Page 118

I wasn’t a fan of guns or violence in general, but with people like the Brotherhood running around trying to kill those close to me, I couldn’t stick my head in the sand.

Vuk had a point about D.C., though. I was scheduled to take the train home the following day, so I didn’t have time to do anything except pack and visit the salon after I left his house. I liked to style my hair in low-maintenance box braids when I traveled, even if it was a short trip, and Kim did them faster and better than anyone else I knew.

However, when Vuk found out I was taking the train, he insisted on driving me to D.C. himself “for safety reasons,” which was how I found myself going on a road trip with Vuk freaking Markovic.

“I love that you brought your cat.” I petted Shadow and smiled when he thumped his tail against my thigh.

“He’s a temporary guest, and I didn’t bring him,” Vuk said in a long-suffering tone. “He’s a stowaway. I didn’t notice him hiding in the back until we stopped for gas.” He scowled at the sleepy feline. Shadow was curled up in my lap, oblivious to his owner’s irritation.

I stifled a laugh at Vuk’s endearing grouchiness.

“I would’ve noticed him earlier,” he added, “if you hadn’t packed your entire closet for the weekend. I can barely see past the mountain of luggage in the rearview mirror.”

“It’s not my entire closet,” I said. “It’s only one-eighth of it.”

Three suitcases, one duffel, and one vanity case was the bare minimum. Did heknowhow much space shoes took up?

“That’s…terrifying.” Despite his words, a little smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

My indignation melted into an answering smile. Maybe it was his company, the comfort of petting a cute cat, or the prospect of seeing my family again, but this was the lightest I’d felt all week.

My trauma from last Friday’s attack was nowhere close to healed. I probably needed extensive therapy to deal with what had happened, and Jordan’s fate remained in limbo. The Brotherhood remained an ominous specter in the background. But people needed hope in the darkest of times, and spiraling into a pit of worry wasn’t going to help anyone.

I reached for my phone and changed the music to something more upbeat. I was the DJ for our trip, and Vuk seemed content to let me fiddle with the Spotify stations as I saw fit.

“Is this your first trip out of town this year? Besides San Francisco,” I amended. “I feel like you never go on vacation.”

“No, and I don’t have time for vacation.”

“Everyone has time for vacation.”

“Not me.”

“Then what were your other trips for?”

“Business.”

God, he could be infuriating. “That’s boring.”

Vuk slid a sideways glance at me. “Says the girl who flies from photoshoot to photoshoot around the world. When was the last timeyouwent on vacation?”

“That’s not the same.” I smoothed a hand over Shadow’s fur. “I build in vacation days around the photoshoot when I can. For example, after I did that perfume campaign for Chanel, I stayed in Provence and took four days off.”

“But you still flew there for work. You wouldn’t have been in Provence if you weren’t required to be there.”

I opened my mouth, then shut it.Dammit. He had a point.

Travel was one of my favorite parts of modeling, but it would be nice to go somewhere I didn’t have to worry about work at all.

“Fine,” I said after I’d regrouped. “If youdidhave time for vacation, where would you go?”

Vuk’s brows drew together in thought. I loved that about him. When he wasn’t intentionally pushing my buttons with blasé answers, he considered every question with the same gravity a CEO considered an important business decision. It didn’t matter how silly the question was.

He made me feel seen, but he made me feel heard too.

“Somewhere cold,” he mused. “I like the mountains and snow. Fewer people there.”

“Why am I not surprised?” I teased. “I’m a warm weather girl. Give me a beach and fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them any day.”