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Lucas scoffs and shakes his head, a little impressed by her confidence, if nothing else. “You really think you’re hot shit, don’t you?”
“I am hot shit,” Sienna replies breezily. “Don’t fret about me, Lucas Emmerico. You should be more concerned with your father. By the sounds of it, he’s on the warpath.”
“That’s none of your fucking business,” Lucas snaps. “You’d be smart to keep your nose out of my shit, Sienna.”
Sienna holds up a hand. “Just a little friendly advice. You looked like you needed it.”
“You have no clue what I need.”
“Whatever you say, Lucas,” Sienna purrs. “And while I’m at it, here’s another one: don’t be so quick to turn on your allies. You don’t have many people in your corner right now.”
Lucas swears, runs a hand through his dark hair, and stalks out of the salon, telling himself she’s wrong, even though there’s a part of him that knows she’s right.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
At this point you may be wondering why the hell I’m still freaking out. With Theo having given me his proverbial blessing, it’s not like I have any reason to panic when I’m training with Liam or watching as he makes coffee with the skill of a master barista.
But just because Theo’s okay with me... appreciating the charms of his best friend, I still don’t know jack shit about Liam’s feelings toward me—or whether they go anything beyond “teacher putting up with his annoying student.” Even if I wanted to act on my rapidly-developing interest in him, there’s no guarantee he wouldn’t just tell me to back off, and I do not want to be the kind of girl who just pushes herself on the guy she likes.
Besides, I remind myself as we navigate the winding road into town on our way to the training gym the next night, I’m not even sure if I want to act on them.
I don’t even realize my eyes are wandering until they land on Liam, who’s got one muscular arm hanging out the window as he shuttles us into town in silence. He’s been oddly quiet these past couple days, although from the cautious way he keeps looking at me, it almost seems like he’s afraid he’ll say something I don’t like. He must have picked up on my discomfort. How could he not? Could I have put him off, I wonder? Jeez, does he think I hate him now?
Oh my god, has he talked to Theo?
The thought makes my stomach twist up in knots, and it doesn’t help that there’s nothing readable in his green eyes.
Maybe I’m being paranoid.
But what if I’m not?
“Been awfully quiet lately, Vivi,” he says finally, as if reading my mind. His eyes drift over to me. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were getting bored of me.” He shoots me a half-smile that makes my insides turn to mush.
My heart skips a beat, but I manage an eye roll. “Please,” I say with a nervous laugh. “How could I ever get bored of getting my ass handed to me on a daily basis?” As soon as the words are out, I blanch. God, why is it so hard to talk to him? “Sorry,” I add hastily. “That came out wrong. I didn’t—”
Liam’s smile is easygoing. “Relax, Vivi. No offense taken. For whatever it’s worth, each time you get your ass handed to you is a step closer to your first win.”
I duck my head. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint?”
“Something like that,” Liam replies. “I just hope...” He clears his throat. “I hope I’m not being too hard on you, is all. If it’s too rough, tell me.”
“What?” My eyes go wide. “No, that’s not... You’re not. Hell, I’m glad you’re challenging me. If Lucas’s goons come for me, they’re not going to let me go with a slap on the wrist. I have to learn this stuff.”
It’s hard to tell in the dark, but I think I see Liam’s shoulders relax a little. “Yeah? Good.” He grins, but there’s something else in his expression, and when his eyes briefly meet mine at a stoplight, the weight of his gaze is enough to make the air between us burn with electricity.
Liam clears his throat, as if debating, and then says, “Listen, Vivi, I...” But then he trails off, frowning. The tension that evaporated from his body is back in full force.
“What is it?” I ask, not liking the way he keeps glancing in the rearview mirror.
“Could be nothing,” he says as we start to move again. “Probably is.”
“What?”
Liam glances into the mirror again, his eyebrows furrowing. “The car behind us,” he says. “It was behind us when we left Tristan’s neighborhood.”
“Has it been there this whole time?” I ask, my throat tightening.
Liam shakes his head. “It turned off when we hit Church Street. Didn’t think much of it, but…”
