The Look-Alike Bride (Crimson Romance) by Kathryn Brocato

utmost, but even she had to admit the scenery was spectacular. Adam kept pointing out items of interest along the way, which told her he was thoroughly familiar with the route. The knowledge soothed her jittery nerves somewhat and calmed her jumping stomach.
    He had called her “angel.” Her stomach lurched again, but not with fear. She watched the scenery to her right, carefully avoiding the spectacular view to her left, and wondered what he meant.
    Probably nothing, she adjured herself, frowning, knowing not to try and make something out of nothing.
    “I’m sorry.” Adam glanced at her. “I didn’t mean to really scare you.” The vehicle slowed perceptibly. “Well, maybe I did, but that’s no excuse. What is it about feminine fright that makes a man feel so manly?”
    He sounded droll and genuinely penitent, and Leonie broke into laughter.
    “I didn’t know I was exhibiting feminine fright.” She caught a movement in the side-view mirror and frowned. “That’s weird. There’s a car way behind us, and it’s trying to match our speed.”
    “Is it a bronze sedan?”
    Leonie felt a chill move over her skin. “As a matter of fact, it is.”
    Adam said nothing, but from the way he peered into the rearview mirror, Leonie knew he was giving his full attention to the matter. It comforted her so much she knew she’d better find a way to avoid Adam Silverthorne in the near future.
    “They seem to have either dropped back, or disappeared,” Adam observed at last. “Maybe they turned off on a side road.”
    “What side road? We’re in the mountains, in case you haven’t noticed.”
    “Let’s try an experiment,” he suggested, narrowing his eyes on the road ahead. “We’ll pull over around this bend and see if they pass us.”
    Leonie held her breath while Adam whipped the Jeep around a sharp bend and pulled off onto what looked like a minuscule shoulder. She twisted in her seat and stared back at the steep cliff that cut off their view of the winding highway they’d just traversed.
    Butch looked around, interested. Leonie spoke softly to him, hoping he wouldn’t take the opportunity to try and hop over the side of the open vehicle.
    “Wait for it,” Adam said. “We’ll look like we’re lost, just in case.”
    He reached across her, opened the glove compartment, and extracted a map. His thick, dark hair brushed against her arm, he was so close. Worse, she could smell the spicy scent of his aftershave again. Her stomach experienced another of those peculiar falling sensations.
    Before she could dwell too much on his proximity, he straightened and opened the map, then spread it across the steering wheel in imitation of a lost tourist.
    “Well, what do you know?” he asked softly, pretending to study the map.
    The bronze car rounded the bend at a swift pace. Leonie pretended to study the map, also, but in reality, she focused on the two men in the car as it swept by them. Oddly enough, they seemed interested in keeping their heads turned toward the view. Either the view was more spectacular than Leonie had supposed, or the men didn’t want their faces seen.
    “If I was driving past a car stopped on the side of the road,” she observed, “I’d at least check to see if anyone needed help.”
    Adam grinned at her suspicious tone. “You have to admit, the view is great in that direction. Maybe they’re genuinely interested in the scenery.”
    “Maybe.” She said nothing else. In her opinion, the fact that a bronze sedan followed them spoke for itself. “Let’s see how long it takes them to find a way to follow us again.”
    “I’ll be surprised if we see them again.” Adam put the Jeep into gear once more. “If they really are following us, they’ll know better than to let us catch sight of them again.”
    Leonie stared ahead as far as she could see, but the road twisted and turned so much, the bronze car wasn’t visible. “They can’t just pull off and wait for us. Not on this road,