21. She Entertained Her Boss
She Entertained Her Boss
Gwen
The bit of carrot Marnie nibbled fell from her fingers. Her eyes rounded. No surprise who she was gawking at over my shoulder.
“You—that’s—” Her jaw dropped. “ He’s your new boss?”
Liam bent down slightly, his voice low by my ear. “You didn’t tell your friend about me? Should I be offended?”
“Can you be offended?”
He responded with a wink and strolled past me into the kitchen like he owned the place. Calculated eyes scanned the room, the tips of his long fingers skimming over the wooden island, the modern country touches amusing him.
“Dear sister, your home is most… charming .” He purred the words, but it didn’t sound like a compliment.
“Why, it’s like a magazine.” He dropped his precious contract on the counter next to the vase of fresh lavender.
“Not a tattered lace curtain or the stains of childhood misery anywhere in sight.”
A flicker of annoyance flared in my chest when he leaned over to sniff the flowers.
The lavender was another of Toby’s failed attempts to apologize. Why did he insist on rocking up on my doorstep with flowers I didn’t want? He stuck out his hand every time with a plea not to throw them in the trash. He was right to be worried. The temptation was always there.
“Won’t you introduce me to your pretty friend?” Liam asked. When I stood there, staring blankly at him, he switched his evil smile back on. “ Please .”
I watched him through slitted eyes. “Uh, Liam…this is…” Weird? Unhinged? All of the above? “This is my best friend, Marnie.”
“Marnie.” He dipped his lashes before offering her the hint of another smile. “Gwen has told me so much about you.”
Liar .
He hadn’t known about her existence until a few minutes ago. He’d walked away before I’d even met Marnie, and it wasn’t like he’d cared enough to seek me out after he’d left. This was a con job.
“Has she?” Marnie breathed.
“It’s always a pleasure to meet an artist,” Liam said. “I’m sorry to say I don’t share any of your creative abilities, but I can appreciate the talents of others.” He leaned closer to her, the honeyed rumble of his voice dropping even lower. “Particularly a talent that shines as lovely as yours.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Whatever magic Liam tried to weave, Marnie fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. She giggled like a giddy schoolgirl.
I wedged closer to him and hissed, “What the hell are you doing?”
“I told you,” he gritted back. “I’m getting rid of her so your attention is on my contract.
” He turned back to Marnie with one of his pretend smiles.
“I must apologize for interrupting your morning. Sometimes, business can’t wait, and now that Gwen’s part of the family again… Well, I’m sure you understand.”
Marnie’s laugh was breathy. “Of course.” She waved him off. “You only interrupted Gwen’s attempts to kill me with one of her smoothies.”
“This?” Liam nodded at the vegetables dumped in the blender. “Little Gwen always did enjoy playing mother hen. I heartily recommend her meatloaf, although it doesn’t look much more appetizing than this concoction.”
I glared at him. “If you’re finished insulting me in my own ho—”
“I’m only teasing.” Liam slid the contract toward me on the counter with a pointed look. “I forget my manners sometimes. Perhaps a different type of drink is in order. A coffee. Elias asked me to stop at the café at the end of the road, but I disappointed him in my rush.”
“Elias?” Marnie’s eyebrows bunched together. “The short guy you’re always with in the photos?”
Liam’s lips thinned, but only for a moment. “He’s in one of his moods and refuses to come inside. Perhaps…” He tapped his chin. “It is a lot to ask… But a beautiful woman may be just the distraction he needs. Could you walk with him to the café and let him spoil you with a treat?”
Marnie blinked up at him in a daze. “I love walking.”
I snorted. Since when? Certainly not twenty minutes ago, when she’d dragged herself along that exact path, whinging the entire way.
Marnie snapped out of her fog long enough to spear me with a warning glare. She was never short of attention, but she was loving this.
“Now, I must warn you,” Liam continued. “Eli is terribly shy, but you won’t be disappointed if you coax him out of his shell.
He makes up for his lack of height with a boyish enthusiasm.
” He plucked a piece of cucumber from the blender, nonchalantly adding, “And it probably doesn’t hurt he has an eight-inch cock,” before he popped it in his mouth.
All the air was punched out of my lungs.
I started wheezing in complete disbelief.
Marnie didn’t seem bothered by the inappropriate words flying out of my brother’s mouth.
I’d never seen her scramble off a stool so fast. She tripped over her own feet, beaming a smile at Liam until she disappeared outside.
He turned a lazy grin on me but was met with narrowed eyes. I folded my arms over my chest.
“What the hell was that?” I demanded.
Lifting a shoulder, he was distracted peering into the blender. “Women insist size doesn’t matter, but dangle a well-hung Spaniard in front of them, and there are never any complaints.” Another piece of cucumber disappeared into his mouth.
“Are you crazy?”
“Yes?” He sighed. “Gwen, I sense you’re unhappy with me.”
Seriously? “Yes.”
“Would you have preferred me to reserve the invitation to spend time with Eli…for…you?”
“What?” My cheeks heated. “Absolutely not .”
“I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea of my sister fornicating—”
I flapped my hand at him to please stop as I wheezed in more breaths.
Liam tried one of his false smiles, but they didn’t work on me.
