“They can have it.”
Karly signs the receipt in two seconds flat and redirects her attention toward me. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to gawk and I certainly don’t mean to stick my nose in your business, but Seth is … I mean … it’s Seth. Nobody says no to him. He’s … he’s everything.”
There may as well be stars in her eyes and hearts floating around her head as she rambles on about how heroic and brave and handsome and established and successful he is, but none of it does much of anything for me.
“Look, he’s really nice to look at,” I say, with an apologetic chuckle. “I’ll give you that. But there’s no connection. Is the attention nice? Yeah. But other than that? He’s just fling material, and I’m not looking for a fling.”
“You’re insane.” Karly lifts her brows and puckers her lips before waving her hand at me like she’s over it. Following her out the door, I almost plow into her when she stops in her tracks. “Well, speak of the devil.”
“Leighton?” Seth stands outside the nail salon, leaning against the front of his truck, chatting on the phone. He ends the call the moment he sees me. “What are you doing here? I thought you left?”
“Oh, hey.” I stride toward him, waving to Karly as she returns to her car down the street. She motions for me to call her and I nod. “Change of plans. I’m sticking around a little longer.”
“Hope everything’s all right,” he says, worry lines spread across his forehead.
“It is. And it isn’t.” I smile. “But whatever. I’m here. Going to make the best of it.”
“What are you doing now?”
“Now … as in right now?” I ask.
His lips lift at the edges, and he exhales through his nose. “Yeah. Right now.”
“I was just heading back. I’ve got laundry and all that fun stuff …”
“If you have a minute, you should stop by. I’ve got my Shelby Cobra all ready to go,” he says.
I hesitate, deciding not to inform him I’ve never been one of those girls who are impressed by fast cars, nor do I even know what a Shelby Cobra looks like.
“Never did get to take you on that ride you promised me.” He winks, his full lips spreading into an easy smile.
“Yeah, sure. Okay,” I say, remembering that I did, in fact, promise him a ride. “I’ll follow you?”
He climbs into his truck, and me into my Chevy, and we drive to his place. As soon as we pull into his driveway, the garage door rises, revealing a shiny blue two-seater roadster with white racing stripes down the hood.
“What do you think?” Seth asks, beaming wide and extending his arms.
It’s pretty—for a car. I’ll give him that.
“Very nice.” I pretend to be impressed, walking around the car and inspecting it from every angle like I know what I’m looking at.
He opens the driver’s door and pops the hood. “I’m going to warn you. It’s fast. She’s got a V-8 and she’s supercharged.”
“I think I can handle her,” I assure him.
“Just let me check a couple of things real quick,” he says, moving around the car. “Should be good to go, but I just need to make sure we don’t get stranded somewhere. Nothing like trying to impress a pretty girl with your cool car and then breaking down on the side of the road.”
I roll my eyes. “You and your sneaky compliments.”
“I only speak the truth.” Leaning under the hood, he checks a few things, wandering off to some work bench to grab a tool before returning. “Just going to be a couple of minutes.”
“Sure.” I give myself an unguided tour of his garage, which is covered in wall-to-wall Americana: vintage signs, old beer signs, and posters of pin-ups from the forties.
“So where are you staying anyway?” Seth pops up from the engine and looks my way. “I don’t think you ever told me.”
“I’m staying with this farmer,” I say.
“Does this farmer have a name?” He lifts a brow.
“River McCray,” I say. “You know him?”
Seth huffs, head cocked as he gently closes the hood. “Do I know him? He’s my brother.”
“You’re kidding?” I turn to face him.
His smile seems forced. “Why are you staying with River?”
“Really long story.” I wave him off. “He lives in my childhood home. Can you believe that?”
“Leighton, you have to be careful.” Seth’s smile vanishes completely. “I don’t mean to scare you, but … he’s a dangerous man.”
I laugh. “River may be a lot of things … temperamental, testy. But dangerous? That’s the last kind of vibe I get from him.”
“And you’ve known him how long?” Seth seems offended that I’m not taking him seriously.
“A little over a week.”
“Exactly. I’ve known him for decades. Trust me when I say you have no idea what he’s done in the past,” he says. “The man’s got secrets.”
“Stop. Now you’re just making him out to be some kind of serial killer.” My head tilts and I cluck my tongue. “Let’s just go for a ride and have a good time.”
“Fine.” His lips flatten. “But if you ever decide you don’t want to stay with him anymore, my door’s open.”
“Thank you.” I slide into the passenger seat of his fancy little sports car and fasten my seatbelt. This thing is tiny and not very comfortable, but I’d be lying if I didn’t think the purr of the engine sounded sexy the second he starts it up. The seats vibrate as he revs the engine, and I feel its power from my fingers to my toes.
Pulling out of the garage, he turns down his shady, tree-lined street before taking us toward the highway.
Shifting, he drives faster, then faster still. The wind whips my hair, and I try and crouch behind the tiny pane of windshield in front of us. Seth tunes the radio to some oldies station, then reaches across the car to give my hand a squeeze.
“Having fun yet?” he yells over the rumble of the highway as we come over the first hill.
“Yes,” I yell back, turning to flash him a reassuring grin. There is something freeing about cruising down an open road, wind at our sails and music from a bygone era sweeping us to somewhere else completely.
He takes us over hilltops, through valleys, and down and around winding roads I never knew existed in this part of the state. After a while, the sun begins to set, and I check the time.
We’ve been driving for over an hour now, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons blasting and zero conversation, and judging by the proud beam covering Seth’s face, I don’t think he has any intentions of stopping soon.
He speeds over the hills, taking tight corners a little too fast for my taste and sending my stomach into random free-falls as he looks my way for approval. At one point, he reaches for my hand, pulling it to his mouth and kissing the top.
Everything’s moving too fast … this drive … this man.
My legs ache and stiffen. I want out. This overwhelming sense to be done with this never ending car ride comes over me for reasons I can’t explain, and I find myself wanting to be back home, at River’s.