See You Again (Wishful 8)

“Thirty years is fast?” Adele’s smirk made irritation prickle.

“We aren’t in college anymore.”

“No, but you’re still fundamentally the same people. If you’d been free back then, would you have slept with him?”

That wasn’t even a question. She wished it was. “Yes.”

“Okay then. It seems like the last three decades were a really long intermission to something that was inevitable. You’re a grown woman, who’s free to make her own decisions.”

“I’m not arguing that. But say I go to bed with him. Then what? He owns a multi-billion-dollar company. His life isn’t here in any permanent way. And mine can’t be anywhere else.” It was the thing that had been circling around her brain all day. How could they have anything permanent with lives so different? And was it worth having him only for a little while? If she let herself get that deep, could she survive losing him again?

“I seem to recall that Norah had the exact same struggle with Cam. And whose wedding are you currently saving? She wanted it bad enough to make a way.”

That was unarguably true. Her future daughter-in-law had moved heaven and earth to find a way to be with Cam. But… “She’s also not yet thirty and was at a transition point in her life.”

“Honey, as you’ve just pointed out, Trey’s a billionaire. He can do whatever he damn well pleases. Now, stop fast-forwarding to an end before you’ve even begun.” Adele gave Sandy a quick, hard hug. “Go to bed with him tonight or don’t. That’s up to you. But wear those slacks and the green cashmere sweater and pack the jersey dress in your purse, just in case you need to step it up a bit. And wear your good underwear. Whether he sees it or not, it’ll make you feel better.”

In the end, she wore a dress. At the heart, she was a Southern woman. Everybody knew it was better to be overdressed than underdressed. Even if they ended up at a hole-in-the-wall, like The Beacon, she’d feel more confident looking her best. And hell, he’d said somewhere other than Wishful. Maybe he was taking her to Oxford to some of their old haunts.

The khaki pants and button-down shirt he was wearing when he picked her up gave absolutely no additional clues.

“Is this okay?” she asked, brushing at the skirt to smooth imaginary wrinkles.

“You look beautiful.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek.

“But is it appropriate for where we’re going?”

The corner of Trey’s mouth twitched. “It’s an anything goes sort of place. You’ll be just fine.”

Sandy picked up her purse. “You’re seriously not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.” He laced his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his lips. “I told you, it’s a surprise. C’mon.”

She hesitated when he opened the door to the back seat.

“Louis is driving us,” Trey explained.

And that just elevated this whole date to…something new. They were being chauffeured? Sandy slid into the car and nodded to the stone-faced man in the driver’s seat. “Hi, Louis.”

“Ms. Crawford.”

“Do you know where we’re going?”

His eyes met hers in the rear-view mirror, and she could’ve sworn she saw a spark of humor. “I’m not at liberty to say, ma’am.”

Trey slid in beside her. “He’s too well-trained to reveal my secrets. But you’re welcome to keep guessing on the way.”

Since it felt like a game, she did. She ran through everywhere she could ever remember going with him and quite a few restaurants in Lawley, the county seat about forty miles away. But when they turned down a country road, she knew that wasn’t their final destination. This road led…nowhere.

Sandy shot Trey the side eye. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing. Yet. But give me ten minutes.” After that cryptic remark, he said nothing else.

So, she lapsed into silence and watched the woods and fields roll by, while he idly played with her fingers, as if he couldn’t bear not to touch her. She liked it. She liked all of this more than she should.

“Ah, we’re here.” Trey leaned forward as they broke free of a stand of trees at…a helipad?

Sandy couldn’t even care if she looked like a rube as she pressed her nose to the glass and stared at the tidy little helicopter parked in front of them. “Since when is there a helipad in Wachoxee County? And how did I not know about it?”