“I think only of you, clever Gwen. It’s for the best you don’t get mixed up with him unless you plan to add to your brood.
The clock is ticking, and Mama Serrano grows impatient for her grandbabies.
” He grimaced. “I believe she’s hoping for at least two of the venomous little creatures. ”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “And not forgetting, of course, that Elias is one of my bosses?”
Liam’s head cocked. “The fact he’s your boss is the problem?”
“Yes?”
“You don’t object because he’s small?”
Now, it was my turn to smirk. “I thought you said he’s packing eight inches.”
Liam’s chuckle was light and almost believable. “ Touché .” He tapped the white envelope with his index finger. “No more distractions from the artist or talks about my friend’s prowess in the bedroom.” He slid the envelope closer. “My contract, if you please.”
I flipped open the top of the envelope and pulled out the thick wad of paper. “Wait.” I glanced up at him. “How did you know Marnie was an artist?”
“Observation. The paintbrush stuck through her bun. Dried clay on her wrist. People give away more of themselves than they realize.”
“You’re as weird as ever, you know that?”
“Save your compliments.” He tapped the pile of papers in front of me on the counter. “Please.”
I scanned the first page. Then, the second.
Some deal to buy a high-rise in the city.
Commercial property wasn’t my forte, but it wasn’t my first rodeo, either.
Two internships at commercial law firms, and I’d seen enough of these types of contracts to know I never wanted to work in a commercial firm.
It was funny—or maybe sad—how life turned out.
Liam hovered impatiently as I flicked the lid off a pen and started marking corrections. Occasionally, he gave me an inch of breathing room to sidle up to the chopping board, humming as he nibbled on a piece of celery.
Twelve-year-old me was bursting with a huge smile and doing snow angels on the faded Kim Possible quilt that had covered my bed.
My older brother was standing beside me.
Growing up, he’d been my only friend, the one who’d understood the quiet hell that had raged in the cramped apartment we’d called home for too long.
Thirty-year-old me fluttered between “What the hell?” and “Weirdest day of my life.”
When the front door shut and baby squeals echoed down the hallway, Liam’s impatience soared to new heights. He grunted with annoyance. A piece of celery went flying.
“Gwen, you here?” Toby’s voice called out. He was probably kicking off his shoes by the front door. “I think I’m losing my mind. I could’ve sworn the guy chatting to Marnie outside was that rich guy who hangs out with—”
My gaze lifted to see Toby already standing in the doorway. Noah rode high on his daddy’s shoulders, chubby fingers tugging Toby’s hair like the reins of a pony, an enormous gummy grin lighting up his face.
Noah was the only one smiling.
“Um… Gwen?” Toby’s face scrunched up with confusion. “Why is your brother in our kitchen?”
Great question. I tapped my pen on the pile of paper. “He needs this contract checked over.”
Toby’s lips pressed together. “And you’re checking the contract because…?”
I shrugged. “It’s my job.” Sort of. On weekdays. Appropriate boundaries still had to be negotiated.
“ He’s your new boss?” A sharpness edged Toby’s voice.
Liam uttered a soft tsk by my ear. “You didn’t tell your husband about me either? Gwen, this time, I am offended.”
Toby hoisted Noah off his shoulders and smacked kisses on his chubby tummy on the way down. Even after the baby was propped safely on his hip, Toby’s steps toward us were cautious. “Toby Sullivan.” He stuck out his hand. “Gwen’s…” His chest puffed up with pride. “Gwen’s husband .”
Liam said nothing. He stared at Toby’s outstretched hand like it was diseased.
I grimaced. Awkward . “Liam doesn’t shake hands,” I explained to Toby. “It’s nothing personal.”
My brother’s laugh was short. “On the contrary. In the case of your husband, it’s very personal.”
Toby jerked his hand back. “I see.” His frown deepened.
“Noah needs to be cleaned up after his adventures in the sandpit. I’ll leave you to your work .
” He nodded in Liam’s direction. “It was nice to finally meet you after you missed Gwen’s graduation…
the wedding…her whole life…” He turned for the doorway, and I was sure I heard him mutter, “ Not .”
Liam heard the comment too. A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Your husband has more fight than I gave him credit for.”
“ Ex -husband.”
Liam’s eyebrow went up. “Officially?”
“Soon enough.” There were still more than eleven months to wait until I could file for divorce, but who was counting? I sighed. “He’s upset.”
“Obviously.”
“I should talk to him.”
“Gwen.” Liam gave me a withering look. “My contract.”
“If you rock up at my house after fourteen years, you need to understand that I have friends and babies and soon-to-be-ex-husbands floating around. Five minutes, okay? Then I’ll finish looking at your precious contract.”
He pouted. “I’m beginning to think your coveted skills are more trouble than they’re worth.” As I hurried from the kitchen, he called, “I should’ve offered to pay you much less, frustrating woman!”
I called back, “I should’ve demanded a lot more, infuriating man!”
Liam’s laugh followed me to the bottom of the staircase. I stopped, peering at the impossible climb. Nothing waited for me up there except for broken dreams, awkwardness, and Toby’s wounded pride. Words wouldn’t come easily for us. Communication wasn’t our strong point.
I took a deep breath and headed up the stairs anyway.