Episode Two
“Get
your hands off him!”
Hailey
had seen enough. She’d watched the geeky guy spend forty-five minutes working
up the nerve to approach the bitchy blonde. Four double espressos would give even
a secure man the jitters. The woman’s put-down had been unnecessarily harsh.
And loud. Just another empty-minded cotillion princess in college to get her
Mrs. degree. She saw the furious blush creep over the poor guy’s face. She
could read his dejection and humiliation in every line of his posture as he rushed
back to his own table, scattering pens and a calculator as he hurriedly tried
to pack up his stuff.
Watching
through narrowed eyes, Hailey saw the blonde play up to her friend as well as the
three bitches seated nearby, rolling her eyes as if to ask where the geek got
off soiling her space. She knew for a fact those girls despised each other, but
they could unite in a heartbeat if they had a chance to make what they
considered the ‘little people’ feel smaller.
Encouraged
by the laughter, the blonde got out of her seat and started toward the guy.
Hailey tensed, her fingers tightening around her Styrofoam cup
.
If only she’d stayed in
her seat. Or left the coffee shop and left Paul Lyons to those she-wolves.
Hailey wiped sweat from her brow and drove her toe into the front tire of the
junker she’d paid cash for in L.A. She’d needed to think. Three days and nights
of hard driving proved too much for the little Mazda.
Did she really want to
save Paul’s ass one more time? All she had to do was continue to stay under the
radar until his trial was over and whatever happened to him, happened.
Hailey knew Paul wasn’t
guilty. He was guilty of many things, but not the things he stood accused of. She’d
figured that out before she got to Albuquerque. Worse, she figured out who was
guilty while eating a taco in Amarillo. Both the taco and the knowledge burned
in her gut while she steadily put more distance between her and the intelligent
idiot she’d rescued that day in the Chapel Hill coffee shop.
The Mazda was dead, but
at least she was back in North Carolina. She wasn’t afraid to stick out her
thumb and hop in the front seat with the first guy who pulled over. “Could you
just drop me off at the first car dealership we pass?” she asked, settling into
his passenger seat.
“Sure you don’t want me
to take a look at your car first?” he asked.
There it was. His eyes
shone with sincerity. That was what had been missing in California. Sincerity.
If she agreed, he’d roll up his sleeves and try his best to start her car, with
nothing more in mind than helping her. Shaking her head, Hailey relaxed for the
first time in weeks. “Time for something new. Something solid and dependable.”
The
blonde sidled up to the already-embarrassed guy, and laid her hand on his
shoulder. He jumped, knocking a Chemistry book to the floor, and Hailey was out
of her seat without thinking. Hurling her cup, she missed the blonde. Dammit.
The coffee hit the wall behind the guy’s small table, splattering his cheap book
bag and Star Wars t-shirt.
“I
said, get your hands off him! He’s mine.”
The
blonde whirled, eyes narrowed and claws at the ready, but Hailey ignored her,
glaring at the open-mouthed guy. “How dare you?” she demanded, trying to
maintain her false anger when his dumbfounded expression made her want to
laugh. “How damn dare you not return my calls? I’m not used to having to chase
a man, but I’m here and you’re leaving with me, not her.”
The red Jeep with the
cloth cover was exactly what Hailey wanted. The sticker price was less than the
dress she’d worn to her divorce proceedings. She hesitated before handing over
her credit card, but knew it was time to resurface. While the excited saleswoman
began to complete the paperwork, Hailey picked up a newspaper and learned her
brother was going to make a run at the Lieutenant Governor’s seat. The
knowledge saved her from having to put the battery back into her cell phone and
call her mother to find out where the family was. They’d be in the house in
Raleigh. As far back as she could recall the red brick three-story had been the
epicenter of her father’s political campaigns. She gave the family beach house
address for place of residence on the paperwork.
She bypassed the exit
for Raleigh, heading for Topsail Beach. One more night alone with her thoughts was
all she needed. Then she’d hop a plane to D.C. and testify for Paul. Rescuing
him was a habit she was more than ready to break. Once she got this final duty behind
her, she’d walk away and never look back.
“Woman, we need to talk
about your driving.”
Hailey jumped about a
foot. Heart pounding, she flipped on a light in the darkened house facing the
Atlantic Ocean, staring in shock at the man sprawled on the sofa. His feet were
crossed and hanging off one arm while his head rested on the other. Black hair
fell over his brow and his blue eyes were intent. His lips curled into the confident
smile of a hunter sighting prey. The shiver racing down her spine had nothing
to do with fear.
“What about my
driving?” Exhaustion was towed under the rush of arousal she got from simply
looking at him.
“You must have broken
every speed limit between here and L.A.” He moved off the couch with a
panther’s grace, crossing the space between them before she could blink.
“I’ve
been looking for you.” His arm shot past her shoulder. He crowded her, pinning
her body against the door as he slammed it closed.
Screw a night alone. She wanted him. “Ever let
a woman spank you?”
“Hell no.”
Yes.
