Page 10 of This Could be Love

“There shouldn’t be much going on there right now,” Kay said while waving hello to Carter, one of her trainers, who was on his way to the changing rooms. Judging by the red stains on his shirt, he’d already had a training session out on the clay court. Seeing as how the US Open was played out on the hard court, however, Kay and I wouldn’t be training there ourselves. “And if there is, you can happily shoo everyone off in my name,” she said, half joking, half in earnest.

I smiled and was about to say that I definitely wouldn’t do that when something caught my attention. Someone. With energetic strides, he headed toward us from the parking lot. And suddenlyeverything seemed to slow down. Which was paradoxical because he was moving very fast. And because it was…Vince.Vince? Here?I blinked. And heard Kay saying something that I didn’t catch because just at that moment someone started up a lawn mower.

“What the hell is this?” he snapped at me once he had reached us. His tone of voice wasn’t like him at all, but it fit his facial expression, which fell somewhere between angry and furious. His throat was spotted with red.

“W-w-what?” I stammered.

“You filed a complaint?” he thundered, waving an envelope. I couldn’t say where it had come from. To be honest, I couldn’t say a thing. Because I didn’t understand a thing.

“I warned you, Mr. Greenfield. Actions have consequences.”

I almost wrenched my neck as I reassured myself that it really was Kay who had uttered those words. With no emotion, she stared into Vince’s face.

“Warned? You fucking fileda complaint!”

His eyes blazed, and it slowly dawned on me that they weren’t blazing atme. This thing here didn’t have anything to do with me whatsoever.

“Because you once again disturbed my sleep.”

“Yoursleep?!” He threw his arms into the air in disbelief. “It wasn’t even ten!”

“I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but there are actually people who have jobs and need to get their sleep,” she countered.

“You know damn well that I’m in the process of renovating!”

“Then renovate during normal hours.”

“That wouldn’t suit you whatsoever either.”

I followed the unfolding scene like the onlooker I was. Kay unyieldingly stretching her chin. Vince with his hands on his hips. The midday sun gave his hair a golden shimmer, though it was just as messy as yesterday.

“My cards have been on the table from the beginning,” Kay replied, shrugging. “You knew that I did not approve of your project.”

“There’s a slight difference betweennot approvingand filing a complaintand”—he glanced at me—“siccing your goddaughter on me.”

“Huh?!” I burst out.

Suddenly his eyes grew small. A bright blue, they sought out my gaze. “Oh, give it a rest! I’m not dumb.”

His tone was so contemptuous that a shiver ran down my spine. Before I could respond, Kay said, “What are you babbling about? There’s no need for me to ‘sic’ anyone on you.”

He was about to say something else when another voice came in between.

“There a problem here?” Suddenly Carter was standing next to us, fresh from a shower and, judging by his expression, on the alert. “Should I call the police, Ms. Diamond?”

“What? No!” I blurted out.

My eyes moved in Kay’s direction; she was taking a little too much time to answer for my liking. She couldn’t have beenseriously considering calling the police. Vince was upset—maybe rightly, maybe wrongly, I couldn’t say—but he wasn’t dangerous. Or was he? A touch of uncertainty had crept into my thoughts. After all, I’d only known the guy since yesterday, when he was helpful and nice. Funny. But this morning on the beach? Not a trace. Though, to be fair, I still didn’t know if he’d even noticed me.

“That won’t be necessary. Mr. Greenfield was just leaving.”

I stole a glance at Vince. His jaw muscles twitched, and I saw him struggling with himself. Attack or retreat. Retreat or attack. For some reason, it was surprisingly attractive. Overwhelmed, I took my eyes off him and dug my incisors into my lower lip.

“You won’t get away with this,” he hissed before briskly taking off for the exit and disappearing around the corner.

“What was that all about?” Carter whispered as Vince’s last sentence echoed through my head.You won’t get away with this.Strangely enough, it wasn’t the threatening undertone that bothered me. It was theyou. Did he mean Kay and me? Kay and Carter? Kay and someone else?

“Thanks, Carter,” Kay said, and gave him a friendly nod to let him know that everything was back under control.