The rental car process seemed to take forever, especially since he had to take a shuttle to get there, but he finally headed out, following sketchy directions from the rental car agent, who looked all of fifteen. Amazingly enough, the directions were good, and when he saw the church up ahead, he went over his options. It was 5:15, which meant the wedding had already started. Maybe he could go inside and object, like everyone had done at Blair’s wedding.
He’d boarded the plane with the aim of interrupting the wedding, but now he couldn’t help wondering what Libby would do if he objected. Would she be relieved? Would she kill him?
He pulled into the parking lot and discovered the decision had been made for him. Libby was running out the church doors, Megan and Blair hot on her heels. Noah slowed down and drove toward them, his heart in his throat.
Then Libby bolted again, running straight for his car. He hit the unlock button, watching in disbelief as she threw her bouquet into the crowd and then opened his passenger door. The sudden frenzy of women vying for the flowers reminded him of feeding time in a shark tank. Amazingly enough, Megan’s gram was front and center.
The door opened and Libby scrambled into the passenger seat. The crowd streaming out of the church was growing by the second, and Mitch stood in front of all of them like he was their disgraced quarterback.
She kept her eyes on the crowd as she shut the door. “I’ll pay you a hundred dollars if you get me out of here right now.”
She was here. In his car. And from the look on Mitch’s face, she wasn’t married.
“Only a hundred?” he asked, purposely trying to keep his tone light. “My plane ticket cost more than that.”
Libby sucked in a breath and turned to look at him, anger in her eyes.
Oh. Shit.
Chapter Three
Noah’s grin faltered, probably because he realized he was in deep shit. But getting away took precedence. She could kill him later.
Mitch raced toward the car, and even the older guests had streamed out onto the lawn. “Libby!”
Panic spiked her pulse. “What are you waiting for? Go!”
The car lurched forward and the tires squealed on the asphalt. “Where are we going?” he asked, clearly confused.
“I don’t care!” she shouted. “Just drive!”
He barely stopped at the street corner before skidding around it.
Oh, God. What had she done?
“Libby?” he asked, sounding worried. “What happened?”
“Shhhhhhh!” she hissed loudly, covering her face with her hands. “Just give me a minute.”
Thankfully, he knew her well enough to keep quiet.
What the hell had she been thinking? Why had she been so certain the stupid curse would work for her? Megan and Blair had been right. It was a coincidence that both of their love stories fit the fortune teller’s prophecy. Nothing more. Nothing less.
She was a fool.
And now, because of her idiocy, she’d wasted several thousand dollars, broken Mitch’s heart, and humiliated herself in front of a hundred people.
She’d done plenty of stupid things in her day—like the time she ran off to Monte Carlo with a mechanic who swore he was becoming a Formula One racer, only to return a week later with a sunburn and a seven-thousand-dollar balance on her Visa card. Or the time she was arrested for painting a mural with amazing anatomical detail of her ex-boyfriend’s penis, right down to the bump near his testicle, on the side of his new girlfriend’s house—but she wasn’t so sure she’d live this one down.
“Where to, Lib?” Noah asked, his concern evident.
Where to? She couldn’t go home and face all those wedding presents stacked in the corner of her living room. She couldn’t face her friends, or God forbid, her mother. She definitely couldn’t face Mitch, although she owed him the apology of all apologies, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
The truth was, there was nowhere she could go that would make her feel any better than she felt right now in this car. It felt like the entire world had melted away, leaving behind only her and Noah, the one person she could trust to understand.
“Just keep going.”
“Okay.”
His warm hand covered hers, and that simple comfort brought tears to her eyes.
She blinked them back.
There would be no tears allowed for her stupidity. She leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. She’d had several sleepless nights, so the lull of the car soon had her dozing.
“Libby.”
“Hmm?” Something dark and heavy pressed on her mind, but how could it when she was with Noah? Noah always seemed to lift her burdens.
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
She opened her eyes and gasped when she realized it was now dark and they were parked in front of a café.
Then the whole nightmare came rushing back.
“Where are we?”
“The exit sign said Junction City, Kansas.”
“What?” She looked around, taking in the sight of cars in the lot and the street behind her. “How did we get here?”
He lifted his shoulders into a lazy shrug. “You said to keep driving. So I did.”
She slumped back in the seat. What did it matter where she was? As long as she wasn’t staring into the face of her humiliation. But apparently Junction City wasn’t far enough, because it was still there, staring back.
“Come on,” Noah said. “I’m hungry.”
She sat up straight and turned to face him. “You want me to go in there?” She pointed to the restaurant. “Dressed like this?” She waved her hand up and down the front of her sleeveless silk dress. Beading and sparkles covered the edge of her sweetheart neckline and the skirt flared at her waist, creating a sea of crinoline and silk around her.