NATHAN
I see two missed calls from Riley after training is over, and I call back immediately.
“Riles,” I say urgently. “I saw your missed call. What happened? Is everything okay?” I dig my fingers into my duffel, ready to take off. “Do you need me?”
“It wasn’t an emergency.” I hear something clanking in the background and I picture Riley, those two beautiful tendrils of hair in her face, that intense, dark outline around her stunning eyes and her elegant hands covered in engine oil as she brings a car back to life.
“I just wanted to let you know that I saw Layla today,” Riley says.
I frown. “When? Did she say something to you?”
“No, it was in passing. She and I have never met so she wouldn’t recognize me.”
I slouch against the locker, my heart still roaring with adrenaline. “Riles, you can’t do that to me. I thought something was wrong.”
I switch the phone to my other hand and grab my towel so I can wipe my face. Coach pushed us to the limit during practice. The Lucky Strikers are definitely ramping up the difficulty level as we get closer and closer to the main roster.
My body is feeling the burn.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said Layla isin town.”
“I heard you.”
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“She called me earlier today and told me herself.” I slip the towel off my face and sling it over my shoulder.
There’s a long pause.
Is this an angry silence?
I tack on, “I told her that I wouldn’t be setting up any meetings with McLanely, and that was that. I have no intentions of meeting her while she’s here.”
There. That should make it clear that I have no interest in my ex. It’s important that Riley doesn’t get any weird ideas. I hate stupid misunderstandings that can be solved with one chat.
Deafening silence pounds my ear drums.
“Riles?” I pull the phone away and check that the line is still connected.
It is.
“Nat,” Riley clears her throat, “I wish you hadn’t told me how Layla broke up with you. The moment I saw her, I really wanted to pop the air out of her tires.”
My lips twist with laughter. “Didyou?”
“Of course not. There were cameras all around the nursing home. I’m not going to jail for your ex-girlfriend of all people.”
I smile to the point that my cheeks hurt. “That was very mature of you.”
“If I was mature, I wouldn’t regret walking away. I spent all evening thinking of revenge.”
“I’m curious. What kind of revenge can a shrimp serve up?”
“Keep calling me ‘shrimp’ and you’ll see for yourself,” she warns.
I grin and scuff my toe against a crack in the floor. Riley acts so strict, but she can also be a softy. The way she so perfectly flips between toughness and tenderness is cute.
In the corner of my eye, I notice some of the trainees looking at me.
