Road Trip With The Best Man

‘In that case, I’m really going to need to find some new clothes.’

* * *

‘It’s not too late to turn back, you know.’ Cooper could tell she was getting cold feet. She was British—what did she know about great American road trips? Or how long they took? For some reason, tourists always seemed to underestimate the size of this country. And he could totally use that to his advantage now. ‘I mean, we’re only an hour or so out. It would be no big thing at all to turn round, head back to that lovely mansion you picked and get back to your regularly scheduled life. You can tell your family you just needed to get some space, so you went for a drive. No one’s going to think anything’s odd about that, not after the day you’ve had.’

Cooper did his best to sound sympathetic, rather than gleeful. He might have always wanted to do a big coast-to-coast road trip, but this wasn’t exactly how he’d pictured it—even if the car was perfect. No, the best thing for everyone involved was for Dawn to give up now and go home.

‘In fact, we’re still going to be closer to the wedding venue than to the beach house for another....’ he glanced down at the dashboard ‘—one thousand, four hundred and seventy miles. I mean, we haven’t even crossed the bridge to Oakland yet. Perfect time to turn round.’

‘No.’ Just the one word, but Cooper could hear a world of stubbornness behind it.

‘You know, I could call Justin and ask him to courier your passport and stuff to you,’ he pointed out, entirely reasonably, in his opinion.

‘Still no.’

Damn. He must have laid it on a bit thick. He’d been so sure she’d been about ready to back down from this crazy stunt. What was she really hoping to achieve? To prove to Justin how much she truly loved him so he’d forget that, until she drove across the country, he knew she’d only wanted to marry him for his money? Did she really think that would work?

Cooper sighed. The worst part was, she might be right. After all, if he wasn’t afraid Justin might fall for the big romantic gesture, he wouldn’t be turning onto Interstate 80 at the San Francisco-to-Oakland bridge right now.

The problem was that Justin had always been the romantic one—even if he’d been the only one to see through Rachel the one time Cooper had let down his walls long enough to fall in love. Justin still believed in love and happy-ever-afters in a way that Cooper never had—and certainly hadn’t since he’d learned the hard way that the only thing other people wanted from him was his money and influence.

But Justin... Justin had always been easily swayed by a beautiful woman—just like their father. And Dawn was, Cooper could admit, objectively speaking a beautiful woman. With that dark hair and pale skin, not to mention those bright green eyes...

Of course, every woman looked beautiful on her wedding day. Which was no doubt the reason Dawn had decided to chase after Justin in her wedding dress and full make-up—to make maximum impact.

Cooper smiled to himself. At least he could be pretty certain that the dress and make-up would look rather less impressive in a week’s time, when they finally reached the Hamptons and Justin. And, since he was the one who knew where they were going, he’d have to do his best to make sure that any new clothes she did manage to get her hands on wouldn’t be half as alluring.

‘You know, I’ve always wanted to take a proper road trip too.’ Cooper glanced over and saw that Dawn had kicked off her shiny satin high heels and rested her feet against the dashboard. Her perfectly painted toenails peeked out from under the edge of her wedding dress, glossy red.

He looked away. ‘Have you really?’ As of five minutes ago, he’d bet.

‘Absolutely,’ Dawn said, nodding enthusiastically. ‘And really, there just isn’t enough of Britain to count as a proper road trip. You can drive the whole thing in a day or so. No, you have to come to the States for a real road trip experience like this.’

‘And what constitutes a “real road trip experience” in your mind?’ Cooper asked sceptically.

‘Uh, well...snacks, obviously. And music. You need a soundtrack.’ She looked dubiously at the ancient radio the Caddy boasted. Cooper suspected that if it picked up anything it would be radio waves beamed straight from the fifties, giving them a steady diet of Elvis and Buddy Holly. The car’s engine and working parts had all been updated enough that he trusted the Caddy to make the distance he needed, but the interior and aesthetics were most definitely of its time—radio included.

‘What else?’ he pressed.

‘Stopping to eat in diners—like, proper, authentic American ones, with pancakes and burgers and stuff.’

‘Are you hungry, by any chance?’ Cooper asked. ‘Because that’s the second food item on your essentials list so far. And you’ve only come up with three things.’

