, waiting for him to drop the green ones into her palm. He thought it was an abomination that the candy company had changed from lime to apple flavor, and she was reaping the benefits of his dislike. The apple ones were her favorites.
He shuddered when she popped all three of the green ones he’d given her in her mouth at once.
“What about apple flavored Jolly Ranchers? Do you hate those too?” she asked.
“Nope. I like those. Not the blue raspberry though.”
“I can agree with you there. Down with blue raspberry flavored everything.”
“What did blue raspberry ever do to you?”
She laughed and glanced ahead, gasping when a deer darted across the road and the Jeep in the oncoming lane swerved at the last second to avoid it. She watched in horror as the Jeep tried to correct and then began fishtailing in their lane. It wasn’t going to correct in time unless they were the ones to get out of the way. What was Edward waiting for? She shouted his name just as Edward jerked his car to the right, and her head slammed against the window with the momentum of it. Skittles flew everywhere, the noise like hail against the windshield. The car bumped and thumped over uneven terrain, but it was slowing down, and they hadn’t hit anything. No sickening crunches. That was what she concentrated on until they came to a stop.
“Elinor, are you okay?” Edward threw off his seatbelt, climbing over the console to check her over. “I’m sorry. I had to wait for the guard rail to end before I could get us out of the way. I’m so sorry.”
There had been a guard rail. That’s right. The deer crossed right before it. Holy cow. Maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t remembered that part. As it was, her breathing was coming in fluttery bursts. With concentrated effort she slowed her breathing and her heart rate, though she was still shaking. They hadn’t died. They hadn’t rolled. Her head hurt, the pain radiating out from the goose egg she knew was probably forming, but otherwise, they were fine. The seatbelt cut into her hands where she was gripping it like a lifeline across her chest. She reached up and touched her head, wincing when she found the tender spot.
“I’m okay. I just bonked my head is all.”
She looked up at him, seeing how he was all squished against the glove compartment with his knee wedged into the console, leaning over her like he could fix her injuries with his eyes. He reached out, his fingers hovering over her hair, probably afraid of hurting her if he investigated for himself.
“Thanks for not killing us,” she said shakily. “Or letting that other guy kill us.”
Edward shook his head, trying not to smile. “It was the least I could do.”
She was so keyed up that a squeaky laugh escaped, and then she couldn’t stop. Edward joined her, laughing at her funny laugh, and then laughing because he couldn’t stop either.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Elinor?”
She raised an eyebrow, taking in his crazy positioning. “Are you sureyou’reokay? That can’t be comfortable.”
“Sorry. I’ll just…” He braced one hand against her head rest so he could shift back to his seat, and in that moment, she gave in to an irresistible impulse. She didn’t want him to retreat. Not right now. She grabbed the front of his button-down shirt and pulled him in.
His lips were on hers in an instant, kissing her feverishly like they might never get this chance again. Maybe they wouldn’t. She didn’t want to follow that train of thought though. Not when every sensation said how right this was, how much they belonged together. His kisses slowed, and she slowed her pace to match, savoring the give and take. He used the hand not bracing him up to trace the line of her jaw while he pressed feather-light kisses against her lips, occasionally pausing just to look at her.
A shadow passed over the windshield, and it took Elinor’s fuzzy brain several seconds to pay it any attention. But she finally lifted her head around Edward to investigate. “Someone’s here,” she whispered, straightening his collar as if that could somehow make them a little more presentable. Edward craned his head around, taking in the cop standing outside his driver window.
His police cruiser with its lights on was parked several yards behind them. They hadn’t noticed at all.
Edward groaned. “Guess I better get back to my seat.” He carefully extracted himself from Elinor’s side, one limb at a time, until he was back in his seat and could lower his window. Edward’s face was the most adorable shade of red. It went perfectly with his embarrassed grin. Yes, he was grinning like a fool. She was too.
The officer leaned in and looked at them. If he was amused, he hid it well. “I was a half mile back, but I saw what happened. I, uh, take it the two of you are okay?”
