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it is, go to hell.” She yanked her hand free of the too-intimate, too-gentle contact, pulled her keys from the ignition and put space between them.
    The solid sound of metal meeting metal echoed in the quiet evening air, followed by an identical echo as Curtis exited the driver’s side of her car. He stared at her across the red roof, jaw ticking, eyes narrowed. Thinking she was certifiable, probably. In about two minutes, he’d be thinking she was a monumental bitch too. He’d be right. On both accounts.
    She opened the passenger door, flung herself over the center and onto the driver’s seat at superhuman speed. Before he could even think about hauling her out, she slapped the door lock down.
    He peered through the glass as she cranked the engine. “What the fuck are you doing?”
    What she should have done the first time—getting away, alone. “Move or lose your ability to dance with my ugly cousins at the reception tomorrow.”
    He held his ground as she gunned the motor. “Sara. Come on, think of your sister. Whatever’s going on with you, fucking file it away until the wedding is over.”
    If only she could, she’d have filed it all away years ago. She threw the shifter into reverse. Coldhearted bitch expression in place, she gave hell to the gas pedal and peeled out of there. Experience had taught her she couldn’t outrun the ghosts he’d asked about. Didn’t mean she wouldn’t keep on trying.
    *
    Curtis stood in the empty spot where he’d parked Sara’s car. Dust from the gravel settled in front of him as the sound of her car faded into the distance. So much for keeping an eye on the maid of honor and ensuring she didn’t mess up the wedding with one of her self-centered stunts.
    He’d had things—and her—under control. It’d taken a few minutes for her to decompress from whatever the fuck that scene with her dad was about, but once she had, she’d seemed relaxed. Hell, he’d even say they had a good time on their short road trip. Until the wheels flew off. Again.
    Conn was going to flip out when he learned Curtis had effectively lost Sara the night before the wedding. Fuck and fuck. He cracked his neck side to side, rolled his shoulders and released a long breath. Might as well get it over with.
    Twilight had fully descended and the near-darkness wrapped around the Chambers’ cozy home. A few interior lights were on, but it didn’t appear that the intimate get-together had moved indoors. Didn’t sound like it either. Country music and laughter carried across the warm evening air, probably from the deck on the waterfront side of the property. They hadn’t let Sara’s dramatic exit ruin the party. Good. Neither would he.
    He followed the path around the house. The easy laughter dwindled when he stepped onto the deck without a sassy brunette in tow. He motioned his brother aside, and not surprisingly, Nia joined him. Made sense. She had more invested in this problem than anybody. At least she didn’t have to depend on Sara for the big event tomorrow. Lindsay could take a step to the right and do maid-of-honor duty. The show would go on.
    The three of them moved out of earshot. Kind of pointless since the remaining guests consisted of Nia’s parents, Conn’s parents and sister, and the friendly pastor, all of whom would undoubtedly be updated on the situation in the time it took him to go to the can. Still, announcing the recent events to the group didn’t sit right. It wouldn’t be nice for Nia and it wouldn’t be fair to Sara, crazy as that sounded.
    “Where is she?” Nia’s soft voice broke through his silent musings.
    “Took off. No idea where or why. I thought she’d calmed down.” He grunted under his breath. “As much as that’s possible, I suppose.”
    “Yeah. Sara is…” Conn glanced at his almost-wife, then back to Curtis. “Complex.”
    Nia sighed and leaned in, head snuggled to Conn’s chest, arms circling his waist. Conn pulled her close and kissed the top of