The CEO's Unwanted Wife novel · Chapter 23 of 24

Chapter 23: Route 9

Agnes's driver took us to the lot behind the trucking firm, and Agnes stayed in her back seat with her tea and a look of great innocence.

The blue hatchback sat in the last row, with a coat of April dust on its hood.

Dalton unlocked it and stood holding the door.

I got into the passenger seat and put on my belt.

It was a small, ordinary click, and I watched it land in him.

He sat down behind the wheel.

His hands found ten and two, and they were not steady.

"I haven't done this with a person beside me," he said.

"I know."

"If I can't..."

"Then we sit here, and I read you the sports page."

"You don't read the sports page."

"I'd learn."

He laughed, wetly, and turned the key.

The engine caught on the first try.

He closed his eyes for exactly one breath.

Then he put the car in reverse and backed out of the lot as slowly as a man carrying soup.

We drove the length of the town at twenty miles an hour.

Cars honked, and one driver rolled down his window to say something specific.

Dalton did not speed up.

When we turned onto Route 9, I put my hand on the seat between us, palm up, and said nothing.

He did not take it.

He needed both hands, and I understood.

The road ran straight and grey under a low sky, with pine trees on either side, and a mile marker came and went.

"You're doing nine under," I said.

"Is that bad?"

"No. My father did ten under. Every road, every day. My mother used to say we'd be buried before we arrived."

His throat moved.

"I'll do ten under," he said, and eased off the gas.

It was drizzling again when he pulled over.

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