Chapter 41
LIAM
Jerry swooped in to introduce me to the woman I’d spotted as soon as I’d swept my gaze across the stretch of beach in front of the house where the barbecue was being held. He grinned as he waved between us.
“Skye, this is Liam,” he said as I stretched a hand out toward her. “Liam, Skye. I was hoping to get the opportunity to introduce you guys to each other tonight. You’ve actually got a lot in common. Skye is the creative director we’re going to be working with in Miami.”
My eyebrows lifted a little and I slid my palm against hers, hoping to feel something. Anything. I’d told London once that I could feel sparks with just about anyone, but it had been a long time since that had happened to me.
It didn’t happen now either. Jerry was still rattling off my resume as he told her who I was and I looked right into her big blue eyes, determined to find some semblance of interest but coming up dry. Disappointed but not about to give up, I shook with her and released her hand.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” I said, keeping my tone light and easy. “We’re new in town, so we could definitely use some friends.”
She giggled, stepping closer before she gestured at the house. “There’s a bar in there. Want to go grab a drink?”
She’s forward. I’ll give her that. Why don’t I like it as much as I usually do?
“I’d love that,” I lied but smiled as I fell into step beside her. “A creative director, huh? That’s pretty cool. I wish I’d met you a couple weeks ago. We were looking to fill that exact role over at the new branch of Walker and Co.”
“Walker and Co?” She blinked up at me, clearly impressed as her brow lifted and her lips pursed slightly. “I heard the big boys were coming to town. Didn’t realize you were one of them.”
I chuckled. “I’m flattered you’d think so, but no. I’m more of a right hand to the big boys. Or big girls, as the case may be.”
Skye giggled again, and though the sound was objectively pretty, it was already starting to grate on me a little bit.
“I’m sure that’s not entirely true. If you’re here, helping to set up the branch, that means you’re one of the big boys for sure.
I’m with Harlan Incorporated. We’re a boutique firm that specializes in resorts and hotels, hence working with people like Jerry. ”
“I’ve heard of them,” I said, racking my brain for exactly what I’d heard, but I honestly didn’t remember.
Or care very much.
While I was smiling my way through the conversation, I was mostly only talking to Skye out of spite. The second I’d seen London take an interest in some dude named Brandon, I’d blacked out. My ears were still dialed into the sound of her laughter, like a radar.
I heard it trickling to me above the general humdrum of the small crowd gathered on the beach and my insides twisted, but I didn’t turn to look. If she was flirting with him—or at least trying to—I didn’t want to have to see it.
Skye grabbed two bottles of beer when we reached the bar and held one out to me. “So, Liam, how are you liking Miami so far? How does it compare to, well, wherever you’re from.”
“Texas.”
“Ah, that explains the accent.” Her eyelashes fluttered a little bit. “Whereabouts in Texas?”
“Houston,” I said. “I’ve been back there the last couple years, but before that, I was in New York.”
“How very jet set of you,” she teased, those blue eyes the complete wrong shade as she stared up at me.
I found myself searching for London’s oceanic tones instead, but Skye’s were much, much lighter, like the sky early in the morning before the sun had properly risen. Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? Pay attention to the woman who’s right here. Not the one chatting up a storm to another guy.
I sent Skye a smile that always seemed to work when I wanted to get a woman into bed. Not that I’d be taking her to mine, but at least I was making an effort. “Don’t be fooled. I’m no jet setter. I just go where the boss sends me.”
“I’m sensing a trend here,” she said lightly. “You do seem to like selling yourself short, don’t you?”
“Me?” I scoffed. “No. I’ve never been accused of that. In fact, I’ve been told I’m too cocky for my own good.”
She seemed taken aback. “You? That can’t be right.”
“Thanks, but it’s actually pretty accurate. I’m not sure why you’d think any different.”
Skye giggled—again—and I hadn’t even meant for that to be funny.
She touched my arm lightly and moved close enough that I caught a whiff of a too sweet perfume.
“I think different because in the few minutes since we’ve met, you’ve tried twice to make me believe you’re less than you are. That’s not what I’d call cocky.”
“Everything I’ve told you is the truth, though. I’m not underselling myself. Just trying to be honest.”
She wound her fingers around my arm and gently pulled me back to the beach.
The house we were in had a great view, just like ours, but unlike ours, it was an older, more traditional design.
The patio had a low roof over it with string lights wrapped around the wooden beams and the grill had been placed right in front of it on the sand.
