He smiled at me and then looked over my shoulder to Lexi. “I’m glad you both came out.” He glanced at Ronny’s arm on Lexi’s back and raised his eyebrows. “You brought friends, too?” His eyes swept from Ronny to Paul to me. “I think we have enough room for everyone at one of our tables. Follow me, you’ll get better service this way.”
“Holy shit, seriously? Thanks man,” Paul exclaimed as he slid into a booth on the second floor overlooking the dance floor.
“Thanks a lot.” Lexi hugged Liam, and I wondered if her body was reacting the same way mine did.
“What are you all drinking? Rachel can get it for you.” Liam gestured to a petite blonde with big hair.
Not wasting a moment, I ordered a round of tequila shots with lime.
“Would you like bottle service?” The tiny server asked in a surprisingly deep voice.
“Yes, please.” It sounded expensive. Perfect. I was ready to set fire to whatever money I didn’t spend tonight. “Jose Cuervo, salt, and a bowl of limes”
Liam leaned against the railing, nodding appreciatively at my order.
Lexi stepped forward. “Can we get some beers too, Corona?” she asked Ronny and Paul, and they nodded.
“Two rounds of Coronas, too,” I told the server, handing her my card. “Liam, you want anything?”
“Make sure to bring extra shot glasses,” he replied.
The server nodded. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
Liam leaned into me to be heard over the music, and I leaned into him to soak up his delicious warmth. “Sounds like you’re on a mission to get lit tonight.”
Then a group of guys appeared, separating us as they surrounded him. They all greeted each other with shoulder bumps and half hugs. There were girls with them as well, and Liam embraced one of them, a pretty blonde with huge boobs. He kept his hand on her back as he turned to me and winked. “Save me a shot.”
With his arm wrapped around the blonde, he melted into the crowd with his friends.
“Damn, he’s hot,” Lexi yelled into my ear. “I think you have a shot with him, lucky bitch.”
I shook my head, dismissing my fantasy. “I think that blonde he walked off with has a better shot.”
“What about Paul? He’s cute and interested.” She nudged me while waggling her eyebrows.
I glanced at Paul who was talking to Ronny and thankfully seemed oblivious to our conversation. “Mm, no. I’m not looking for a relationship or complications of friends with benefits.”
Lexi wrinkled her nose. “Fuck complications. These boys know better than to cause any of those.” She patted Ronny’s leg, and he looked over, surprised at her sudden contact.
“Huh? What did I miss?” he questioned.
Lexi squeezed his cheeks. “Just saying what good friends you two are.”
Two shots, a beer, and lots of dancing later, Lexi and I left the dance floor to return to our booth. My limbs felt loose, weightless, as I walked up the stairs—practically floating. Liam leaning on the railing at the top of the steps, only a couple of feet away, caught me off guard and my feet stopped on the last step. My hesitation caused Lexi to bump into me, knocking me off balance. I reached for the railing as I tipped forward.
Liam caught me before I fell flat on my face and helped me regain my upright position.
Too intoxicated to be embarrassed, I laughed at my clumsiness and adjusted my dress, it had become crooked during the dancing and the fall.
“Thank you.” I nodded to Liam once I stopped laughing.
“Damn,” he said, shaking his head.
I took a step back, anticipating a reprimand for my behavior.
But he grabbed my arms and pulled me closer, leaning into my ear, his breath warmed my skin, the rasp of his voice sent tingles to my toes. “You were all angry and sexy as hell when you walked into this club, but that smile… Damn. I don’t want to leave your side now. I don’t want to miss another one.”
I rewarded his words with another smile. I knew it was a line, but I didn’t care. His words and the liquor I’d consumed were beginning to melt the ice that I’d felt in my core ever since this afternoon.
“I owe you a shot.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him to our table.
“How long are you in town for?” Liam asked as he poured a round of shots.
I spoke over Lexi before she could tell him the truth. “I’m not sure yet, probably just the weekend.”
Lexi shot me a wide eye look, and gave her a slight head shake, hoping she understood this as ‘shut up’.
I turned away from her gaze and poured salt on my inner wrist to prepare for the tequila. Liam grabbed my hand and licked it off. The heat of his tongue slowly traveled across my wrist, my body absorbed it and my frozen core melted a little more.
Raising his glass to the table, he kept his golden eyes on me when he toasted, “To new friends.”
I ignored the toast and took the shot, never breaking eye contact. I didn’t want us to be friends, and I was fairly certain he didn’t either. He thought I would be leaving. I decided the moment he asked that question, he would be perfect for me to lose myself with tonight. I reasoned this is what girls with daddy issues did, and I had daddy issues. It was not my fault.
I placed a lime in my mouth and then wrapped my arms around Liam, my lips meeting his as we shared the sour fruit. He tasted like cinnamon and liquor, a nice combination with the lime.
