“Tell me you took a cab to get here?” I said, annoyed that she hadn’t let me pick her up this morning.

She’d flat-out refused, saying she’d just meet me at the office, as usual. It seemed ridiculous and unnecessary.

“I took a cab,” she repeated my words nearly verbatim, obviously not even attempting to convince me of the fact. She sighed dramatically and finally fessed up, “I took the subway.”

“The subway?” I nearly roared. “Why? When I offered to pick you up? In a hired town car?”

“I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” she explained.

But she wouldn’t meet my eyes, and I knew she was sidestepping around the truth.

“You didn’t want me to pick you up, did you? Because of what’s-his-name? Your boyfriend?”

“His name is Tyler,” she replied, her voice betraying the anger stirring in her veins. “And, yes, okay? He’s not exactly thrilled with the idea of me traveling with you, so I didn’t really want to dangle it in his face by having you show up bright and early at our apartment.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? That’s it? Why are you smiling?”

I couldn’t keep the grin from spreading across my face as I watched her growing more hostile by the second. I’d grown accustomed to her soft-spoken demeanor. But this side or her? It reminded me of the girl in the club… the one that had rebuffed me in seconds without a second glance.

“You’re angry. I like it.”

She rolled her eyes, turning on her heels, obviously expecting me to follow. “The town car is here, waiting for us.”

“It can wait. I’m not done with my coffee.”

“Jerk,” she whispered under her breath.

I laughed.

She turned back around, tapping her foot in those sexy high heels. I took my time, sipping the last few drops of cold coffee in the bottom of my cup. It was awful, but I liked testing her patience.

“Okay, I think I’m done,” I announced, dropping the cup into the trash. I took a few steps toward her and motioned to her bag. “Need help with this?”

“Bite me,” she answered, pivoting around toward the elevator.

“Gladly,” I whispered, shaking my head, as I watched her walk away.

This was going to be the longest two days of my life.

My father was right.

I was the dumbest man on the planet.

Making the hasty decision to rush out to California with Cara in tow had to be one of the most dim-witted ideas I’d ever concocted.

And that was saying something. I’d made some epic mistakes in my past.

But this one? It was a doozy.

Sitting on a plane with the woman who was quickly becoming something bordering on an obsession as her body grazed mine and her scent permeated the air around me, I thought I might surely go insane. By the end of our flight, I was sure I’d gone mad from the sheer will it had taken to keep my hands to myself.