“Wow!” My eyebrows climb. “That was fast.”
Liam eyes me sharply. “When you know you know.”
I nod and glance over at Poppy, feeling that sharp tug at my heart again. Almost as sharp as the pain in my dick. I turn and pick up my bag. “You guys have a great time.” A crack of thunder makes me move faster, not wanting to get trapped here all night.
“We better get going before that storm gets any worse.”
Poppy nods and heads down the stairs. I shake Liam’s hand. “Good luck to you, man. Happy for you.” Not really. But I can’t exactly tell that to the love-sick idiot.
I hear the door slam and pick up the pace.
“I think Poppy’s in a big rush. Is everything alright with her? She seems kinda angry.”
I shake my head. “No. It’s been a long day. I think she’s just tired.”
“I’m real sorry to drag you guys out here.” His dark eyes study the looming clouds moving over us. “I think it’s going to be a doozy. You sure you don’t want to stay here. We’ve got plenty of room.”
I can’t help but notice that “we”. They’ve obviously moved in to new territory and I don’t want to be anywhere near the hearts and flowers stage ever again.
“No, that’s okay. I think we can beat it.” As if to belie my words, a crack of thunder and flash of lightning hits close by.
“Sure. But this looks like a bad one. I’d hate to hear that you guys got in an accident on the way home.”
“We’ll be fine.” I make it to my truck and stand alongside it, watching Poppy. “You ready?”
She nods but then as soon as Liam moves away, I can see her grit her teeth and climb in.
Liam grabs my arm. “Are you sure this is wise?”
“Yep. Thank you for your concern, Liam. You guys stay safe.”
I reverse out of the drive and Poppy slides down in her seat, closing her eyes. A twinge of unease hits my belly. The shadows under her beautiful eyes are more pronounced like she hasn’t been sleeping well. Her features look wan, tired.
And now I feel like an asshole for dragging her out here. I didn’t need to. I just didn’t want her to leave and I wanted to punish her for talking about me behind my back. Or trying to.
“You okay, Nurse Jones?”
“I’m fine. Just watch the road.”
“It’s fine. I’m a very good driver,” I growl, my hands clenching on the steering wheel.
The wind picks up and the truck wavers on the road, the wheel jerking to the side. I grunt and pull it back straight.
I glance over but she doesn’t even crack an eyelid. I blow out a huffed breath.
Rain pours down in buckets and I squint my eyes, trying to see the road. A large, dark shape runs across the road right in front of us and I swerve, jerking the wheel, swearing violently.
“Shit, shit, shit! Dammit!” We slide into a skid and lightning flashes until all I can see is dark and light over and over again.
A thud knocks me to the side and my head hits the door. Dimly, I can hear Poppy screaming and I struggle to push the dark back. I need to get to her.
But darkness closes in and I sink under with a sigh.
CHAPTER3
Poppy
Igroan and pull myself up, slow and shaky. Looking down, I can see that I’m fine. My legs are all in one piece. My hands shake as I push my hair out of my eyes. It’s dark and I can’t see anything out of the windows except an occasional flash of lightning.