a/n: What a MONTH!

Hey, ya'll! I had to drop off the map for a while because of RL and tons of wedding-related stuff. My best friend just got married! :D I was her maid-of-honor and drove out-of-town every weekend. I also was the Day-Of Wedding Coordinator for my sister's friend. Plus my sisters are in town visiting!

Now that things are finally settling, I have been ITCHING to write. This is going to be very good for you all. ;-)

"Howl's Love Advice"

Chapter 26: Car Ride

5 years ago…

"Oh sweetie, I wish you wouldn't wait around for that Justin boy."

Sophie hastily hung up her mobile when her step-mother strolled into her bedroom. "Mom… we're friends."

"Mm, I see. Well, has this friend answered your messages?"

Sophie glanced down at her quilted bedspread and ran her fingers along it. "He's… busy with university, that's all."

Honey, her step-mother, clucked her tongue. "Sophie, I'm the only one who will tell you this because I love you. Boys like Justin make friends easily. He's moving on with his life, sweetie. He doesn't need you now."

Present Day

"Howl! Please slow down!"

"Hahah, you old lady."

"No, you're a maniac!" Sophie yelled when Howl whipped the car around a bicyclist. She squeezed a cuddly animal toy to her chest and hardly dared to breathe. She was terrified that Howl would drive off the road if she so much as blinked.

"We lost them!" her boss cheered, flashing her a winning smile. Sophie scowled. Howl's response was to laugh and mash on the accelerator pedal.

Sophie gasped, "Doctor Howl Jenkins Pendragon!"

A light up ahead turned red. Their car screeched to a stop, causing their purchases in the backseat to tumble forward and Sophie to release a soft moan.

Howl frowned and peered at her. "Hey, you alright? You're skin looks… Oh no. You can't! You can't get ill in my car!"

"Oh sure, whine at me, when it's your fault I'm feeling this- oh." Then the vehicle was moving again. The people on the city sidewalks blurred past as colorful smudges. Sophie clutched the toy and turned towards her window with eyes squeezed shut, wishing away the thick, queasy feeling in her throat.

Cold air suddenly bit into the car cabin. Howl had rolled the windows down a crack. It was freezing, but the fresh air made Sophie feel a bit better.

"Try to fix your eyes on something stationary outside the car, it helps," Howl murmured.

His tone reminded her of Justin: calm, warm, thoughtful.

"If you get sick in my car, though," Howl continued, "then your first duty as secretary will be to clean every inch of this interior!"

Nope, not Justin.

"That's exploitation," she muttered, boring her gaze into a cloud along the skyline.

"And especially not on that toy in your arms," Howl continued ranting as he turned the car onto a side-street. "A bit childish, don't you think, naming it a thing like 'Dollop.'"

"Daisy," Sophie corrected, briefly glancing at the green-eared, spotted cow in her arms. "I don't understand why I'm the childish one when you're the one who bought it!"

"Someone wasn't listening," Howl retorted. "It's for the Contest. They all are." He gestured towards the backseat filled with soft toy animals.

Sophie bit her lip and ran a finger along the window edge. "Right..."

"Hm. That's the third time you've said that."

"What?"

"I mention the Contest, and you go all like, 'Oh,' 'hmm,' 'right,' 'I see.'"

"...Oh. Right."

"Sophie…" Howl gripped the steering wheel and glanced in his rearview mirror. "Were you not standing through that twenty-minute interview this morning?"

"Yes?"

"Then why in Ingary do you not know about the Contest? That's all I talked about the entire time!"

"The camera woman placed me fifteen feet away, how could I possibly hear you?"

Howl overplayed a sigh. "I guess this just means I'll have to keep you closer to me from now on." He rested his hand on the gear shift stationed between them. Sophie moved her leg further away from the middle. They drove on for a few silent moments.

Late winter winds chilled the car windows. It was surprising the car had warmed at all. It was an old-fashioned, rust-bucket with a streamlined nose and odd, pinkish side paneling. Sticky little fingerprints were on front passenger side dashboard, leading Sophie to wonder if a child had ridden in there recently.

Howl sighed again. "Can I tell you about the Contest now?"

Sophie gaped. Had he been waiting for her to ask? "You are incorrigible."

"Use fifty words or less to describe the perfect first meeting. Winner gets two tickets to the Lionsgate Amusement Park. It's the perfect contest: my readers get to share their stories, and I get an arsenal of fantastic pick-up lines," he winked.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "When does it begin, and what's my part?"

"Next week. You'll be helping me judge the entries." Howl blindly reached back and pulled up a purple-and-peach-striped hippo toy.

"Herman!" Sophie exclaimed happily. The hippo had been one of her personal picks, and she thought he, like the cow Daisy, was simply adorable.

"Oh my word," Howl scowled. "I said no getting attached. I was going to say, these medium stuffed toys are for the runners up. That giant bear in the back is for second place."

"There are so many," Sophie said, daring another glance backwards now that her car-sickness had abated and Howl was driving better. "What are you going to do with the rest of them?"

"Charity," Howl dismissed. He tossed Herman back into the backseat, making Sophie frown. "By the way, those guys chasing me are regulars. They really don't like my methods.'"

"Ah so... critics?"

Howl laughed. "Yes, critics."

Sophie smiled a little. She had never had a boss like Howl. Aside from his ludicrous driving, Howl made work… interesting. She wondered if being his secretary would always be like this.

They talked some more about the contest. During a lull, Sophie pulled Justin's business card out of her pocket. Tan and gilded gold. His printed name rustled memories.

"Sophie, do you have plans this weekend?"

She started. "I'm not certain."

"Great. Cancel them. We've a lot of work to do."