“Then let’s celebrate with a little partying, since we are here at this fancy party, after all.” I grinned at him.
We drank a little more champagne and gulped down dainty hors d’oeuvres until we figured we could make our exit without looking out of place. We still had a long drive back to Paradise Bend.
Rowan put the top down on the convertible now that I didn’t have to worry about messing up my hair, and the breeze washed over us as he set off. I texted Wylder letting him know everything had gone well, sent Anderson’s contact info to Gideon, and kicked off my shoes to rub my aching feet. “Stupid heels.”
“No more of them for a good long time,” Rowan said with a laugh.
“I sure hope not.” I glanced over at him. “You were really great tonight, you know. It’s no wonder you managed to hook him.”
“Wemanaged to hook him,” Rowan corrected me. “You were amazing too. Getting his attention with the bids was a great warm-up.”
I elbowed him lightly. “Obviously we still make a great team.”
I turned on the radio and leaned back in the seat, and the hours passed with occasional chatter and a few spurts of singing along when a song we particularly liked came on. The late afternoon darkened into evening and then night. By the time we reached the edge of Paradise Bend, it was totally dark, everything silhouetted by the harsh glow of the streetlamps.
Maybe now was a good time to speak up, while we were high on the victory, our hair wind-blown and our fancy clothes loosened. I looked over at Rowan. The headlights of an oncoming car deepened the brown of his eyes.
“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”
He glanced at me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence. The car that’d been coming toward us abruptly veered in front of us, just as two more roared up from behind. There was nowhere for Rowan to turn to avoid them. He hit the brakes, and the car behind us crashed into the back of the convertible.
We jerked to a halt with a screech and the distinct sound of safeties clicking off all around us.