chapter 3
1656 Words
Cole opened the passenger door and waited.
Savannah stood beside the pickup, holding her small bag.
She looked at him, then at the truck.
“You're Cole Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“My grandmother sent you?”
“Yes.”
Savannah still didn't move.
Cole looked at her calmly.
“Something else?”
“I just want to make sure you're actually the person she sent.”
“I understand.”
He pulled out his phone and held it up.
“Your grandmother sent me your picture.”
Savannah leaned closer.
Her own face appeared on his screen.
She looked at him.
“You have a picture of me in your phone?”
Cole's expression didn't change.
“Unfortunately.”
Savannah stared at him.
Then he added, “She sent it five minutes ago.”
Savannah laughed.
“You could have started with that.”
“I thought the picture explained it.”
“You made it sound like you had been keeping my photograph.”
“I don't collect photographs of strangers.”
She gave him a suspicious look.
“Good.”
Cole opened the door wider.
“Are you getting in?”
Savannah gathered her dress and climbed into the truck.
“Thank you.”
Cole closed the door and walked around to the driver's side.
Once he got in, he started the engine.
Savannah settled into the passenger seat and placed her small bag beside her.
For the first few minutes, neither of them spoke.
Savannah looked through the window.
Seabrook passed slowly around them.
Small stores.
Fishing equipment shops.
Houses with porches facing the road.
People walking along the sidewalks.
It felt completely different from the city.
She caught Cole's reflection in the window.
He was watching the road.
His dark hair was slightly messy from the wind, and his face had the kind of strong features that didn't need much effort to stand out.
Then she noticed his eyes again.
Icy blue.
She had never seen eyes that color before.
She looked away.
Cole glanced at her.
“You're staring.”
Savannah turned.
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
“I was looking at your eyes.”
He looked back at the road.
“They're blue.”
“I noticed.”
“That happens.”
She smiled.
“You're very modest.”
“I'm just answering you.”
Savannah looked down at her dress.
She was suddenly aware of how ridiculous she must look sitting beside him.
A runaway bride.
A wrinkled wedding dress.
Smeared makeup.
Hair that had started falling out of its carefully arranged style.
She rubbed beneath one eye.
Cole noticed.
“You have something there.”
“I know.”
“Under your eye.”
“I know.”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
Savannah looked at him.
“That was helpful.”
“You're welcome.”
She almost laughed.
He wasn't trying to make her laugh.
That was what made it funny.
Cole wasn't particularly warm or talkative, but he wasn't rude either. He simply seemed like a man who didn't waste words.
Savannah found herself wondering what kind of person he was when he wasn't working.
Then she reminded herself that she had only just met him.
She had more important things to think about.
“My grandmother didn't tell me she was sending someone.”
“She asked me to pick you up.”
“Why you?”
“She asked.”
“That seems to be your answer for everything.”
“It usually works.”
Savannah smiled.
Cole kept his attention on the road.
After a moment, he said, “She told me you were coming from the city.”
“Yes.”
“She didn't say much else.”
Savannah nodded.
“That sounds like her.”
He glanced at her.
“You were supposed to get married today, weren't you?”
Savannah went quiet.
“Yes.”
Cole's eyes briefly moved to the wedding dress.
“I figured.”
Savannah looked at him.
“Because of the dress?”
“Mostly.”
She laughed softly.
“Fair enough.”
He didn't ask what happened.
He didn't ask who the groom was.
He didn't ask why she had left.
Savannah appreciated that.
She looked outside again.
“My grandmother is the only person I knew I could come to.”
Cole nodded.
“She'll be glad you're here.”
“You know her well?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Cole's hands remained steady on the steering wheel.
“She helped my family when we needed it.”
There was something in his tone that told Savannah he wasn't interested in explaining further.
So she didn't ask.
“Then I owe you for coming to get me.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“No?”
“You don't owe me anything.”
His answer was simple.
Savannah studied him for a moment.
Then she turned back toward the window.
