Love Story (Love Unexpectedly 3)

I smirk a little that he’s noticed. Not that I needed the verbal confirmation that Reece noticed my outfit today. Few moments in my life have been as gratifying as coming out of my Savannah motel room to find him leaning against the side of the car, looking bored.

Bored until he saw me in a flared coral miniskirt and a silky black halter top. The high-heeled sandals didn’t hurt.

He blinked and tensed, and for a second there I had to remind myself that I’d dressed for Oscar. Not Reece.

If I repeat it often enough, maybe it’ll become true.

Then Reece snapped at me about being late even after I was the one who insisted on leaving at the ass-crack of dawn…and just like that we’re back to normal.

I put my notebook away. I meant the journal to be more of a keepsake—a way of making sure I actually remember the journey instead of only focusing on the end result, which tends to be my MO.

But it’s been surprisingly…therapeutic.

After long hours in the car with Reece and all the freaking memories, it helps to have an outlet. A place to talk about my frustration and my pain and…

Crap. There I go thinking about Reece again.

I tell myself it’s because we’re closing in on Miami and I’m…nervous.

I’ve had seven hours to think about my excitement, to anticipate the exact moment I walk into Oscar’s restaurant. I’ve timed it so that we’ll get there around 3:30. The restaurant is a late-night hot spot, which means it doesn’t open until five, and I know Oscar usually gets there no later than three to oversee prep for the evening ahead.

But admittedly, there’s something I didn’t think through.

After the grand Surprise! moment, then what? Oscar still has a restaurant to run.

My whole reason for surprising him is because I don’t want him to do anything special for my arrival (the man is prone to grand, sometimes cheesy gestures), but by not giving him any warning, he also wouldn’t have planned to take the night off.

I know he’ll plan to take tomorrow off, when he thinks I’m getting in. And although I’m staying two nights in Miami (yeah, Reece is thrilled about that), it’s still going to be potentially awkward with me just like…hanging out at the restaurant all night? Like the little woman?

Ugh.

One thing I know about the hospitality business is that it can be a little unnerving for friends and family to see you in your place of work. Teachers, construction workers, receptionists, doctors…they don’t very often have their significant others watching them at work.

But in the restaurant business, you’re on display, your worlds colliding. And I know from experience that it can be annoying.

Too late to back out now, Hawkins.

Reece reaches out and turns down the annoying blaring rock music slightly (his turn to pick). “So, where we staying tonight?”

I go still. Uh-oh.

Another thing I haven’t thought out. Though I’ve painstakingly found the absolute cheapest lodging option in every stop, I haven’t done so for Miami. I figured I’d be staying with Oscar, and that’s still my plan.

I hadn’t counted on Reece being in the equation, also needing a place to stay.

“Um.” I dig my phone out of my purse. “Hold on, let me find something real quick.”

I see the moment it clicks, because his knuckles whiten just slightly on the steering wheel. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll find something.”

“No, no, that was part of the deal,” I say, already scanning the results on my phone for cheap lodging. “I drag you along on this trip, at least I can find you a good deal on a place to stay. I’ll even pay for it.”

The look he shoots me is murderous, even through his sunglasses. “I swear to God, Lucy, if I wasn’t driving right now, I’d strangle you.”

“I’m trying to be nice.”

“Yeah, well offering to pay for my motel room so you can shack up with your boyfriend for two days while I sit around and wait for you isn’t the way to do it.”

“Don’t get pissy. You knew this was the deal,” I say, pushing my glasses onto my head so he can feel the heat of my glare. “And it’s not like I’m leaving you to fend for yourself in a one-horse town; it’s freaking Miami Beach. I’m sure you can find a girl or twelve to hook up with by the time we roll out in a couple days.”