Tempted to ask if they could turn back, she glanced over at Seth. He hadn’t bothered to shave and was also wearing a beanie with his coat, which was unzipped over a waffle-knit shirt he wore with a pair of chinos. Driving with one arm slung over the steering wheel of his sleek sports car, he looked far more comfortable than she felt. She thought he’d make a good advertisement for Porsche, but she knew she shouldn’t allow herself to admire him too much. Her emotions were scrambled from the accident and its aftermath, which made her vulnerable. After the crazy, thrilling and even tender night she’d spent in his bed, she could easily get too caught up in him and wind up in an even worse situation after her stay in Silver Springs came to an end.

That was another reason she had no business going to this brunch with him.

She opened her mouth to suggest turning around but couldn’t bring herself to pose the question. It was almost noon. The time it would take for him to return her to the guesthouse could easily mean he’d miss the family meal.

She should’ve tried harder to refuse in the first place. While the idea of an outing appealed to her, especially after how long she’d been cooped up, she could’ve driven to Santa Barbara or somewhere else for the day.

Although...driving was always a daunting challenge since the accident. Not only that, but where would she go and what would she do once she got there? Wander around alone on a cold beach?

“Quit fidgeting,” he said, giving her a mock scowl. “You’re going to be fine.”

“How do you know?” she retorted.

He turned down the stereo, which was playing “The Show Must Go On” by Queen. “Because I’m here to make sure of it.”

She recalled how he’d pulled his Porsche as close to her doorstep as the walkway and landscaping would allow and rushed her out of the house and into the passenger seat of his car as though he was her new security detail. “Why are you even trying to take me with you?”

His eyes slid her way. “Because we’re friends.”

Friends and lovers—after last night. They called that Friends with Benefits, didn’t they? She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. She’d never dreamed she’d find herself in such an arrangement. According to her parents, and what she’d been taught, premarital sex was a sin—even for two people who were in love.

But it was just one night, she reminded herself. They’d both needed someone. And now it was over. She wasn’t going to beat herself up over it. Better to let it go, pretend it’d never happened.

“What’re you thinking?” he asked.

She turned her head to gaze out at the passing scenery. “Nothing.”