The fact I can’t throttle this guy is absolutely aggravating. But still, I don’t move. I don’t need to cross the deck to know what would happen if I did. And it’d only put more distance between us.
Lyla’s trust with me right now is fractured. And giving her more reasons not to trust me would only hurt my case. If there’s one thing I’ve learned today, it’s where I stand in her eyes—She hardly believes a single word that comes out of my mouth. But at least she’s arguing with me. If she didn’t care about my being here, she wouldn’t have given me the time of day.
I can work with that.
Now, if I could just get Sean to stop hitting on her. The longer he eye fucks her, the more it sets me on edge.
Heat presses down harder. The tile under my bare feet is slick with water when I stand, slow and deliberate, like I’m just stretching my legs.
I pretend nonchalance as I move toward them. Not directly, but enough to where I have a generous proximity to the conversation.
Close enough to step in but far enough to remain inconspicuous.
Sean smooths his hand down the small of Lyla’s back as he laughs at something she says. It’s light. Brief. But that doesn’t stop me from seeing red.
Lyla is still for a few seconds. Frozen. It’s subtle, but I notice it.
She shifts back, breaking the contact without acknowledging it.
Sean doesn’t seem to notice her discomfort because he keeps talking.
“You always been in Dallas?” he asks.
“Yes.” She gives him another polite smile with a nod.
“Family there?”
“Yes.”
She’s stonewalling him, giving only short answers. She only does that when someone is annoying her. Good to know she’s not into a guy like that. All up in her business with little regard for her personal space. She deserves better…like me.
Fuck, if she were mine...
The house I bought years ago, sitting empty on the outskirts of town, says she already is. At least to me.
“Must be nice,” he says. “Having something solid to go back to.”
Her gaze flicks over his shoulder. Not to me. In fact, past me. And to the ocean horizon. As if she were staring off into space. “It is,” she replies evenly, taking her gaze back to Sean.
Sean leans in again.
His dick is going to be a hat if he doesn’t take a step back.
“You seem different today,” he says with fake concern. “Quieter.”
Her eyes sharpen slightly. “Do I?”
“Yeah. Like you’re distracted.”
Distracted. By what? By who? Would that have to do with me?
“I appreciate the concern, but I’m okay. Really. I need to get back to the girls.”
She walks away from Sean before he can get another word in.
I can’t help but smirk in satisfaction, watching Sean’s confident expression falter.
I watch as she sits down at the edge of the pool again with the other women. Her back faces me as I sit down at a chair nearby, pretending to admire the view while subtly listening to their conversation.