Skye must’ve noticed me looking around and she squeezed my arm to draw my attention back to her. “Have you met Ron yet?”
“Ron?”
“Our host, silly.” She smiled at me like I was a pet she was particularly fond of. “I’ll introduce you in a minute. I just saw him go around back with Jerry. He must be giving him a tour.”
“Lucky him.”
Once again, she giggled and laid her free hand on my bicep. “You’re really funny, Liam. I love a man with a good sense of humor.”
If I’d meant for any of this to be funny, her compliments might’ve landed, but as it was, all I could hear was London’s laughter and all I could think about was taking the same tour Jerry was, but with her. Preferably to a room with a bed in it.
Those words she’d said to me that first night echoed through my mind and a shudder ran down my spine. Fuck me, Liam.
I glanced past Skye’s shoulder and there she was, London touching Brandon’s chest and flipping her hair like she was in a shampoo commercial. Shit, she’s bad at flirting.
Yet, delicious Brandon in finance couldn’t keep his damn eyes off her. In the late afternoon sunlight, he kind of looked like she’d cast a spell on him, his expression a little dazed as he stared down at her. Yeah, I know the feeling, buddy.
I gritted my teeth, muttering something to Skye about grabbing a snack as soon as I saw London heading to the kitchen.
No doubt she was about to grab something to eat for her and loser guy.
Slipping away from Skye with the charm of a man who’d mastered the art of pretending not to care, I grabbed two more beers and walked over to London like my blood pressure wasn’t through the damn roof.
Acting like it was no big deal that she was so very obviously putting the moves on another guy right in front of me, I handed over the drink. “Here. I figured Brandon would be parched after hearing your life story all in one sitting.”
She blinked a couple times before she raised a perfectly manicured brow at me. “Wow. Did someone spike your drink with jealousy and emotional damage?”
Something in me released as I looked into her eyes, finally seeing the right shade of blue again. It was like intense relief that flooded my insides, undoing knots I shouldn’t have had to begin with. “No more than someone spiked yours with cheap moves and fake interest.”
She coughed to hide a surprised laugh. “Are you serious right now?”
“As a heart attack. Why do you think I came over? I figured Brandon would need that, but I also needed to point out that your flirting is over-the-top obvious. It’ll put him off.”
“It didn’t seem to be putting him off at all,” she drawled with a slow, devilish grin. “In fact, I’d say it was turning him on.”
Nausea smacked into me and I grimaced. “If that’s true, then why is he heading over to speak to Skye right now?”
She spun and watched him walk toward the grill, clearly having noticed that she’d been standing here, talking to me, and he must’ve gotten tired of waiting. Skye flashed him an easy smile and they started chatting immediately, seeming to get on like a house on fire right from the get-go.
“Well, that’s just great.” London huffed out a breath before turning back to me. “Thanks a lot. Like you didn’t just hijack my moment like a villain with great hair.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Thanks for the drink,” she replied flatly. “I’ve always dreamed of sipping passing aggressive on ice. I guess now I know what that’s like.”
I lifted my beer with a grin and shrugged. “Hydration is key. Especially when you’re out here, flirting like it’s a full-time job.”
“It is a full-time freaking job,” she muttered unhappily, sighing as she shook her head at me. “Why do you even care? You told me to go talk to him so that you could go hit on the legs.”
“The legs?”
Her eyes rolled. “Don’t even pretend like you didn’t notice that she has legs like a gazelle. Or a racehorse. Take your pick.”
I glanced at Skye, honestly noticing for the very first time that her legs were pretty long. And pretty shapely. I could’ve had those wrapped around my head if I’d played my cards right instead of just tossing them right back into the deck.
But I wasn’t even sorry. London just didn’t need to know that.
I brought my gaze back to hers. “Okay, I won’t pretend, but then you shouldn’t pretend like you didn’t want to go talk to delicious Brandon in finance.”
As she looked up at me, her eyes suddenly narrowed, her head jerking back. “Wait. Are you mad that I’m talking to someone else?”
I leaned in slightly, my voice lower as my lips moved against her silky, loose hair. “You’re the one who kept checking me out like a jealous girlfriend.”
She took a sip of her drink and turned her back on me, muttering, “In your dreams.”
And she very much wasn’t wrong, but again, that wasn’t something she needed to know. Not just yet. Probably soon, the way things were going right now, but we just weren’t all the way there quite yet.