Substitute Seduction (Sweet Tea And Scandal 2)

“What are you doing here?” London countered, pitching her voice barely above a whisper. “We agreed the way this works is to not have any contact with each other. We can’t be seen together.”

“I came to find out why you’re going after the wrong brother,” Everly said, ignoring London’s objections.

London crossed her arms over her chest and glared back. “Did it ever occur to you that Harrison might be the best way for me to get close to Tristan?”

Everly let loose a disparaging noise. How could London possibly think she was buying that? It was obvious what was going on.

“It’s more likely that you find him attractive and plan on sleeping with him.” Based on the way London refused to meet Everly’s gaze, she’d hit it square on the head. “Do you have any idea how badly that could backfire?”

“Look,” London said, showing no sign of being convinced that her actions were flawed. “It’s none of your business how I handle my end of the bargain. You and I meeting like this could become a problem if anyone sees us together and it’s discovered that you were behind whatever happens with Linc.”

“Give me some credit,” Everly snapped. “No one’s ever going to find out I was the one behind what happens to him.”

“Regardless. We agreed this only works if we don’t have any contact with each other. So leave me alone.”

Before Everly could say another word, London flung open the bathroom door and exited.

For several long minutes Everly fumed. This situation with London and Harrison Crosby was a problem. Now she had to keep her eye on her own revenge scenario and make sure London stayed focused on their plan. And if London couldn’t do the job, then Everly would show her what happened when you turned your back on your friends.

Four

With her heart pumping hard against her ribs, London smoothed her palms along her dress’s full skirt and slowly wound her way back to Harrison. Everly’s texts and subsequent appearance in the restaurant had been disturbing. What they were doing was dangerous enough. If they were caught in some sort of conspiracy, it could ruin all their lives.

Nor could she ignore the question front and center in her thoughts. Was Everly following her? The possibility made her skin prickle. How else could the other woman have known that London was having dinner with Harrison? And what sort of insanity had prompted Everly to confront London in public like this where anyone could have seen them? Had Everly contacted Zoe, as well? London was tempted to reach out to the third member of their scheme, but that was exactly what she’d railed at Everly for doing.

Anxiety danced along her nerve endings as she slid into her seat opposite Harrison. London suspected her distress was reflected in her expression because after a quick survey of her face, he frowned.

“Is everything okay?”

“Fine.” London forced a reassuring smile. “I just received a bit of bad news about an event I was going to organize.” The lie came too easily, sparking concern over the person she was becoming. “The client had been on the fence about what they wanted to do and decided to cancel.”

“You seem rattled. It must’ve been a big client.”

“Not huge, but all my clients are equally important and I’m disappointed that this didn’t work out.” Even though London wasn’t lying, the fact that she was deceiving Harrison left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Maybe they’ll change their mind.” His winning smile gave her heart a different reason to pound. “I’ll bet you can be quite persuasive.”

His attempt to make her feel better through flattery was turning her insides to mush and soothing away her earlier distress. She caught herself smiling at him in gratitude as pleasure washed over her. The man had a knack for getting under her skin.

“If by ‘persuasive’ you mean bossy,” London said, recognizing that she had a tendency to stab directl

y into the heart of something rather than nibble away at the edges, “then I agree. I come on a little too strong sometimes.”

“You want to get things done,” Harrison said, nodding. “I get it. Winning is everything.”

It struck London that maybe they had more in common than she’d initially thought. They shared a love of competition and a matching determination to get across the finish line. Maybe his way of doing things meant he slid behind the wheel of a car and drove at reckless and adrenaline-inducing speeds, making impulsive decisions in the moment, while she tended to be more methodical and deliberate in her approach.

“I don’t exactly think of it as winning,” London responded. “More like a job well done.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

London toyed with her earring as she asked, “Do you win a lot?”

“I’ve had my share of successes over the years. Generally, I finish in the top ten drivers about two-thirds of the time. Except for the first couple years when I was still learning and a couple of seasons when injury kept me off the track.”

“Is that good?” she asked, noting his amusement and figuring she’d just displayed total ignorance of what he did.

“It’s a decent statistic.”