“I know last night was hard, Ry,” he starts again, clearly ignoringmy statement. If we aren’t professionals at anything else, we are professionals of avoidance.
“Then you also know I don’t want to talk about it. It was last night. Last night is gone. Done. Over with. Let’s move on.” I snap again. Because the last thing I want to do is relive the memories that seeing my mother has brought.
Those memories haunt my dreams enough. The moment my eyes snap open, I push them to the side. Except for the guys, I push the first twenty years of my life away because all that is there is anger and misery and pain.
Fortunately, Liam sits across from us, bringing the unwanted conversation to stop. He lifts his sunglasses from his face as he sits back. “So, about last night.”
Bloody hell!It’s the night that won’t fucking end.
“What about it?” Maddox’s tone shifts from friend to businessman without warning. That well trained switch flips as easily as turning on the lights. It’s been bred into him whether he wants it or not.
“Davis wants all of us in his office tomorrow morning. Apparently, we embarrassed his preciouswifelast night.” His nostrils flare as he glowers.
And my curiosity from last night resurfaces ten-fold. “That’s the second time you’ve said that like you smell something bad. You fuck her or something?”
“Or something,” he growls. The guy nearly has fangs showing, and as much as I respect his privacy, my curiosity is getting the best of me.
See. Deflection and avoidance. I should get paid for being so good.
I raise my brow in question. “Something?”
Liam looks to Maddox. This is usually where he would tell me to leave it alone, which I rarely do, but even his curiosity can’t be masked.
“Davis’ wife’s name is Krista. She also happens to be Casey’s mother,” he spits out.
My mouth falls open. Liam has never really spoken of Casey’s mom, but I wasnotexpecting that.
“How the hell did we not know this?” Maddox asks loud enough to get the guys’ attention from behind us.
“Because I don’t fucking talk about it, and I’m not starting now. You two should know how that is better than anyone.”
“Why the hell did you keep working there?” Maddox questions quietly as Casey and Lily board the plane.
They are both on their way back to Columbia. I have no idea why Casey chose to fly back with us, but Lily wasn’t given a choice by Angel or her parents.
Liam’s eyes stay on them, even after I know they’ve taken their seats.
“You won’t tell us the story with your ex-wife,” Maddox remarks, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, “so tell us what’s going on there.” He jerks his head back where they just went.
Liam’s eyes snap to ours with a mixture of surprise and guilt before turning to stone. “Nothing is going on there. Just a kid with a crush.”
“I call bullshit.” I point at him with a smirk. “She is not a kid, and Iheardyou last night. That tells me it’s not one-sided at all. I’msimply curious how long it’s been going on.”
His jaw clenches, and his face turns red. “Nothinghas been going on.”
“You want it to, though,” I tell him. “So, what’s the problem?”
“I’m fifteen years older than her,” he grits out.
“So?” Maddox questions. “My stepmom is twenty years younger than my dad. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“She’s the same age as Casey, Maddox,” he deadpans.
I look at him. The tightness around his eyes and mouth. The guy is really fighting his feelings. Things keep getting more and more interesting. “Liam, it’s your life, but why does this bother you so much?”
“Because I’m attracted to a fucking kid, Ryder,” he whisper yells. “Andshe’s Angel’s sister.”
“Good God, this sounds like Jake and Cara all over again,” Maddox chuckles.
