All the Way by Kristi Avalon Page A

stop for the night after five or six hundred miles, which will put us at the border of Illinois tonight.” His long forefinger trace the blue line west across the map. “Then we’ll go around Chicago, up through Wisconsin, Minnesota, and finally we’ll hit Sturgis.” He tapped a dot near the western most edge of South Dakota. “That’s our destination.”
    Layla turned bleak at the thought of going such a huge distance on a motorcycle. Not to mention having her arms wrapped around Blake the whole time.
    Fissions of awareness shot up her spine when she felt his hand on the small of her back. He murmured, “It won’t be that bad. You’ve already made it three hours. You’re doing great, Layla.”
    She arched an eyebrow. “I must fake it well. When we stopped, I’d lost feeling in both legs. I could barely walk to the bathroom.” For reasons I don’t care to share .
    “That’ll pass, once you get used to it.”
    I’ll never get used to being close to you and pretending like it doesn’t matter . She forced a smile. “If you say so.”
    “The worst is over.” His smile held reassurance. “It can only get better from here.”
    Pulling on her helmet, she fiddled with the strap. “Sorry if I have my doubts.”
    “You don’t think I can get you there safely?”
    “That’s not what I mean.”
    “If you’re talking about Rob, I tried his cell while you were in the bathroom. He didn’t pick up, muted the ringer. Which means his phone is on, even if he is avoiding us.”
    A different sort of tension knotted inside her stomach. “Why won’t he pick up?”
    “Rob’s probably trying to prove himself to the guys he’s riding with. He won’t want them to know there are people out there worried about him.” Blake sighed. “I know it’s not much to go on, but if we stick to our schedule we stand a decent chance of catching up to him.”
    Worry invaded her. “Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?”
    “Because Rob is everything to you. And you’d never forgive yourself if anything bad happened to him.”
    Touched by his depth of understanding, Layla looked up and met Blake’s gaze. It would be easy to lose herself in the calm promise glowing in his deep green eyes.
    In contrast to the noisy hum of cars and the loud voices of motorists, Blake spoke softly. “I’ll try to make sure nothing happens to Rob. Or you, Layla. I know you don’t think you can trust me—”
    Pain flashed in her eyes.
    It slashed across his heart. He looked away as he finished. “But I’ll do whatever I can to get everyone back to Cleveland in one piece.” He reached for his helmet. Then he added, “I’d never do anything on purpose to hurt you. I wish you’d believe that.”
    “Please, Blake. Don’t bring up the past.” Inside her helmet her cheeks blazed bright red. He noticed she couldn’t meet his eyes again. “It’ll only make this trip harder.”
    The armored plate across his chest that he’d begun to peel back slammed down into place. “You’re right,” he agreed coldly. “It’s got nothing to do with this trip.” He straddled his Harley, ready to leave. “Sorry I said anything. Won’t happen again.”
    Famous last words.
    There were just some things he’d never be able to do around Layla. Trying to pretend their past meant nothing was one of them.
    He’d promised Tanner he’d straighten out the truth with Layla. Even if they didn’t stand a chance of getting back together, she still meant a lot to him. Probably always would.
    He started up his Fat Boy and revved the engine.
    Regardless of what might happen between them during this trip—whether they took their unresolved feelings to the physical level, or went their separate ways in the end—they’d be on the same page the whole way. No more secrets. No more holding back. So there’d be no more looking back.
    He maneuvered his motorcycle through the parking lot, steering toward the highway.
    Whatever it took to get the past out into the