Page 54 of The Stalker

Is a client? Check.

Well…he was practically perfect in every way…except those two things.

They’re pretty fucking big things, though.

Tatiana sighed aloud and Hayden asked, “That was a big sigh. What’s up?”

Shit. Shit. Shit. She had to find an answer that wasn’t, ‘I wish you could be my boyfriend.’ It also couldn’t be a lie.

That should not be the true answer, either, Tatiana.

She didn’t have time to contemplate her stupid thoughts at the moment and she told him, “Just thinking about everything. I should be focusing on driving my dream car, though.”

She smiled at him and was grateful when he continued the conversation without pressing her further on what she’d been thinking about.

“This car, specifically, is your dream car? Or is it just a dream car in general?”

Tatiana laughed. “This car is far beyond the realm of possibility for me. So far beyond it that I never even imagined getting to drive one. I’ve been lusting after the Aventador for years, though. I actually got to drive one two years ago.”

“I probably shouldn’t tell you…” he trailed off, and Tatiana looked over to grin at him.

“That my dream car is basically your sloppy seconds?”

Hayden snorted with laughter. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly have phrased it like that. I should’ve known you would know.”

She shook her head, struck for a moment by how fantastic his life was. It wasn’t often that her clients’ wealth impressed her. This was one of those times, though.

“Yes, when I saw you had the Sián, I was very curious about what your previous car was because I knew it had to be new. You don’t know how badly my heart broke when I found out you used to have an Aventador.”

“Would you have preferred to have driven that?”

In answer, Tatiana pressed her foot down on the accelerator and the car shot forward.

She grinned quickly at him before looking back at the road. “This is plenty of fun.”

“But that doesn’t answer the question.”

Tatiana considered it and shrugged. “It’s hard to say. I’ve only driven an Aventador the one time, and it was nothing like this experience. I basically commandeered my clients’ Lamborghini, told him to buckle up, and we drove like the wind to where we had to go.”

Memories flooded through Tatiana’s brain. The entire experience had been a blur of adrenaline and fear. Her focus had been entirely on what she needed to do, with little to no consideration at the time for the fact she was actually driving an Aventador.

“I wish I still had mine. You could have driven it for comparison.” Hayden actually sounded sorry when he said it.

“Yes, you should definitely apologize for having a completely epic car. You also should’ve checked your crystal ball before getting rid of your old one to know I’d want to drive it before you did,” she teased him.

“Oh, that’s the thing. I did check it, but it told me that I would be getting an old, graying man whose dream car is a Volvo wagon as a bodyguard.”

Tatiana burst into laughter as she left the interstate and pulled up to another set of lights. The driver in the car next to them was goggling at the Lamborghini and taking a picture with their phone.

She turned to Hayden and said, “Your crystal ball might need a tune-up.”

“I think it might. It didn’t prepare me at all for you, Tatiana Swanson.”

Her heart pounded in her chest at the way he said this to her. His voice was low, seductive, and full of amusement at his joke.

I wish someone had prepared me for you to become a hopeless mess when you took this contract.

She turned her eyes back to the road, unable to look at him any longer as he continued, “What’s the point in having a crystal ball if it doesn’t tell you the truth?”

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