There was something strangely comforting about his lack of curiosity.
She had spent the entire morning surrounded by people who wanted explanations from her.
Cole seemed perfectly content to let her have her silence.
A few minutes later, Savannah noticed a small scar near his eyebrow.
She almost asked about it.
Instead, she looked away.
She didn't know him.
There would be no reason to start asking personal questions.
Cole continued driving.
Savannah watched the road ahead.
For the first time that day, she began to feel that she had actually escaped.
Not completely.
Her family would find out.
Her father would be furious.
Her brothers would probably search every place they could think of.
But right now, she was in Seabrook.
She was going home to her grandmother.
That was enough.
Cole turned onto the road leading toward the northern part of town.
“We're almost there.”
Savannah nodded.
“Thank you.”
He gave a brief nod.
She looked at him one last time.
The serious expression.
The messy dark hair.
The broad shoulders.
Those striking icy blue eyes.
He was, unfortunately, very handsome.
And Savannah had absolutely no business noticing that.
She looked away.
Cole didn't say anything.
Across the city, Savannah's father stood in the middle of the wedding venue with his phone pressed against his ear.
“Where is she?”
There was silence on the other end.
His jaw tightened.
“I asked you a question.”
“We're still checking the cameras, sir.”
“You've been checking the cameras for an hour.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then check them again.”
He ended the call.
His two older sons stood nearby.
Ethan was pacing.
Michael was speaking to the wedding coordinator.
The wedding venue, which had been filled with music and conversation earlier, now felt strangely quiet.
Guests had been moved into another section while the family tried to deal with the situation privately.
Alexander Grant was still waiting.
The groom had been told that Savannah needed a little more time.
Nobody had told him the truth yet.
Savannah's mother sat on a chair, her hands tightly clasped together.
“She wouldn't do this,” she whispered.
Her husband turned toward her.
“She did.”
His voice was cold.
“She left.”
His wife looked down.
Ethan ended his call.
“I've contacted the driver.”
“And?”
“He never picked her up.”
Michael looked up.
“Her car is still here too.”
Their father stared at both of them.
“Then how did she leave?”
Nobody answered.
The security chief stepped forward.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We spoke with the woman who was helping Savannah get ready.”
“Bring her here.”
A few minutes later, the makeup artist stood nervously in front of them.
Savannah's father looked at her.
“What happened?”
The woman swallowed.
“Savannah asked me to get Mr. Harris.”
“Why?”
“She said she needed a minute.”
“Did she say where she was going?”
“No, sir.”
His expression hardened.
“Then why did you leave her alone?”
“I thought—”
“You thought?”
His voice made the woman stop.
His anger wasn't loud anymore.
It was worse.
He turned toward the security chief.
“Find Mr. Harris.”
The man immediately pulled out his phone.
Ethan suddenly looked toward the makeup artist.
“You said she asked you to go to the east entrance?”
“Yes.”
Michael's eyes narrowed.
“She was creating a distraction.”
The room went silent.
Savannah's father looked toward the doors.
“She planned this.”
His wife stood.
“She must have been frightened.”
“She was supposed to marry Alexander today.”
His voice was firm.
“She had a wedding waiting for her.”
His wife looked at him.
“Maybe she didn't want that wedding.”
He stared at her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he turned away.
“Call every security team.”
Ethan nodded.
“Check the roads leaving the city.”
Michael added, “Bus stations too.”
His father looked at him.
“Every station.”
He walked toward the window.
“She can't have gone far.”
The security chief approached carefully.
“Sir, what should we do if we locate her?”
His father didn't hesitate.
“Bring her home.”
He looked over his shoulder.
“Whatever it takes.”
Ethan picked up his phone.
Michael did the same.
Within minutes, calls were being made.
Security teams were searching.
Drivers were being contacted.
Bus stations were being checked.
And Savannah's family had no idea that she was already far beyond the city limits.
She was heading toward Seabrook.
And for the first time in her life, she had chosen where she wanted to be.
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