Chapter Five
Nora's POV
For a second I just stared, sure I was seeing things.
But his car really had stopped right in the middle of the highway, its hazard lights blinking on and off.
The driver's door flew open. Graham jumped out and darted through traffic without a second thought, heading right for my cab.
He bent down and slapped his palm against my window. He was mouthing something. It looked like my name.
But the window was shut tight, and I couldn't hear a thing.
The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror, a little unsure. "You want me to crack the window so you can talk to him? It's not safe for him to be standing out there."
"No." I turned to look out the other side. "Just keep driving."
The pounding got more and more frantic. Pretty soon he was banging on the glass with both hands.
I never turned my head.
The banging didn't stop until a siren sounded behind us and a traffic cop came over and pulled him away.
The cars up ahead started inching forward, and the gap beside us quickly filled in.
I didn't look back until I was sure he couldn't see me anymore.
A few cars away, he was still twisting out of the cop's grip, trying to look this way. He looked panicked, in a way I'd never seen before.
So he could get worked up over me after all.
But I'd given him his chances. A hundred of them. He was the one who threw every single one away.
Once the traffic cleared, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way, and I got to the airport even earlier than I'd expected.
But at the check-in counter, the agent took one look at my ID and gave me an apologetic smile.
"Ms. Ellison, I'm so sorry, but your flight's been canceled due to weather. You can rebook or get a full refund."
I turned and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The night sky was perfectly clear. Not a single cloud, and the moon was big and bright.
"Weather?" I pointed outside. "It's a totally clear night."
Her smile didn't budge. "I completely understand how you feel, but this came straight from the airline. There's nothing we can do."
I didn't feel like arguing. "Fine. Rebook me, then."
But somehow every flight to Halston was full. The earliest open seat was at seven the next morning.
It wasn't worth heading all the way back into the city this late. When I asked if there was anywhere nearby to spend the night, she didn't even hesitate. She walked me straight into the first-class lounge.
After that, everything went way too smoothly.
Hot towels, hot tea, a late-night snack. They just kept coming. The staff took turns coming over to ask if I needed anything else, so attentive it started to creep me out.
Eventually I had to ask what was going on, and one of them just smiled. "We threw off your travel plans. It's the least we can do."
I let it go and leaned back on the couch to close my eyes for a bit.
When I opened them, someone was standing at the lounge entrance.
Graham's shirt was wrinkled, his tie was gone, and the wind had made a total mess of his hair. He looked exhausted, and he couldn't hide it.
In that moment, everything that hadn't made sense suddenly did.
A flight canceled on a clear night, flights that were suddenly sold out, all this over-the-top service. He was behind every bit of it.
He walked over and stopped a few steps away from me. He gave me a careful little smile, like smiling too hard might scare me off.
"Nora," he said quietly, "we said we'd spend tonight together. Why'd you take off without me?"
I looked at him, feeling a little dazed.
I'd only ever seen Graham this careful once before.
That was years ago, the first time he told me how he felt about me.
He'd stood in front of me just like this, so nervous he didn't know what to do with his hands. The whole time he talked, he kept watching my face, scared to death of saying the wrong thing.
Back then, I think he really did like me.
Maybe some of that was still left in him, even now.
But that was a long, long time ago.
Since then, I'd forgiven him ninety-nine times, and he'd let me down a hundredth time. I didn't have the energy left to figure out whether he meant it this time.
I wanted to give him a polite smile, but I just couldn't make myself do it.
Forget it.
I was done pretending.
I looked up and met his panicked eyes head-on. "Graham, we're divorced. So you tell me. What reason do I have to stay?"
