Substitute Seduction

And before Harrison could say anything, she’d fled the table, leaving him staring over his shoulder after her.

* * *

Everly Briggs strode along King Street, paying little attention to the restaurants, stores and bars clustered along the popular thoroughfare. Her entire focus was on the tall man she was following.

Linc Thurston appeared unaware of the stir he caused as he passed. Usually the professional baseball player paused to chat with fans he encountered, but tonight he seemed intent on reaching his destination.

Since Everly, London and Zoe had met at the Beautiful Women Taking Charge event, Everly had been actively pursuing whatever angle she could to take down Linc. From digging into all available gossip, Everly had gotten wind that the reason he’d broken off his engagement to London was that he’d started cheating on her with his housekeeper.

Once she’d determined that they weren’t just involved in a fling, but a full-blown, secret relationship, she determined this would be the best way to get revenge on him. At the moment she had plans in the works to expose the woman’s lies and sabotage her credibility. Linc would learn what it meant to be betrayed by someone he loved.

Of course, her plans would completely fall apart if she was wrong about the strength of his feelings for Claire Robbins, so Everly was doing a little spying to see if his cheating was a onetime event or if the man was a typical representation of his gender.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that Everly hadn’t noticed Linc had stopped walking until she drew within arm’s length. Jerking to a halt would be too obvious, so Everly was forced to sail on past. She did take note of what had captured his interest, however, and spotted London occupying a table beside the large window of The Front Porch. She was obviously having dinner with Harrison Crosby and the couple was engaged in some pretty serious flirting.

What the hell was London doing? She was supposed to be taking down Tristan Crosby, not dating his brother.

Everly’s irritation spiked as she reached the end of the block. By the time she turned the corner, she’d pulled out her phone. Pausing, she typed a text and sent it. Although the three women had agreed not to communicate to avoid their plotting being discovered, Everly simply had to confront London.

We need to meet—E

She tapped her foot as she waited for a response. Meanwhile she kept her gaze on King Street, expecting Linc to pass by at any second. She’d intended to continue her surveillance and it annoyed her that London’s behavior was forcing her to detour. When her phone didn’t immediately chime with an answer from London, Everly rapidly typed a second message.

I saw you having dinner tonight. What r u doing?

When London still didn’t answer, Everly knew she had no choice but to push the issue.

Linc had passed by while Everly had been typing her second text. Instead of following him, she doubled back to the restaurant. London sat facing the entrance and Everly made sure the woman noticed her enter. The two made brief eye contact before Everly headed toward the back, where the restrooms were located.

She entered the ladies’ room and was relieved to find the stalls empty. She approached the sinks and pulled her lipstick out. Fury made her hands shake. While she was here dealing with London, Linc was getting away.

By the time London pushed through the door, Everly was more than ready to let her have it.

“Why are you having dinner with Harrison Crosby?” she snarled, barely restraining the urge to shout in displeasure. “You’re supposed to be going after Tristan.”

“What are you doing here?” London countered, pitching her voice barely above a whisper. “We agreed the way this works is to not have any contact with each other. We can’t be seen together.”

“I came to find out why you’re going after the wrong brother,” Everly said, ignoring London’s objections.

London crossed her arms over her chest and glared back. “Did it ever occur to you that Harrison might be the best way for me to get close to Tristan?”

Everly let loose a disparaging noise. How could London possibly think she was buying that? It was obvious what was going on.

“It’s more likely that you find him attractive and plan on sleeping with him.” Based on the way London refused to meet Everly’s gaze, she’d hit it square on the head. “Do you have any idea how badly that could backfire?”

“Look,” London said, showing no sign of being convinced that her actions were flawed. “It’s none of your business how I handle my end of the bargain. You and I meeting like this could become a problem if anyone sees us together and it’s discovered that you were behind whatever happens with Linc.”

“Give me some credit,” Everly snapped. “No one’s ever going to find out I was the one behind what happens to him.”

“Regardless. We agreed this only works if we don’t have any contact with each other. So leave me alone.”

Before Everly could say another word, London flung open the bathroom door and exited.

For several long minutes Everly fumed. This situation with London and Harrison Crosby was a problem. Now she had to keep her eye on her own revenge scenario and make sure London stayed focused on their plan. And if London couldn’t do the job, then Everly would show her what happened when you turned your back on your friends.

Four (#ubf2620c9-950d-5691-aab1-efdd3af58f1e)

With her heart pumping hard against her ribs, London smoothed her palms along her dress’s full skirt and slowly wound her way back to Harrison. Everly’s texts and subsequent appearance in the restaurant had been disturbing. What they were doing was dangerous enough. If they were caught in some sort of conspiracy, it could ruin all their lives.

Nor could she ignore the question front and center in her thoughts. Was Everly following her? The possibility made her skin prickle. How else could the other woman have known that London was having dinner with Harrison? And what sort of insanity had prompted Everly to confront London in public like this where anyone could have seen them? Had Everly contacted Zoe, as well? London was tempted to reach out to the third member of their scheme, but that was exactly what she’d railed at Everly for doing.

Anxiety danced along her nerve endings as she slid into her seat opposite Harrison. London suspected her distress was reflected in her expression because after a quick survey of her face, he frowned.

“Is everything okay?”

“Fine.” London forced a reassuring smile. “I just received a bit of bad news about an event I was going to organize.” The lie came too easily, sparking concern over the person she was becoming. “The client had been on the fence about what they wanted to do and decided to cancel.”

“You seem rattled. It must’ve been a big client.”

“Not huge, but all my clients are equally important and I’m disappointed that this didn’t work out.” Even though London wasn’t lying, the fact that she was deceiving Harrison left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Maybe they’ll change their mind.” His winning smile gave her heart a different reason to pound. “I’ll bet you can be quite persuasive.”

His attempt to make her feel better through flattery was turning her insides to mush and soothing away her earlier distress. She caught herself smiling at him in gratitude as pleasure washed over her. The man had a knack for getting under her skin.

“If by ‘persuasive’ you mean bossy,” London said, recognizing that she had a tendency to stab directly into the heart of something rather than nibble away at the edges, “then I agree. I come on a little too strong sometimes.”

“You want to get things done,” Harrison said, nodding. “I get it. Winning is everything.”

It struck London that maybe they had more in common than she’d initially thought. They shared a love of competition and a matching determination to get across the finish line. Maybe his way of doing things meant he slid behind the wheel of a car and drove at reckless and adrenaline-inducing speeds, making impulsive decisions in the moment, while she tended to be more methodical and deliberate in her approach.