Page 16 of Ryder’s Storm

“Perfect,” Claudia said. “Scarlet, make sure you give Ryder a schedule of all your appointments, and don’t forget that my nephew will visit in a couple of days. Keep some time available. Don’t over-schedule yourself, okay?”

“Okay,” Scarlet said.

Claudia’s cell phone chimed and she looked at the message. “I have to run.”

“When will you be back?” Scarlet asked.

“Oh, I won’t be staying the night. I’ll drive back to Palo Alto after I’m done with my last appointment. The contractor who’s designing my new walk-in is coming bright and early tomorrow morning, and I don’t wanna be caught in morning rush-hour traffic.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know whether to welcome the fact that Claudia wasn’t staying. It meant that she wouldn’t interrupt the talk she needed to have with Ryder just as soon as she left the house. But it also meant Claudia wouldn’t be here to stop her from doing something stupid.

“Again, nice meeting you, Ryder. Bye, Scarlet,” Claudia said before she hurried out of the living room and left the house.

Scarlet listened for the garage door to open, the sound of the car’s engine reverberating from the garage below the house a moment later, and for the car to exit. It appeared Ryder was doing the same, because he too remained silent until it was certain that Claudia had left.

“So your name isn’t Sara but Scarlet,” Ryder finally said. She detected no malice in his voice. “Scarlet suits you better.”

She tipped her chin up. “Did you know last night that you would become my bodyguard?”

“Trust me, had I known, I would have never touched you. I don’t need that kind of trouble in my life.”

That annoyed her. He called her trouble? How dare he? After what had happened last night, he insulted her? “Clearly, last night was a mistake.” She pressed the words out with as much conviction as she could muster.

“I see.”

Well, it sounded like it pissed him off that she’d said it first. “Well, then we’re in agreement. You’ll tell your boss that you can’t be my bodyguard because you’ve taken an instant dislike to me, and the feeling is mutual and—”

“That would be a lie,” he interrupted.

“Which part?”

“Everything. I haven’t taken a dislike to you.”

“Of course you have. You just said so yourself.”

“I said nothing of the kind.”

There was nothing wrong with her short-term memory. “You said, and I quote: had I known, I would have never touched you. I don’t need that kind of trouble in my life.”

“And from that you conclude that I dislike you?” Ryder shook his head.

“It’s pretty evident from where I stand.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“How about your claim that the dislike is mutual? It’s pretty evident to me that that’s not the case.”

It was clear that he was talking about their sexual encounter.

“Are you saying I’m lying?”

“If I remember correctly, last night you liked me just fine. Or do you fuck any guy, whether you like him or not?”

Scarlet glared at him. “That’s none of your business.”

“Fine. Don’t tell me. I don’t care. For all intents and purposes, last night never happened.”

His voice had an edge to it that sounded like retaliation for hurting his pride. Well, she could play the same game.

“Fine. Let’s pretend it never happened. It’s better that way.” Though it didn’t mean that she could forget about it. Her mind kept going back to the way Ryder had made her feel. What if no other man could ever make her feel that way again? “If you ever tell anybody what happened, I will go to your boss, and I will have you fired.”