Page 69 of Pleasure Island
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Mila
Liam had mentioned offhandedly that he’d moved a few days earlier, and that was when I’d asked him where he lived.
If he hadn’t mentioned the move, I’d have no idea where to find him, because it had never come up before.
Thankful for small favors, I climbed out of the cab and started up the steps.
He hadn’t told me his apartment number, but if I had to, I’d knock on all of the doors.
“Looking for somebody, miss?”
I glanced at the man who’d just opened the door.
“Ah, yes.”
I was in luck. The man had been there when Liam moved in, and he agreed to tell me where to find him.
As I walked down the hallway, I smoothed my hands down the sides of my skirt. I was nervous. Liam had that effect on me.
With my emotions still raging high, it was little wonder that my hand shook slightly as I knocked on the door.
Long, long moments passed – it felt like an eternity – before Liam opened the door. He filled it, standing with his shirt hanging open over an undershirt.
He gave me a look out of dead eyes, and my heart twisted a little.
“Liam…” I took a step toward him, my hand out.
He just stared back at me.
After a silence that lasted too long, he asked stiffly, “What are you doing here?”
I gaped at him. What did he think I was doing here?
But the hard lines of his face didn’t soften as he stared at me. The mask he’d worn those first few days was securely back in place.
I felt even more uncertain now, but I wasn’t about to back away. “I…well, I’m here to see you.” He just continued to stare at me with those flat, lifeless eyes.Okay…“About earlier…”
“Don’t,” Liam said with a shake of his head. He glanced past me down the empty hallway. “You should go. My boss is bound to be calling me soon to let me know I’m fired.”
That was one thing I hadn’t let myself think about too much, but after he delivered the words in such a stark voice, the guilt and misery I felt only multiplied. Still, how was him pushing me out going to help?
“I came to see you.” I hadn’t come down here to have him turn me away.
“So you said.” He leaned against the door frame. “But you should go.”
My hands itched to reach out and grab him, to eliminate the distance between us. No flicker of emotion showed on his impassive face, and I felt anger rise inside me. “You’re just going to push me away?”
Something in his eyes softened, and for a moment, I thought he might relent. But after a few seconds, he gave me another slow shake of his head. Softly, he said, “Just go, Mila.”
Liam stared at me as he closed the door.
For a few seconds, I could do nothing but stand there, confused, shocked…hurt.
I lifted my hand, ready to bang on the door and demand he talk to me.
But the hurt won out, and I turned from the door.
