soothing, but it’s also mysterious.” She slid her hand up
Claire’s thigh another inch, pushing up the fabric of her dress.
“I want you, Claire. I’m not scared.”
Finally, Claire reached down and plucked Haley’s hand off.
She didn’t let her fingers linger. She moved her hand, pushing
it back across the middle console. “That’s the dumbest thing
you’ve said yet, and here I was just thinking that you did have
some intelligence after all. This is nothing but a transaction.
You can’t separate sex from emotion. You can’t because
you’re too soft and full of feelings.”
“The water,” Haley went on, looking at Claire the entire
time. “Is exquisite. You could drown in it, but it would be a
nice death.”
“That is utter romantic nonsense,” Claire huffed. She gave
Haley enough side eye that she could tell she was looking at
her, talking about her. “You’re only proving my point.”
“You think that if you’re mean and rude that will chase me
away? Is that why you do it? Because you’re afraid of your
own emotions so you don’t want anyone else to have any
either?” That was the thing about people who had too much
money. They could get away with just about anything. If they
wanted to be left alone, they could buy peace and silence. “It’s
not going to. What you want is relevant because what you
want started all of this. You wanted revenge. That’s why I’m
here. That’s why we’re getting all tangled up and tripping over
it and feeling things. You’re feeling them too, whether you’re
ready to admit it or not.”
Claire took the cruise control off and pressed down on the
gas a little harder, as if she could get them home faster and
escape that way. “We aren’t having this conversation.