‘Kooky roadside attractions!’ Dawn shouted. ‘That’s what a road trip needs! I mean, that’s what I’ve always imagined for my dream road trip.’

That she’d clearly come up with five minutes ago as a way of convincing him she was going through with this. Right. ‘Roadside attractions,’ he repeated dubiously.

‘Yeah, you know—like the world’s biggest ball of twine. That sort of thing.’

‘The world’s largest ball of twine is in Kansas,’ Cooper replied automatically, and regretted it almost instantly. ‘We’re not going through Kansas.’

Dawn stared at him. He tried to pretend he hadn’t noticed. ‘How do you even know that?’

He shrugged. ‘I know things.’ Such as the world’s largest ball of twine made by one person was in Minnesota, which they also weren’t going through. But he wasn’t telling her that.

‘You like kooky roadside attractions too!’ Dawn declared. ‘Well, this is perfect, then. We can bond over them on our road trip.’

She sounded so pleased with herself for figuring out something about him that Cooper had to pour cold water on her optimism.

‘Not much point in bonding though, really, is there?’ he pointed out. ‘Not when you’ll be out of my life, and my brother’s life, the moment you get your passport back. Right?’

Because that was the deal here. He wasn’t helping her win Justin back. He was making sure she never even had the chance to try.

And, the sooner she accepted that, the better.

* * *

‘Right.’ Dawn dropped her feet from the dashboard and shoved them back into the stupid, uncomfortable wedding shoes her sister had insisted she buy.

For a moment there, she’d let herself get carried away with the trip. With the escape. Running away was so appealing right now...but she wasn’t. She was running towards something.

Justin.

Not to win him back, exactly, whatever Cooper thought. But to figure out the truth.

She had to remember what she was in this for: closure. Not kooky roadside attractions.

Well, maybe one or two. They did have to take breaks, after all.

Speaking of which...

‘Do you think we could stop somewhere soon?’ she asked. ‘Not to turn around or go back or anything. But you were right. I am hungry.’

Breakfast and mimosas had been hours and hours ago, and she hadn’t been able to stomach lunch, when the ceremony was supposed to start at two. All she’d had since Justin’s non-appearance was half a bottle of Prosecco, a couple of canapés and a breath mint—all courtesy of Ruby.

Cooper made an impatient noise in the back of his throat. ‘We can stop when we get to Sacramento.’

‘Sacramento?’ Dawn didn’t want to admit that she had no idea where that was but...she really had no idea where that was.

‘It’s only another hour or so from here,’ Cooper told her.

Dawn wondered if her stomach might start to eat itself before then.

‘So, you know this route pretty well, then?’ she asked, more to distract herself from her growling stomach than anything else.

‘It’s mostly one road,’ Cooper answered. ‘Just follow the I-80 to New Jersey, and from there I’m practically home.’

‘Right. You live in New York.’ Too far to consider flying over to meet his brother’s girlfriend in California, of course.

‘When I’m in the country.’ And too busy to bother anyway. Even if he worked for the same family company as Justin, somehow Cooper managed to make it more all-consuming.

What was it Justin had always said about his brother? ‘He doesn’t need love, he has work. It’s basically the same thing for him.’

How sad that must be. Sure, Dawn was all for job satisfaction—that was what had brought her out to the States in the first place. Her company had needed someone to take over the marketing of one of their products on this side of the Atlantic, and they wanted someone who understood the true Britishness of it, as well as how to sell it to the locals. With her American mother and very British father, Dawn had been perfectly positioned for the job.

But a job wasn’t a life. It was something to do in between the more meaningful parts—the parts of a life that involved other people. Relationships, family, friendships, love.

The part of her life that had used to be all about Justin until that afternoon.

Suddenly her job was looking a lot more appealing.

‘So, what is it you love so much about your job?’ she asked. Maybe she could learn something from Cooper. Such as how to forget all about the more painful aspects of her existence for a while.

‘You mean apart from the money?’ Cooper asked drily.

Dawn raised her eyebrows as she looked at him. ‘Given it’s your family business, I’m pretty sure you’d still have plenty of money even if you didn’t work yourself half to death.’ The Edwards family had made the rich list every year for the last hundred, after all.

‘Who says I work myself that hard?’

‘Your brother.’

A muscle jumped in his jaw at her statement, but he didn’t respond.

