he swept her past the Patricks and out the front door.
Chapter Nine
The downside of valet parking was that you couldn’t make a quick getaway. You had to wait for the attendant to notice you, find your ticket and then bring the right car back. You had to scrounge in your wallet or your pockets for a tip—or borrow from the woman you came with, which was a total embarrassment. Only then was escape possible.
Griff blew out a huge breath when the doors finally shut on both sides of the Jag and he could put his foot on the gas pedal. After a few minutes of driving blindly through the Patricks’ upscale neighborhood, he brought his brain back on track.
“How about a real dinner? Somewhere my suit and your dress fit in? We do have a fancy French restaurant in Sheridan, it’s called—”
“I don’t think so, thanks.” Arden’s voice sounded tight, rigidly controlled.
“What’s wrong?” He moved his hand to cover hers on the seat, but she slipped her fingers away. “Arden?”
He heard her sharp breath in the darkness. “Are you going to ignore what just happened? What you did?”
Griff pulled his hand back. “Sounds like a good option.”
“You investigate the behavior of others—you want to know every detail of my past, my—my motivations and my reasons, my plans for the future. But you don’t stop to examine your own?”
Jaw clenched, he took whatever turns became available, heedless of direction. “I’m aware of my own faults. Believe me, I know exactly where I come up short.”
“This is not about failing, Griff. This is about facing your life and making it work.”
“Which you, living like a hermit on a deserted island, know so much about?”
“I made my choice deliberately and was quite…satisfied, thank you very much.”
“That’s not true, Arden, and you know it. You’re happier after a week in Sheridan than you ever were on that pile of sand.”
“And you are an expert at evading the issue. But I won’t allow it this time. What you just did, in the middle of a very nice party, was rude and immature.”
“I shook their hands. I said hello.”
“And you stalked out as if you’d shaken hands with the devil himself.”
“Well…”
“Are you still so in love with her that you can’t bear to see her happy?”
He opened his mouth…and then closed it again because the automatic answer he’d started to give surprised him so much.
When was the last time he’d thought about Zelda as…well, as the woman he wanted to be with for the rest of his life? For six months, he’d been laboring under a sense of rejection and loss, but was he missing her—or simply the habit of being half of a pair?
Because these days, when he saw a woman in his mind’s eye, when he thought about who to talk to, spend time with…make love with all day and night…the face was Arden’s. The body in his dreams, the voice in his head, the laugh he wanted to hear when he encountered something funny—they all belonged to Arden Burke.
His foot had eased off the gas as he pondered, and the car had slowed almost to a stop. He braked and shifted into Park, then turned to face her. “Arden—”
But now she sat with her head against the back of the seat and her eyes closed.
“Honestly, Griff, I’m really not feeling well. I’d like to go home—” She stopped short, then continued after a pause. “That is, to the cottage. To bed. If you don’t mind.”
“No problem.” He made the turns that would take them back toward the farm. “Are you just tired, or really sick?”
“Both, I think.”
“I’m sorry to hear it.” He stayed close to the speed limit as he drove, torn between avoiding trouble and making Arden comfortable as soon as possible.
“Why don’t I make you some tea,” he offered as they stepped into the cottage, “while you get into bed?”
She shook her head. “Igor needs a walk first.”
Griff suppressed a wince. “I’ll take him out.”
For the first time since leaving the party, their eyes met and held. “Neither of you will like that.”
“We’ll manage.” He gave her a gentle shove down the hallway. “Get into your gown, crawl between the sheets. I’ll multitask in the kitchen.”
Her shoulders lifted on a sigh, but she did as he directed. With a cup of water heating in the microwave, Griff took the dog’s leash and opened the door to the sunroom.
Igor had been lying with his nose on his front paws, but when he