The laughter saved her from crying. Either that, or she was becoming hysterical. She got her wristlet with her phone and room card out of the credenza and hurried down through the kitchen to get to the back door. She was determined to get off the island as quickly as possible. If she had to walk to the Hamilton, then, by God, she would.
Regan caught up with her as Isabel was closing the door. She followed her outside and asked,
“Where are you going?”
“I want to find a ride back to the Hamilton.”
“Is something wrong? It’s not even eleven.”
“I’m very tired.”
It was a lame excuse and she knew Regan wasn’t buying it. She didn’t press her, though, and Isabel was thankful she didn’t have to make up a more elaborate lie. The truth was too painful to talk to anyone about.
“There are so many people here who wanted to meet you and ask you questions about XO.”
“I think I’ve met everyone.”
“And they all asked about XO, didn’t they?” Regan asked, smiling.
“All but one,” she replied, her voice trembling now. “Amanda Foley asked me if I would sing at her wedding. She said that she and Michael would just love it if I did. I told her I don’t do weddings.
Then I laughed. I’m not sure why I did that.”
If Isabel hadn’t been feeling so miserable, she would have laughed at Regan’s flabbergasted expression.
“No,” Regan gasped.
“Yes,” Isabel insisted.
Regan didn’t try to talk her into staying. “Theo hired a car service for those guests who have had too much to drink. You can get a ride back to the hotel whenever you’re ready to leave.”
“I’m ready now.”
Regan motioned to one of the drivers, who quickly opened the back door of a black town car.
“I’m going to call the hotel and have security waiting for you in the parking garage. They’ll be in front of the elevators we used earlier, and they’ll accompany you up to your suite.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Better to be safe than sorry.”
Desperate to get going, Isabel didn’t argue. She could feel anxiety building, and she knew, if she didn’t get it under control soon, she was going to have a full-fledged panic attack right there in the back of the town car.
Thanks to Michael she was an emotional mess. If it were possible, she would go to the airport right this minute in her fancy cocktail dress and her stiletto heels and catch the next flight to Scotland.
All she wanted was to disappear for a while. She took a deep breath, leaned back against the plush leather seat, and closed her eyes. The weight of the last few days was bearing down on her.
First and foremost, there was Michael. She had to get as far away from him as possible. He’d hurt her, and it was going to take time and distance for her to heal.
Then there was the shooting and poor Detective Walsh. She’d killed a man and hadn’t come to terms with that fact yet. There was a tiny part of her that felt tremendous guilt. She had taken a man’s life, and she knew she would never be the same.
Becoming an overnight sensation, as Xavier said, was yet another reason to run away. There were fanatical fans out there who had transferred some of their love and mania onto her. Though she hadn’t admitted this to anyone, they scared the bejeezus out of her. She pictured them crowding in on her and shivered at the thought. It was so claustrophobic. Escaping to the Highlands and Glen MacKenna was just what she needed.
As soon as she arrived back at the Hamilton, she had her suitcase for her trip to Scotland brought up from storage. She opened it, realized she’d overpacked, and took out more than half the number of outfits and put them in a box the concierge supplied. She also emptied her backpack and stuffed all those clothes in the box. When she was finished, she asked the concierge to mail the box back to her home in Silver Springs.
Too worked up to relax, she channel-surfed for a while, but she couldn’t concentrate on any program. She wished she could get out of Boston now. The thought had crossed her mind earlier, and it had seemed an implausible idea. But why? Why couldn’t she leave now? There really wasn’t any reason to wait until Monday to leave for Scotland, was there? Maybe she could get an earlier flight.
It took only a couple of phone calls, and she was all set. In order to leave as soon as possible, Isabel had to make adjustments to her itinerary. Instead of flying to Glasgow, she was now landing in Edinburgh. A flight that had been scheduled to leave earlier in the evening was waiting for a new crew coming in from Los Angeles. The airline decided to reschedule, and the new departure time was five thirty Sunday morning, much to the disappointment and anger of quite a few passengers. Several canceled their tickets, which was a stroke of luck for Isabel. One of those cancellations made a first-