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were safely back on the road, staring at the taillights of the car that had just cut Andie off.
    She exhaled heavily, leaning back into her seat. “Sorry,” she said softly.
    “It’s okay,” he said, somewhat unsettled, but not at all from the near collision.
    After a minute, Andie laughed humorlessly. “Unbelievable,” she said, gesturing at the windshield. “Why does someone become a daredevil just long enough to cut you off, but then proceed to drive like someone’s ninety-year-old grandmother as soon as they’re in front of you?”
    “Are you telling me you didn’t factor shitty drivers into your travel plans?”
    She pursed her lips at that, keeping her eyes on the road, and he smiled.
    “When someone drives like that in front of me, you know what I usually think about that makes me feel better?”
    Andie glanced over at him. “Do I want to know the answer to this question?” she asked, and he laughed.
    “Think about it this way. What if this person never came out in front of you, never forced you to slow down, and you took an upcoming curve too fast and went flying off the road? Or what if your original travel speed put you in an intersection at the exact moment a truck ran a red light? Or when a little kid forgot to look both ways before crossing the road on his bike?”
    Andie looked over at him, her expression taken aback.
    “Maybe something bad would have happened if this guy didn’t slow you down when he did. Maybe this is your guardian angel, looking out for you.”
    She stared at him for another second before she blinked quickly, bringing her eyes back to the road.
    Chase kept his eyes on her for a moment before he sat back in his seat, turning his head to look out the passenger window. He really did like to believe what he had just told her; in fact, at times it was the only thing that kept him from ramming into the jack-off in front of him. But he had no idea why he had just shared that with her.
    Another silence filled the space between them, and he turned to look at her, the oddest feeling coming over him as something like triumph swirled in his stomach.
    Because this time, as he studied her profile, there was a tiny crescent-shaped crease at the corner of her mouth.
    The faintest hint of a smile.

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    C HAPTER T HREE

    A ndie sat in the driver’s seat with the windows down, a gentle breeze playing with the tendrils of hair that had worked themselves free from her ponytail. She held a pretzel to her lips, nibbling on the edge of it, her eyes combing the area and finding no trace of him.
    She had never been to Richmond, Virginia before, but to her it looked like any other place. Certainly, the rest stop where they had chosen to grab snacks and use the bathroom wasn’t anything extraordinary, so she had no idea what he was taking pictures of. But as soon as they got back to the car with their food, he reached in and grabbed his camera, telling her he’d be back in a few minutes.
    Andie rested her head back against the seat and glanced at the clock. It was just after two; they were making good time, she thought, surprised by the fact that eight hours had passed since they started the drive that morning.
    Much to her amazement, it had gone by pretty quickly.
    After the first hour, which was admittedly one of the most awkward and tense hours of her life, something had changed. That comment he made, the one about her guardian angel looking out for her, struck a nerve; she would have never expected something like that to come out of his mouth, something so optimistic, so… sweet .
    And maybe it was because she acknowledged that side of him that the next seven hours were an improvement; they alternated between lulls of silence, where they’d listen to music or take in their surroundings, and little bouts of conversation. Their exchanges were very basic, all superficial, surface-type things, but still, he hadn’t said anything truly offensive since then, and not once did she feel her defenses fly