Cam couldn’t believe that after so many years of city driving, Taryn had wrecked her car.
“What were you thinking about that you didn’t see a fucking Suburban in front of you?” he asked.
Taryn feigned sleepiness.
After she chose a Breeze to rent, she drove to her office, and holed up with her Hanson notes and her computer. The studio had sent up the proofs from the 
Hansons’ photo shoot for her to look at, and she found herself staring vacantly at Isaac. The phone jolted her from her thoughts.
“Taryn Mathews,” she said.
“Isaac Hanson,” said the voice on the other end.
He called!
“Isaac,” she said. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“I told you I’d call,” he said.
“So you did.”
“So … what are your plans for this evening?”
Oh, no, Taryn thought. I can’t let him see me with my face like this.
“Oh, gosh Isaac,” she said. “Tonight’s going to be tough. I’m on a pretty serious deadline,” she half-lied.
Isaac paused on the other end of the phone. She told me to call her, he thought. Why is she blowing me off now?
“Oh. That’s too bad. I’m only in town today and part of tomorrow, and then we’re going back to Tulsa. I really wanted to see you at least one more time before we left,” he said, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.
Taryn’s heart sank. Only a day and a half? She decided to tell him the truth.
“Okay, I have a confession to make,” she said.
Shit, Isaac thought, She is married. Here it comes.
“I got into a car accident this morning.”
Isaac felt relieved and panicked all at once.
“Oh my God,” he said. “Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you? What are you doing at work?”
“Hang on, hang on,” Taryn said with a laugh. “Let me get a word in and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Taryn gave Isaac the details of her accident, and then admitted that she didn’t want him to see her with her face in such a beat-up condition.
“Taryn,” Isaac said softly, “I doubt any airbag would make you look bad. I doubt there’s much that could make you look bad.”
Taryn laughed. “I think you’d be surprised,” she said. “I begged off an interview with Monica because I was afraid I’d scare the poor girl half to death.”
Isaac thought for a moment.
“I really want to be with you tonight,” he said. “We have a press conference at 7:00, but after that I’m free. What if I arranged a date where we could just be together and I promised I wouldn’t look at you much?”
“How would you do that?”
“There are lots of things two people can do in the dark,” he said, without a hint of irony.
Taryn stifled a giggle.
“Okay, but you’re going to have to drive tonight. I’m not sure I can. I made it over here in the daylight, but my eyes are pretty swollen and I’m not comfortable trying to drive at night in the city with my vision impaired.”
“That’s fine. Should I pick you up at your office?”
“Be waiting downstairs in the lobby for me at 8:30. I’ll be there.”
