CHAPTER NINE

NOLAN POV

Holy hell. It couldn't be true that I was seeing her right?

I felt totally messed up seeing Gwen by the side of the road here in the woods. I was two hours away from the city, right near my cabin.

Part of me was also kind of excited. Okay, that excited part was mostly down there. But mostly, I felt really worried. I'm good at judging people, and Gwen hadn't seemed like a crazy stalker. But here she was.

I thought she had realized who I was, but as I walked closer to her, she quickly stepped back, like she was afraid of me. After the night we spent together, I thought she would be happy that I was the one stopping to help her. This area is usually safe, but bad things can happen anywhere. Gwen was an easy target out here.

I was about to speak when suddenly, she lost her balance and fell back into the deep ditch.

I moved fast, being careful of the icy, slick edge of the road. It would be terrible if I slipped and landed on top of her. That would be very bad.

I slowly made my way down into the ditch. I held out my hand to help her up. "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

Just like last night, she hit my hand away. Her eyes were wide and angry. "Are you seriously following me?"

Did she just ask if I was following her? What the heck?

"I live out here," I said, my voice getting louder because I was annoyed. "I've owned this house for more than twenty years, and I have never once seen you here. So, let me ask you—are you following me?"

I had thought she wasn't a stalker before, but maybe she figured out who I was—or at least that I had money—and decided to try and get something from me. If I wasn't worried that she would either freeze to death or be found by some dangerous weirdo, I would leave her right in the ditch and go home.

She finally got herself standing up and looked at me with the same mad stare she had given me at the supply store the night before.

I felt insulted and grumpy. "Well? Tell me. Are you stalking me?"

"Why would I ever do that?" she snapped, quickly brushing snow and dirt off her pants and coat.

"A woman doesn't make the sounds you made at the hotel, or get off as hard as you did, and not want to do it again."

She stared at me with her mouth open in total shock. I had to admit, my own words surprised even me. I sounded like a complete jerk.

Finally, she lifted her chin, trying to look strong. "I regret last night completely. Every single part of it. If I could erase that memory from my brain, I would do it right now."

I took a step closer to her, noticing how her eyes flashed with heat and her chest rose and fell faster when I moved near her. "Liar."

She looked up at me. I could see her trying to hold back, but her lips were shaking just a little bit. It made me feel like the biggest idiot in the whole world.

I stepped back to give her space. "Okay. Why are you out here by the side of the road, anyway?"

She started to climb up the snowy bank toward the road. "None of your business! Just leave me alone, please!"

I followed her up to the road. "Fine, whatever. I'm just going home, then." I started walking toward my car. It was freezing cold, and I planned to wait in my car just to make sure she got into her own car and drove away safely.

I might be an annoying jerk, but I wouldn't leave a woman alone and stranded on the side of the road, no matter how much she made me angry.

I had walked about halfway across the street when she called out, "Wait! Wait a minute! I'm stuck. I hit some black ice and slid off the road into the ditch. I can't get my car out. Maybe when you get home, you could call a tow truck for me?"

I stopped and turned around, putting my hands on my hips, looking her over. "How about I give you a ride to my place, and you can call a tow truck from there? It'll be faster."

She moved her feet, looking down at the frozen ground. Was she nervous about being alone with me again? Or maybe she just hated needing help. Twice already, she had refused my help when she fell.

She spoke quietly. "I'm supposed to be out here visiting a friend of mine. Maybe you could take me to their house instead?"

That sounded even better to me. The last thing I needed was the woman I had just slept with and was still thinking about sleeping with again—inside my house.

"All right. I can do that. Where does your friend live?"

She took out her phone and quickly read off the address.

My stomach suddenly twisted. My heart started to beat hard. I recognized the address. And with that, a horrible new thought slammed into me. This couldn't be the young woman my daughter, April, had planned to bring to stay with us for the holidays. April's friend was named Gweneth. Fucking hell. Is 'Gwen' a nickname for 'Gweneth'?

I had received a text message a few hours ago from April saying that they would travel to the cabin separately. But no. This woman couldn't possibly be my daughter's college roommate. Could she?

All at once, I couldn't breathe. Two terrible truths hit me at the exact same moment.

I had slept with my daughter's friend, which made me feel like a horrible pervert.

Because she was my daughter's friend, I was even more responsible for helping her right now.

"Yes, I can take you there," I said, trying to sound normal. "Do you have a bag or anything?"

She walked to the driver's side of her car and opened the back door. It was hard because the car was leaning to one side. I rushed over to help her, holding the door open and taking a small bag from the back seat. I carried it over to my car and put it inside.

The whole time, my mind was racing, trying to find a way out of this mess.

There was no way I could take her to my house and stop her from learning who I was, was there? I could just leave her at the empty house, but that would be rude. Also, I had locked the door, so I'd have to unlock it, which would show her that it was my place.

My irritation grew. Why the heck was she out here all by herself? Where was April? I had expected my daughter to be here by now, but I hadn't worried because she is always running late. And why didn't they travel together as they had planned? Not that having Gwen walk into my house with April wouldn't still be a huge shock.

But never, not even in my worst nightmare, did I think things would become this complicated.