‘So I figure, if you’re working that hard it has to be for more that money. So is it love of the job? The challenge of it all? Or...?’ Another option occurred to her. One far more fitting to her own situation. ‘Or is it an escape?’

Because that would explain it. But what was he trying to escape from?

‘You know, it’s funny. My brother never told me all that much about you at all. Whirlwind romance, was it?’

Dawn looked away at his obvious attempt to turn the questioning round on her. ‘I wouldn’t say “whirlwind”.’

They’d been together over three months before Justin had proposed. That wasn’t whirlwind, was it?

‘And a short engagement too.’ He glanced away from the road to raise an eyebrow at her.

‘Well, my work secondment was almost over, and if I wanted to stay, well, we had to make some decisions quickly.’

‘I’m sure. Of course, I know my mother was scandalised at having to try and plan a whole wedding in so short a time.’

‘We were lucky her name opened a lot of doors when it came to finding a venue,’ Dawn admitted.

‘You mean her money.’

‘Both, probably.’ Of course, that had also meant that Mrs Edwards had had the first and final say on where they held the wedding, what it looked like and who they invited.

‘Hmm.’

Dawn frowned. ‘Is there something you’re not asking me? I mean, something you want to know?’ Because it felt very much like he was skirting around some accusation she couldn’t quite grasp. ‘Wait—did you think we had to get married? You know, for...old-fashioned reasons?’ The kind of reason that would have had her father on Justin’s doorstep demanding he marry his daughter now he’d ruined her.

‘You mean, did I think you were pregnant? No.’ Cooper’s words were blunt, unemotional, but the image they brought up stung Dawn’s heart all the same.

She’d imagined it, even if he hadn’t. Her life with Justin. A family of her own. All of it.

And now it was never, ever going to happen.

Turning in her seat, Dawn stared out of the window at the lights and landscape rushing past. San Francisco Bay stretched out under them as they crossed the road bridge back to the mainland, on the interstate at last. The road that would take them all the way across the country. All the way to Justin and closure.

‘You might as well try and sleep some more,’ Cooper said suddenly. ‘I’ll stop in Sacramento so we can eat. Then it’s your turn to drive.’

Her turn. Right.

‘You’re sure you don’t just want me to drop you off somewhere so you can fly home?’ she asked. ‘I promise I’ll look after the stupid car.’

But Cooper shook his head. ‘No. We’re in this together now.’

‘Why?’ Who in their right mind would want to take this trip with her?

‘I have my reasons.’ And obviously no interest in sharing them with her.

Dawn sighed and rested her head against the window again. If she needed to drive on the interstate, she really should try to sleep.

Besides, apparently she had plenty more days ahead of her to figure out exactly what Cooper was getting out of this crazy road trip.

CHAPTER FOUR

AT LEAST SHE didn’t snore. Cooper supposed that he should be grateful for small mercies, given the current situation. The car was running fine, the interstate was as clear as it ever was and Dawn didn’t snore. She did, however, sleep all the way to Sacramento, a full hour and a half’s drive. Not that he was complaining. He was a long-time fan of his own company and rather less keen on hers.

As the road swung towards the north of Sacramento’s centre, Cooper kept an eye out for any decent looking place to grab a coffee and maybe something to eat. He’d promised Dawn, after all, and besides, his own stomach had started to remind him that it was a long time since lunch—and there hadn’t been much of that, anyway. He’d been saving himself for the wedding breakfast—not expecting to be on the road by the time everyone else sat down to eat it.

Spotting some familiar lit-up signs, he signalled to leave the interstate and pulled into a parking lot shortly after. The retail park wasn’t huge, but it had both chain restaurants and stores. Since he hadn’t exactly packed for this trip either, he could do with picking up a few things—and getting the hell out of the tux his mother had insisted he wear. Suits were one thing—Cooper could appreciate the value of a good suit. But bow ties were simply never going to be his style.

He glanced across at his companion and the wide lace skirts covering every inch of the passenger seat. At least he had to be more comfortable than she was. And that corset style top looked actually painful.

Yeah, they should stop and change. If nothing else, pulling up at a motel with a bride in a few hours’ time was just going to look tacky.

‘Dawn?’ he said softly, then repeated it louder when she didn’t stir. ‘Dawn.’

