“Coincidence,” he assured me. “My name really is Wyatt.”
“Wyatt what?” I asked.
He released my hand and slid both of his into the pockets of his jeans. “Just Wyatt.”
My hand felt cold in the absence of the heat of his sizzling touch. I tucked both hands behind my back, in case I got the crazy urge to reach for him. I cleared my throat and tore my gaze from his.
“I’d better get going.” I took two steps and then stopped. “Which way to the tennis courts?”
He started walking. “I’ll show you.”
“I just need directions, not a guide.” Despite my words, I hurried to fall into step with him, since he was already striding down the hallway.
“All right then.” He held a door open for me, one that led outside.
I passed through it and found myself on a cement pathway, bordered on each side by flowerbeds full of colorful fall blooms. Ahead and to my right was the outdoor pool. One branch of the path led that way and another led straight. A third branch wound off to my left. I noticed a discreet sign indicating the direction to the tennis courts just as Wyatt pointed that way.
“Take that path, and you won’t miss the courts,” he said.
“Thanks.”
I took about ten steps along the left-hand pathway before coming to an abrupt halt.
“Emersyn?What are you doing here?”
Even though I was at the club for the specific purpose of speaking with Hoffman, seeing him standing before me in his white shorts and polo filled me with a mixture of dread and anger. I fought the urge to turn and flee, made stronger by the presence of Hoffman’s new girlfriend at his side. She had blonde hair and blue eyes like me, but that’s where the similarities ended. She was shorter than me, slimmer than me, curvier than me. And dressed head to toe in what had to be designer tennis gear. Her gaze slid down my body, and a sneer tugged at her otherwise pretty features.
I silently cursed myself for not ripping off the dinosaur bandage.
I managed to speak with far more confidence than I felt. “I need to talk to you, Hoffman.”
“I don’t think we’ve got anything to talk about,” he said with disdain. “And you’re not even a member of this club. You shouldn’t be here.” He raised his wrist so I’d notice his ever-present Apple Watch on its orange strap. “I could call security and have you tossed out.”
“You’re not a member either,” I pointed out, clenching my fists as the embers of my aggravation flickered into flames.
“But I am,” his girlfriend sneered, “and he’s with me.”
Her haughty tone and the way she glared down her nose at me like I was a piece of trash made me seriously rethink my plan to warn her about Hoffman’s character.
“So, I guess you won’t mind if I tell everyone at this club the truth about you,” I said to Hoffman.
“Try it, and I’ll sue you for slander.”
“It’s not slander if it’s the truth,” I shot back.
Hoffman scowled at me. I stared back, not allowing myself to blink or waver in any way.
“Tiffany, give me a second,” he said without looking at his girlfriend. He was too busy glowering at me to spare her a glance. “I’ll deal with this.”
Tiffany huffed but then flounced off toward the clubhouse, bumping my shoulder on her way past. I gritted my teeth and decided to get this over with as quickly as possible.
I held the business card out to Hoffman.
“I’ve hired a private detective. He’s in the process of gathering evidence to take to the police. Evidence that will prove you stole money from me.”
Hoffman didn’t take the card. “Give me a break, Emersyn. You think I’m going to buy that story? The cops didn’t charge me before, and they won’t do it now.”
I shoved the card at his chest and let it go. When it started to flutter down his front, he snatched it and cast a cursory glance at it.
