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I quickly fill Rhett in on Marie’s and Bill’s respective plans.
“And after he drops the papers off, he’ll head to the airport,” I finish. “He’s… going golfing.”
Rhett grimaces at the thought. But then he smiles slightly. “And you’re going after him?” he asks.
“I was wrong,” I say simply.
“You weren’t the only one,” he says. Then he hands me the helmet. “You’re going to need this.”
I flash back to the last terrifying ride I took with Rhett through the New York streets. The thought of doing it on a motorcycle makes me a little queasy. But I take it anyway.
“Don’t you need one?” I ask.
“Nah,” he says. “I’m not going to crash. Although I think I’m hard-headed enough to survive one.”
I have to laugh and he grins that beautiful, wonderful, soul-shattering smile that I’ve missed so damn much. My heart is pounding. I feel slightly dizzy.
Rhett guns the bike, turning it to face the street. I hesitate and he looks over his shoulder. “Well?” he asks. “Are you coming along for the ride?”
Any hesitancy disappears. “Of course,” I say.
Then I jump behind him, swinging my leg over the seat. I’m nervous to touch him at first, worried it would seem too forward. He’s in a t-shirt and jeans. His arms are tanned, and he’s leaner than he was the last time I saw him. It suits him, further defining those magnificent muscles. He smells like motor oil and cinnamon.
“You’re gonna want to hang on,” Rhett says, as if sensing my uncertainty.
Well, if I have to… I wrap my arms around his waist, my body pressing against his strong back. His scent surrounds me and for the first time in months, that dull, pounding sadness that has seeped into every moment of every day evaporates.
I have half a second to enjoy it.
Then Rhett takes off into traffic and all I can do is hang on.
“SLOW DOWN!” I shriek into his ear as he hurtles us down Wall Street, splitting the lane and weaving in and out of traffic like a stunt man.
“Don’t worry!” Rhett calls back to me. “I’m a professional.”
If it were any other man, I would be demanding that he stop and let me off immediately. But I trust Rhett. Unlike that first terrifying drive through the city, this time I know he’ll bring us through safely.
So instead of panicking, I will myself to relax, to put myself in his capable hands, and enjoy the ride.
It takes a minute for me to realize that we aren’t heading out of the city.
“Where are we going?” I call over the roar of the bike.
“We can catch him at the lawyer’s office,” he shouts back. “He has a head start, but he’s sitting in traffic.”
“How do you know the way?”
“I called both lawyers to find out which they went to. And Marie and Mother apparently go to the same firm.”
And god knows Rhett’s needed a lot of lawyers over the years. He’ll probably need one again soon as I can’t begin to imagine how many traffic laws we’re breaking right now.
I’m not a lawyer but I suspect “in the name of true love” won’t hold up as a defense in court.
Before long, Rhett weaves to the edge of the road and once again jumps the curb, dropping the kickstand on the sidewalk in front of the glittering lobby of a skyscraper.
There’s a limo idling in front of the building.
“Think it’s Bill’s?” I ask.