Her eyes flickered open. ‘Are we there?’

‘We’re in Sacramento,’ he said, unsure if she was awake enough even to know where she was asking if they were. ‘Come on. We can pick up some supplies and get something to eat before we carry on.’

She nodded, but her eyes were fluttering closed again. Cooper rolled his eyes and climbed out of the car, slamming the door loudly behind him.

That woke her up.

He locked up then took off towards the nearest store that looked as though it would stock everything they needed for the next few days. When he reached the door, he glanced back and saw Dawn struggling to catch him up, her wedding dress tangling around her legs and hampering her movements.

‘Honeymoon over already, huh?’ an older guy asked, stacking carts by the door.

Cooper ignored him. Yeah, they really needed to get some different clothes.

Inside, the harsh overhead lighting turned Dawn’s lace dress almost a pale yellow, but they were still getting plenty of stares from the other shoppers.

‘Let’s split up,’ he suggested. The whole bridal thing was making him uncomfortable, and she wasn’t even his bride. ‘It’ll be quicker.’

Dawn nodded her agreement. ‘Fine. I saw signs for the bathrooms at the front of the store, so I can get out of this dress too.’ She looked almost as happy as him at the prospect. ‘Where shall I meet you?’

‘The burger joint across the way?’ Cooper had a sudden, unusual hankering for a proper burger and the place looked big enough that they should be able to seat them, even if it was busy. ‘Whoever gets done first can get us a table.’

‘Works for me,’ Dawn said, shrugging as she headed off towards the women’s clothes.

Cooper moved around the shop quickly and efficiently. Years of business travel—and the occasional lost suitcase—meant he knew exactly what he needed to survive a few nights on the road, and at least this time he didn’t need to replace any of his suits. A couple of pairs of jeans, some tee shirts, a slightly thicker zip-up top, underwear, socks, sneakers and essential toiletries, and he was done. They might not be of his usual quality or brand, but they’d do for a few days. He headed to the tills to pay, then straight to the restroom to change, hoping they’d at least be clean.

He felt better just for being in casual clothes. With autumn still a few weeks off, it was definitely far too hot for a tuxedo in California. And if he had to take this stupid road trip, he at least wanted to be comfortable doing it.

Pushing open the door, he headed back out to the front of the store, planning to stash his discarded clothes and the rest of his new purchases in the car before heading across to check out the burger bar menu. But when he stepped out into the small corridor outside the restrooms, he found Dawn waiting for him—still in her wedding dress.

‘Let me guess,’ he said, drily. ‘You neglected to pack your wallet and now you need money from me.’ How predictable. But Dawn wouldn’t be the first woman to use him as her personal ATM, and as long as it meant that she couldn’t worm her way into the family’s finances longer term he was willing to live with it. Especially as even he knew that wedding dresses didn’t have pockets.

But Dawn blinked at him with confusion, then held up a bag of clearly already paid-for shopping. ‘I had my credit card in my clutch bag. I just can’t undo this dress on my own.’

Oh. Oh. ‘You need my help.’

‘Please.’ She looked pained just to have to ask him, but she turned and presented her back to him all the same. ‘If you could just loosen the corset ties enough, I should be able to wriggle out of it myself.’

As she spoke, the doors to the main store opened again and two large men walked through, their curious eyes fixing instantly on Dawn and her wedding dress.

Cooper scanned the doors leading off the small corridor. He was not undressing a woman in public, with an audience to boot.

‘In here,’ he said, giving her a gentle push towards the baby-change room and hoping it wasn’t already occupied by a squalling infant with a dirty diaper.

Fortunately, it was free. Cooper locked the door behind them before addressing the issue of Dawn’s gown.

‘How did you even get into this thing?’ he asked as he fumbled with the corset laces at the back of the dress.

‘I had help,’ she said drily. ‘Lots of help.’

‘Your bridesmaids?’ How could a dress possibly be as complicated as this? There must be a better way of getting her out of it. What if he pulled on that end of the lace? Would that make it better or—?

‘Ow!’ Dawn cried as the dress tightened around her middle.

Right. Worse.

‘Yes, my bridesmaids,’ she went on as Cooper quickly went back to loosening the laces the slow and boring way. ‘My four sisters, all of whom had their own wedding day experiences to draw on to tell me exactly

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