Read Online The Darkest Link (Second Circle Tattoos) by Scarlett Cole - Free Book Online
Authors: Scarlett Cole
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mother into it? Thanks to her promise to Granny Emmeline, her mother was her Achilles’ heel, and her father knew it.
Lia pulled off the highway. Her whole body shook and she didn’t feel comfortable driving when she couldn’t really focus. She looked at the next exit sign. FORT PIERCE. What were the chances?
She stared at the stop sign and then grabbed her phone. Typing the name
Kenny’s
into the browser, she wondered what his reaction would be if she just showed up. The details of the garage appeared and her finger hovered over the
call now
button. What did she expect from him? Her father had riled her, and she needed someplace to expend the nervous energy she felt. Was it fair to use him as a temporary distraction? And what if he, too, rejected her? Could she handle that?
Lia placed the phone down on the seat next to her and grabbed the red lipstick from her purse. If she was going to put herself out there, if she was going to open herself up to the one-night stand she wanted without romantic entanglements, she needed her game face to be perfect.
Deciding that calling him was a bad move, Lia started the car and followed directions on the sat-nav for his garage. She still had his business card in her purse and would resort to calling his cell phone if she couldn’t find him. If he already had company, she’d simply hit the highway, but if he didn’t, she was confident enough that face-to-face she could persuade him that one night of escapism would be totally worth it.
As she pulled into the lot, she saw the little boy first, his eyes wide with excitement, his mouth open, cheering, with his arms raised high in the air in some kind of victory celebration. Kenny emerged from the shadows, shirtless and with a basketball in his hand. The huge grin on his face told her he was having just as much fun as the boy. He shielded his eyes and looked over to the Impala. Lia opened the door and walked around the other side of the vehicle. In an instant, the grin changed to a soft smile.
“Two more points and I’m all yours,” he shouted across the lot.
“Miss them,” she said, kicking her hip out and raising her white sunglasses a fraction so he could see her eyes, “and I’m getting back in the car to go home.”
* * *
How a guy was supposed to concentrate when the woman he had spent most of the night dreaming about was standing approximately fifty feet away was beyond him. Especially when that woman looked as good as Lia did in a bright red kimono-style dress that had a row of buttons up one side and skimmed the tops of her thighs. Her hair was piled high on top of her head, and what appeared to be white orchids were pinned into one side. She looked fucking edible, and he was the starving guy at the buffet.
“Umph,” he called out when the ball hit his ribs.
“Your shot, Kenny,” Tyrell called out with a smirk on his face.
Reid picked the ball up off the ground and moved behind the line. “I’m gonna get you back for that.” He laughed. Now the dynamic shifted. Call it ego, but he wanted to win the game. For some insane reason, making the next two points became critical. But then he looked at Tyrell’s face, and saw the exact same thing.
Guess she has that effect on everyone.
He dribbled the ball toward the net, amused by how badly Tyrell wanted the ball. The kid came at him hard but stood no chance. Reid flipped the ball over his head, landing another bucket.
“Dude, come on, unfair,” Tyrell groaned.
“
Your
shot, tough guy,” Reid said, bouncing the ball in his direction.
Tyrell hustled his way to the basket, and Reid feigned an attempt to block, allowing Tyrell easy access to the net. When the ball went through the hoop, he heard Lia cheer from the sideline.
“Hey!” he shouted. “Thought you were on my team.”
“I prefer to be on the winning team,” she replied with a grin. “And your opponent has you beat.”
Tyrell whooped and hollered, doing a victory run along the three-point
Lia pulled off the highway. Her whole body shook and she didn’t feel comfortable driving when she couldn’t really focus. She looked at the next exit sign. FORT PIERCE. What were the chances?
She stared at the stop sign and then grabbed her phone. Typing the name
Kenny’s
into the browser, she wondered what his reaction would be if she just showed up. The details of the garage appeared and her finger hovered over the
call now
button. What did she expect from him? Her father had riled her, and she needed someplace to expend the nervous energy she felt. Was it fair to use him as a temporary distraction? And what if he, too, rejected her? Could she handle that?
Lia placed the phone down on the seat next to her and grabbed the red lipstick from her purse. If she was going to put herself out there, if she was going to open herself up to the one-night stand she wanted without romantic entanglements, she needed her game face to be perfect.
Deciding that calling him was a bad move, Lia started the car and followed directions on the sat-nav for his garage. She still had his business card in her purse and would resort to calling his cell phone if she couldn’t find him. If he already had company, she’d simply hit the highway, but if he didn’t, she was confident enough that face-to-face she could persuade him that one night of escapism would be totally worth it.
As she pulled into the lot, she saw the little boy first, his eyes wide with excitement, his mouth open, cheering, with his arms raised high in the air in some kind of victory celebration. Kenny emerged from the shadows, shirtless and with a basketball in his hand. The huge grin on his face told her he was having just as much fun as the boy. He shielded his eyes and looked over to the Impala. Lia opened the door and walked around the other side of the vehicle. In an instant, the grin changed to a soft smile.
“Two more points and I’m all yours,” he shouted across the lot.
“Miss them,” she said, kicking her hip out and raising her white sunglasses a fraction so he could see her eyes, “and I’m getting back in the car to go home.”
* * *
How a guy was supposed to concentrate when the woman he had spent most of the night dreaming about was standing approximately fifty feet away was beyond him. Especially when that woman looked as good as Lia did in a bright red kimono-style dress that had a row of buttons up one side and skimmed the tops of her thighs. Her hair was piled high on top of her head, and what appeared to be white orchids were pinned into one side. She looked fucking edible, and he was the starving guy at the buffet.
“Umph,” he called out when the ball hit his ribs.
“Your shot, Kenny,” Tyrell called out with a smirk on his face.
Reid picked the ball up off the ground and moved behind the line. “I’m gonna get you back for that.” He laughed. Now the dynamic shifted. Call it ego, but he wanted to win the game. For some insane reason, making the next two points became critical. But then he looked at Tyrell’s face, and saw the exact same thing.
Guess she has that effect on everyone.
He dribbled the ball toward the net, amused by how badly Tyrell wanted the ball. The kid came at him hard but stood no chance. Reid flipped the ball over his head, landing another bucket.
“Dude, come on, unfair,” Tyrell groaned.
“
Your
shot, tough guy,” Reid said, bouncing the ball in his direction.
Tyrell hustled his way to the basket, and Reid feigned an attempt to block, allowing Tyrell easy access to the net. When the ball went through the hoop, he heard Lia cheer from the sideline.
“Hey!” he shouted. “Thought you were on my team.”
“I prefer to be on the winning team,” she replied with a grin. “And your opponent has you beat.”
Tyrell whooped and hollered, doing a victory run along the three-point
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