the road in places, and Thorn caught glimpses of people leading ordinary lives on this clear Saturday afternoon—swimming in the river, fishing, boating, picnicking.
“How could she do this to me?” he asked, not realizing until he heard Alexandra answer that he’d said it aloud.
“You’re assuming she’s done something wrong,” she said.
“Yes, I am. Humor me.”
“I don’t know the answer,” she mumbled.
“I’ve given that woman everything she wanted.”
“Well—”
“And she has wanted a lot, trust, me,” he added. He shook his head and glanced briefly at Alexandra. “You didn’t know about this other guy?”
“No,” she answered. “If there is another guy.”
“There’s another guy.”
“Assuming there is,” she said cautiously, “didn’t you suspect something was wrong?”
He shook his head again and then found himself pondering the question. The truth of the matter was that he and Natalie had never really talked much—it hadn’t seemed necessary. Words were for other people, for family and friends and business associates, not lovers. At least, that’s what he’d always thought, and Natalie had seemed to be in perfect harmony with this ideology.
“I know you were anxious to get married,” his passenger continued, “but maybe you should have given her more time. Maybe this whole thing is a blessing in disguise. Now you’ll have a chance to really talk to each other about how you feel—Yikes, Thorn, you’re awfully close to that bumper up ahead!”
He eased off the accelerator. “What do you mean, you know I was anxious to get married?”
“Natalie told me.”
“Natalie told you what!”
“That she wanted to wait a few months, but you insisted on a June wedding. She thought it was very romantic. Actually, everyone in the shop thought it was romantic.”
He furrowed his brow and shook his head, but he didn’t say anything. A subconscious thought surfaced like a dead guppy in a fishbowl. Did he really know Natalie Dupree at all?
The closer they got to the ocean, the chillier it became. Determined not to add to Thorn’s concerns, Alex shivered in her flimsy dress and didn’t ask him to put up the top of the car. The scarf helped keep her head moderately warm, and she found that she could half bury her bare arms in the voluptuous folds of her skirt.
At least her feet didn’t hurt anymore. She’d flicked off her shoes as soon as she got in the car and now she wiggled sore toes against the plush carpet, suspecting there was no way on earth she was ever going to get those pointed instruments of torture back on her feet.
It was early evening by the time they broke onto the coastal road and turned north. Alex knew it would take at least another hour of steady driving to reach their destination, and she clenched her teeth together to keep them from chattering. Thorn was driving at a much more moderate speed than she would have predicted. In a way, she wished he would speed up and get this drive over with.
For the first time, she began to wonder what exactly would happen when they reached Otter Point. Should she trail behind Thorn as he looked for his wayward bride, or should they separate and cover twice as much ground? No, she’d better stay close to him, at least close enough to act as a buffer so that Natalie didn’t have to face Thorn alone.
Actually, what she really wanted to do was to plant herself in the hotel lobby, preferably near a functioning heater vent. Maybe she should broach this subject now and together they could settle on a plan of action.
One short peek at Thorn quelled that notion. His features were set in a frown that suggested whatever events he was mentally reviewing weren’t happy ones. She decided she had no desire to interrupt his thoughts and looked ahead instead, anxious only to get this over with.
After a long, slow curve, the road straightened out and ran beside the beach. Only a few determined walkers and people throwing sticks for frantic dogs were visible. The promontory on the north end of the beach was called Otter Point, and even from a distance of two miles, Alex could make out the hotel, which appeared to cling to the rocks with the tenacious grip of a limpet. The tiers of decks jutting from the main structure were outlined in twinkling white lights, while the interior of the hotel glowed yellow in the gathering dusk.
“We’re almost there,” she said.
Thorn spared her half a glance but said nothing.
“Do you have any idea what you’re going to say to her?” Alex persisted.
“No.”
She took the hint—the man did not want to talk, at least not to her.
Thorn stopped the car opposite a pair of wide glass doors etched with seabirds. Within seconds, a young man in a teal green uniform appeared, opening Alex’s door, offering her a hand. Stiff from the long ride and chilled through to the bone, Alex knew her exit from the car was something less than graceful. As she unwound the scarf from her head, she felt half her hair tumble to her shoulders and looked up to find her helper, whose name tag identified him simply as Roger, staring at her with a bemused smile.
She reached back inside and grabbed her shoes. By the time she’d straightened, Thorn had come around the car and was waiting on the curb for her.
“Any luggage, sir?” Roger asked.
“What?” Thorn grumbled as he fished in his pocket.
“Luggage, sir?” Roger repeated.
Thorn, looking distracted, said, “No. I mean, yes. In the trunk.”
Alex looked at Thorn. “You brought luggage?”
“Honeymoon,” he snapped.
“Oh.”
“And I guess I’ll have to catch you later,” Thorn added as he turned back to Roger, his hands empty.
“That’s fine, sir.”
Another uniformed teenager had slid in behind the wheel to whisk the car away to parts unknown. He added, “We understand, sir,” and followed the comment with a broad wink.
“Understand what?” Thorn asked impatiently.
With a pointed look at Alex, the one in the car said, “How it is, you know, on your wedding day and everything.”
Alex opened her mouth to speak but a swift shake of Thorn’s head silenced her.
Roger gestured at the convertible. “You know, sir, this goop on your car can’t be good for the paint.” Nodding at the driver, he added, “Me and Todd would be happy to wash it off for you.”
“Yeah, no problem,” the driver said.
Thorn looked at the two younger men as though they were speaking Greek,
