Roarke stood next to the car with the door open. “Tell her yourself when I bring her back.”
Twenty minutes later, he pulled up with a screech of tires in front of the airport. He jumped out of the car and ran toward the door.
“Sir! Sir! You can’t leave your car there.”
“Tow it!” Roarke tossed over his shoulder.
Inside, his eyes searched the small terminal for Celeste. She must have already gone through security.
He got in line at the ticket counter. “I need to get on your next flight to Atlanta,” he said, handing over his identification and credit card.
“Any luggage?” the woman asked, eying him warily.
“No.” He knew that could be seen as a red flag, but he had to take his chances.
Once he received his boarding pass, he went through security with ease. He walked toward the gate, and then he saw her, leaving the restroom, dragging her wheeled carry-on behind her.
He went toward her. A bookmark, hanging precariously from the magazine she had tucked under her arm, fluttered to the floor without her noticing.
He bent to pick it up.
“You dropped something.”
Celeste stopped dead in her tracks. She would recognize the whiskey warmth of his voice anywhere.
Turning slowly, she saw Roarke, wearing the most irresistible, bone-melting smile she’d ever seen. Without a second thought, she released the handle of her suitcase and let it clatter to the floor. The magazine tucked under her arm followed suit, and she dashed across the few feet into his arms.
“Trying to sneak off again?” he teased.
She shook her head, too choked up to speak.
They stayed pressed against each other for a while. At last, Roarke drew back to look into her eyes. “I almost lost my mind when I realized you’d left. I’ve had enough of you leaving me without a word.”
“I didn’t want to leave like that, but things got messy with Derrick. I swear I would have called you when I got back to Atlanta.”
“I couldn’t take the chance that you wouldn’t.” The teasing smile left his face. “Derrick told me the truth about your so-called relationship. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to embarrass him, and we had a deal. I thought if I talked to him alone first, I could get him to come around, and then I could explain everything to you. I just thought it would be better than both of us approaching him at the same time, and maybe he wouldn’t be mad at you. But I was wrong. He became livid and took out his anger on me. He called me names and said the only reason you wanted me was because of the competition between the two of you—because you thought I was his girlfriend. He hates you so much.” She sighed. “After he told me I was no longer needed, he made me leave with him and brought me here.”
“I figured he’d forced you out. I was so furious, I was two seconds away from hitting him.” He took her hands in his. “I don’t expect we’ll be best friends anytime soon, but I suspect our relationship will go through some changes in the near future.” At her questioning look, he continued. “We yelled, we talked—and we have a lot more talking to do—but I think I finally got through to him. We might finally be able to live as brothers instead of enemies.”
“I’m so happy to hear that!”
“We’ll have to take it one day at a time.” The smile reappeared. “And I’m ready to tell the world how crazy I am about you.”
Taken aback, Celeste titled her head sideways. “Crazy, huh?”
“Mhmm.” He drew her closer so she could feel the hard length of his body. “It’s the only adjective I can think of to describe my actions the past couple of days. I’ve gone against my conscience, slept in your bed against the house rules, and broken speed limits twice today just so I could get to you.”
“You are crazy,” Celeste said with a mischievous smile. She reached up and stroked his bearded chin with her fingertips.