“Hey, Alex.” She put a hand on his arm to get his attention. She’d been wiping at the same spot on the bar for half an hour, and it was already a quarter till nine. “It’s pretty slow tonight. Do you mind if I take off a few minutes early?”

“Nope. Go right ahead.”

“Thank you.” As she turned away to grab her purse, she remembered that she had to drive to Aubrey and Landon’s house. Dammit. She’d rode her bike into work. “Did you drive in with Jack?”

“No, he had to run some errands, so we drove in separately. Why?”

“It’s just … can I borrow your car?”

“Sure,” he said without hesitation. He dug into his jeans pocket and threw her a set of keys, and she snatched it out of the air. “Don’t do anything too wild with it.”

“What do you take me for?” She scoffed at him. “I’m only taking it for a little drag racing.”

She left Alex chuckling behind the bar and hit the road. Even though she was an excellent driver, the windy, narrow roads weren’t easy to maneuver in the dark. At least, it kept her mind from drifting to what she was going to say to Seth. More importantly, what he was going to say to her. She couldn’t think about it, or else she would freak out like she had during their phone call.

Tara drove up to Aubrey’s brightly lit house and parked next to Seth’s fancy electric car. After taking a long breath to calm her nerves, she walked up the short steps and rapped her knuckles hard against the front door. Now that she was here, she wanted to get the whole thing over with.

Seth opened the door as though he’d been standing on the other side waiting for her. His gaze met hers for a heated second before his eyes traveled over her body. He swallowed hard. “It’s good to see you, Tara.”

She struggled to breathe properly. Her memory of how attractive he was and how she reacted to his proximity was nothing compared to the combustible lust that hit her like a blast from a furnace.

“Seth.” She sounded undeniably breathless. “Are you going to invite me in or are we having our conversation on the doorstep?”

“Shit. I’m sorry. Come in.” He hurriedly stepped aside then led her to the living room.

It was Tara’s favorite room in the house, cream colored and filled with overstuffed sofas and lounge-worthy chaises. Some of her anxiety eased as the cozy warmth of the room soothed her. Seth motioned for her to take a seat and chose an armchair for himself near her but not within touching distance.

Once they were settled, he just sat drumming nervously at his knees. After a while, he inhaled and opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, ridges appearing between his eyebrows. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had to break the silence.

“So … what did you want to talk about?” Tara said with forced nonchalance. Maybe he would reveal what happened that night without her having to admit that she remembered nothing about how she ended up near naked in his bed.