Page 73 of The Tryst

As he hugs her goodbye, I roll my eyes. I want to laugh at him. Good luck, Kip. No woman wants a man who calls her by a buddy name—her last name.

“Good to see you too, Kip,” she says, and I’m not truly irritated since I know Layla’s heart and body and mind, but I do want to rip him off her, because he’s touching her far too long.

If I can’t touch her, he sure as shit shouldn’t.

Finally, he lets go, flashing her asmooth operatorsmile. “I’ll see you after the auction.”

I glance down at the ink that I just couldn’t scrub off my palm. And that feels like a goddamn metaphor right now.

Only, I don’t know what to do with the figure of speech on my hand.

When we get back in the car, Layla’s quiet again as we drive away. But she’s the kind of quiet that says she’s working through something. When I come to a stop at the end of Kip’s road, she whips her gaze to me, sets a hand on my arm.

My skin burns with desire.

Just. Like. That.

“You’re right, Nick,” she says carefully, like she’s been mulling something over. “It’s not fair to David. Or right. But life’s not fair. And there’s a side road by the country club about a mile away. You’re probably going to turn me down. You’re probably going to say no. But what if we just—”

“I’m there.”

I hit the gas and go.

23

THE WILL AND THE WAY

Layla

Backseats of expensive sports cars were meant for Hermes shopping bags and tennis rackets.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way. And I know exactly how to find the intersection of the two.

As Nick drives into twilight, I point right, giving directions with a determined efficiency. “Turn there.” Then, right again. “There’s an access road with a turnout.”

“Got it,” he says, all business as he drives. He doesn’t ask how I know the layout of the Greenwich Country Club and its golf course.

Maybe he’s connected enough dots.

Spend enough time visiting family friends in Greenwich and a girl and her pals will wander. My ride or dies and I found our way over here as kids, exploring the outskirts of the club and the course.

Finding all its hidden nooks and crannies.

Good thing I was a curious kid since it’s paying off as an adult. Only, I’m curious about other things now. Namely, how long it’ll take Nick to make me come.

“There,” I say, pointing to the final turn onto a dog-leg road.

Once Nick reaches the dead end of that road, he cuts the engine then turns to me, heat in his eyes.

“Backseat’s tiny,” I say, in a coy breath.

He grabs my face. “Don’t care.”

“Me neither,” I say.

I twist my body over the console, diving onto the black leather.

With an amused shake of his head, he follows me.

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