Substitute Seduction (Sweet Tea And Scandal 2)

“Absolutely.” He dropped a light kiss on her nose and relaxed his arm, letting her draw a deep breath. “Let’s go claim some seats.”

They found a spot near the center of the field and sat. Harrison hadn’t relinquished her hand and London found herself having a difficult time concentrating on the match as he toyed with her fingers. It made her thoughts return to the morning and revisit how his caresses had danced over her skin until she’d begged him for release.

Her musings were interrupted by another glimpse of Everly. To London’s dismay, the woman caught her eye and frowned at her. After she’d made her displeasure known, Everly glanced significantly in Linc’s direction. London’s ex-fiancé was chatting with several of his friends, but his attention was obviously not on the conversation. He was watching a slender brunette set up the picnic baskets for lunch.

London recognized Claire Robbins, Linc’s housekeeper. All the gossip and speculation circulating about those two coalesced into reality and London felt...nothing. No regret. No jealousy. No shame. It was as if she’d gotten over Linc. Or she’d realized there wasn’t anything to get over and that he’d been right to end their engagement.

Smiling, she glanced Harrison’s way, but saw that his attention was on the polo match. As much as she wanted to share her epiphany with him, she kept silent. Everly’s presence at the event reminded London that she had an ulterior motive for being here today.

The need to get into Tristan’s house and plug the USB drive into his computer preoccupied London through the second match of the day and into the lunch break. The picnic-basket lunches for two that had been created by Claire were a delightful surprise to London. She had no idea how Linc’s housekeeper had come to cater such a function or that she’d had any culinary leanings. The food was fantastic. There’d been a sandwich sampler made with beef, ham and salmon. The basket also contained an artisanal meat-and-cheese tray with a fabulous kale salad, fresh fruit, a bottle of Txakoli, and homemade aguas frescas made from melons, strawberry and mango.

London did little more than sample everything, but the sheer volume of food left her feeling thoroughly stuffed and a bit sleepy.

“That was amazing,” she murmured, settling back in her chair with a groan.

“There’s still dessert.” Harrison gestured toward the food tent and the tables filled with trays of triple-layer chocolate cake, mini cheesecakes, tiny tortes, mousse and chocolate-covered strawberries.

“I couldn’t possibly,” London said, deciding this might be the opening she’d been looking for. “You go ahead. I’m going to take a quick walk and find a ladies’ room.”

With all the people milling around, it was surpris

ingly easy to gain entrance into Tristan’s home. She was almost disappointed that the doors weren’t locked because then she’d have a perfect excuse to turn around. What if someone caught her sneaking in? London lifted her chin and settled her nerves with a calming breath. The best thing to do would be to get it over with as quickly as possible.

It took her less than five minutes to locate Tristan’s study. Heart pounding, London moved into the room and eased the door shut behind her. If she was caught in here, she had no explanation for sitting at his desk and perusing his laptop computer. This was madness. Was any of this worth the damage to her relationship with Harrison?

The question shocked London to her toes and made her chest ache. She craved more time with Harrison. More hours of conversation. More minutes holding his hand. More mornings sharing breakfast with him. More nights making love. More weeks to let their intimate connection grow and flourish. More years to build a life with him.

All of it was a foolish fantasy. There was no future with Harrison. The fact that she was standing in his brother’s study on the verge of stealing the contents of Tristan’s computer established where she’d placed her loyalty.

Fighting a sudden rush of helplessness, London pressed her back against the wall, letting her gaze roam the space. It was a typical masculine study with two of the walls lined in dark paneling, the others sporting hunting scenes and bookshelves. Heavy hunter green drapes framed the single window. An expensive Oriental rug stretched from her toes to a large, ornately carved wooden desk.

Move.

The longer she stayed in place, questioning her judgment, the more likely she was to get caught. Barely discernible above the thundering of her heart came the cheers from the crowd watching the polo match outside. She didn’t have a lot of time. If she was gone too long, Harrison would start to wonder what was keeping her.

Tiptoeing across the rug to Tristan’s desk seemed a bit ridiculous, but since London was breaking into the man’s computer, she might as well act like a thief. Her hands shook as she rounded the enormous mahogany desk and approached his computer. She opened the laptop and the screen came to life. Unsurprisingly, the desktop displayed an image of Tristan on one of his polo ponies, looking suave and ruggedly masculine as he stared down the photographer.

Shivering with foreboding, London quickly found where to plug in the drive but hesitated before inserting it into the slot. Her heart raced, keeping pace with the rumble of hoof beats on the polo grounds. If she was going to do this, it needed to be now. Yet she continued to flounder.

And then the sound of approaching voices reached her: a woman’s high-pitched laughter followed by a man’s deep baritone. London jerked away from the computer, bumping into the desk chair and sending it thumping back against the wall. The noise seemed to explode in the quiet room and she glanced around wildly, looking for a place to hide before the couple entered. The long drapes caught her eye. In seconds she slipped behind the voluminous fabric, hoping she was out of sight.

Pulse jumping erratically, she waited. And waited. Expecting the door to open at any second, she tried to calm her rapid breathing but alarm had her firmly in its grasp. Had it been Tristan in the hallway? London recalled their encounter at the Crosby Motorsports end-of-season party. No doubt he had a string of women he entertained. The man’s insatiable appetites weren’t just gossip. He’d cheated on Zoe almost from the beginning of their marriage.

London wasn’t sure how much time she spent behind the curtain before she realized no one was coming into the study. She eased out and glanced at the desk before making her way to the door. After straining to hear if anyone occupied the hall, she gathered a bracing breath and opened the door a crack. There was no one around, so she slipped out of Tristan’s study and made her way back outside. Not until she reached sunlight and fresh air did she take a full breath. A second later the air whooshed out of her lungs in a squeak as someone spoke.

“Did you do it?”

London whirled around and spied Everly standing beside the side door. Her eyes gleamed with feral intensity.

“I couldn’t.”

“The program didn’t work?”

London gripped the flash drive tighter. Would she have gone through with it if not for the near interruption? It was a question she’d be asking herself for a long time. How far was she planning to go to hurt someone she didn’t know just to take revenge on Linc for ending their engagement? Especially when she no longer felt hurt and betrayed.

When she, Everly and Zoe had first concocted the plan, London had been reeling from the shock and hurt, and was feeling vengeful. But since Harrison had come along, she’d realized that Linc wasn’t the only man in the world for her. Maybe he never was.

“I didn’t try it,” London admitted.