Page 18 of Falling for Them

“I don’t know shit about cars, but this is a really expensive one.” She walked closer to my blue Lamborghini Aventador.

“It is.” I pressed the button to open the doors. “I don’t drive it often. Just on special occasions. The SUV is my normal ride when I need it.”

She snorted. “You have a Lambo and a Kia. Interesting dichotomy.”

“Most of the time I use a car service that has their own fleet of cars. I take the SUV to the Hamptons since people usually come with me.” I popped the front trunk of the car. “Let me have your bag.”

Libby eyed the front trunk suspiciously. “If you rear-end someone, my stuff is toast.”

I gasped in mock outrage. “My driving skills are superior.”

“I’m sure everyone says that before they crash... how much did this cost?” She put her bag in the trunk herself. “Wait, that’s rude of me to ask.”

“It’s not. It was six hundred.” I shut the trunk and gestured to the passenger side.

She coughed as if she had eaten my words and choked on them. “Thousand? Are you sure this is necessary? The Kia seems safer.”

“You only live once, Libby. Plus, it’s way better than any train.” I smirked as I climbed into the driver’s seat.

Inside the car, everything was black with accents of blue that matched the exterior. I looked over at Libby, who was frowning. “What’s wrong?”

“This car costs more than a house. Two or three decent houses in some parts of the country.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, clearly not used to such luxury despite her brother being wealthy.

I didn’t have a response since she was correct, so I pressed the ignition button. The purr of the engine gave me an instant car boner. “Buckle up, princess.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please, no nicknames.”

“Libby is a nickname.” I fastened my seatbelt and then pulled out into the main garage.

She sighed and put her head back against the seat. “When me and my brother moved to Connecticut, there were three other Elizabeths in my class. Beth and Liz were already taken.”

I glanced over at her as I pulled out and headed for the highway. “Why not Lizzy?”

“My mom called me that.” Her voice was devoid of emotion and my heart ached for her.

As much as my mother drove me bonkers, I couldn’t imagine losing her so young. I reached across the console with my palm up, and surprisingly, she put her hand in mine. There was a jolt of electricity as our skin touched and I looked over at her again to find her eyes closed.

I gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “I’m sorry, Libby.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” There was a slight hitch in her voice.

Not wanting to upset her more than I already had, I let the radio and sound of the engine keep us company as I headed out of the city.

After a few minutes, Libby’s attention went back to the passing scenery. It had been so long since I’d been in a car with awoman who wasn’t keen on idle chatter that I didn’t quite know what to say.

“Are you excited about moving to Manhattan next week?”

She shrugged, her eyes still locked on the landscape. “I guess. I’ll miss the quietness and having a car.”

“I thought Ryker owned a parking space in the garage.”

“He does, but there’s not really a point to having a car in the city for us common folk.” She looked over at me with a smile. “I’ll borrow yours if I need to.”

I rubbed my hands over the leather-wrapped steering wheel. “Maybe the Kia.”

“Wow, and here I thought we were becoming friends.”

“We are.” Fuck. It wasn’t like I couldn’t buy myself another car if something happened to this one. “You can have it.”

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