Page 90 of Loyalty

Siena took that offer in, and said, “Okay.”

“Sometimes, I’m not very easy to deal with,” John said, keeping his gaze firmly on the road and anywhere but on her. “It’s just a part of who I am, Siena. I don’t mean to make shit difficult, but it happens, regardless.”

She thought about the things she found that morning.

Even though she hadn’t meant to …

He was trying to tell her something without giving it all away.

“Okay,” she said again.

John finally looked over at her. “Just okay, huh?”

Siena shrugged. “I never really liked easy—I like things that make sense. Like romance novels with a happily ever after, or numbers that need to add up in a book. You, too.”

His dark, low chuckles rumbled in the car. Unbothered, grinning, and looking like he didn’t have a fucking care in the world, Siena thought John was the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life. All over again, at the sight of him like that, she was stuck silent.

“Not sure I always make sense,” John admitted after a moment.

Siena thought differently.

“Everything makes sense when you look at all the details.”

John nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”

There was no maybe.

On that, Siena knew she was right.

All too soon, John was pulling the Mercedes over along the side of the road. An unfamiliar dealership awaited her—luckily, she had been able to pull up the address of the place from her emails.

“This the place?” he asked.

“Yeah, this is the place.”

John gave her a crooked grin. “Give them my apologies for making you late, and you know, whatever else.”

“Not really worried about it, John.”

He gave her no warning before he leaned over in the seat, and kissed her. A hard, bruising kiss that took her breath away, and had her heart racing out of control. Every stroke of his lips against hers, and his tongue darting into her mouth to dance with hers, felt more and more familiar.

His hand cupped her cheek, and his thumb stroked her skin.

Siena smiled as John pulled away. “You still haven’t even asked for my number.”

“I do know where you live, Siena.”

“Still …”

John smiled widely, showing off white teeth and sex appeal in a blink. “Give me your damn phone, bella.”

• • •

Siena’s week crawled by at the usual slow pace she had become accustomed to. One day was spent dealing with her father, and the next, Darren. She jumped between businesses from day to day finishing up last minute details before the taxes would have to be filed for each and every one.

It was mid-January, after all. The deadline for filing was looming. Technically, it was her busiest time of year. Most of the work was left up to her.

Normally, Siena didn’t mind because it wasn’t like she had much of a life to begin with. Except when she was supposed to be focusing on cooking the books and making numbers work, her mind was on something else entirely.