~Carly~
Carly was dreaming she was on a beach laughing with Connor. She awoke wrapped in the comfort of knowing that the dream would become reality this weekend.
Then her mind jumped back to the here and now. She immediately went to Kate’s room and dread squeezed her stomach. She hadn’t returned home. Kate had never before stayed out late, let alone all night. She checked her phone again just in case, but there were no missed calls or new messages. Damn.
A wave of anger washed over Carly. Kate was being very inconsiderate. She was not typically a selfish girl, but that’s what she was being now. Yesterday was hard on both of them, but Kate had looked at Carly with such hatred like it was all her fault.
Carly had thought giving Kate time alone to process the information was a good move. She had assumed during that time Kate would have realized how hard the past twenty years had been on Carly. But no, Carly had instead returned to an empty hotel room with no explanation of where Kate had gone.
At least Lexi had been considerate enough to respond to her texts, so she knew her daughter was not wandering around alone.
Her anger threatened to boil over when she thought that Kate may not return today. They had a dinner planned with Connor.
Kate better not ruin this.
Chapter Four
One step at a time.
My head was impossibly heavy, and it pounded as every heartbeat squeezed more blood into it. I tried opening one eye and then the other. The muted light creeping through the blinds was dim enough to be tolerable.
Memories from last night hit me like a brick in the face, causing me to groan and bury my head in the pillow. The sudden realization that it was not my pillow had the opposite effect, and I sat up. I recognized Liam stretched out next to me, but little else. Cautiously, I climbed out of bed, watching his sleeping form, praying he’d stay asleep.
Only in my underwear, I cursed myself for drinking so much and searched the floor for my clothes. Bending down made me feel like I was going to throw up, fall over, and have my head explode all at once. Thankfully, I found my dress, slid it on, and exited the room before Liam woke up.
Once in the hall, I searched my memory for whose house I was in and where Lexi was. Within a couple of steps, the latter question was answered. Lexi was asleep on a couch in the living room. I tried to nudge her awake, but when she didn’t respond, I shook her and urgently whispered her name.
She groaned and threw her arm over her face, but within a couple of seconds, she was blinking up at me.
“Fuck Kate, I feel li
ke shit.”
“Lexi, we need to leave. Now.” I helped her to her feet and was jealous, and proud, to discover she was still dressed.
Ronny was sleeping on the opposite side of the couch, Paul was on the couch next to theirs, and two other people were sleeping in the other chairs. I remembered leaving the club with a lot more people last night though.
After we woke up the boys and made a swift exit, we waited on the curb of the apartment building for our Uber to arrive. Laying back on the grass, I closed my eyes against the bright sun. I focused on not throwing up and avoided thinking about last night. Actually, I avoided thinking about anything. The pounding of my head beat down any thoughts that tried to bubble up.
The entire group was nursing their own hangovers, and we made the ride home in silence with a few mumbled curse words from Lexi.
I was not as lucky when I arrived at the hotel. The moment I entered the door, Carly began her questions and demands.
“You look awful Kate. What have you been doing?” She followed me from the entrance to the refrigerator.
I grabbed a bottle of water and walked to my room, ignoring her.
“We are going to your father’s at six, you better be ready to go and not look like a complete embarrassment.”
“I’ll be ready,” I responded only because I knew she’d never shut up otherwise, and then I slammed the door and locked it, effectively shutting her out.
I closed the blinds to dim the obnoxious sunshine that burst in, and then I went to my medicine bag and found something to take for my throbbing head. It was 10:00 am, I could sleep the next six hours. Shut everything out before I had to face reality and deal with my new family.
My kaleidoscope of memories from the night before kept me awake though. Liam taking off my dress. His hands on me. His sloppy kisses. With every memory, shame washed over me. My hands covered my face as if that could hide anything.
At least he had been responsible. That offered a mild comfort as I recalled trying to open a condom with my teeth to no avail. Liam had taken it from me, opened it, and put it on before positioning himself above me. I may be on the pill, but I’d have felt even worse if I’d risked my health.
I remembered his cinnamon kisses at the club, the taxi ride, and his place. Strangely, those were the memories that knotted my stomach the most. What happened in the bedroom was tolerable because I’d never see him again. But everything leading up to that was public, in view of people I’d have to face. Leave it to me to make a bad situation worse.
I covered my head with a pillow, trying to block out the memory of dancing in the living room, Liam’s hands running over my body, his mouth covering my exposed skin. Then he lifted me off the ground and carried me to the bedroom. With that image, my stomach flipped.
I ran to the bathroom to expel the liquor from last night. When my stomach was empty, I turned on the shower and let the warm flow of water wash away last night. I’d made a bad choice, but it was in response to shocking news. It may have been my first, and hopefully last, one-night stand, but I’m not the only girl to have ever done that. It’s not like I hurt anyone. It had been my way of running away. It didn’t work. Lesson learned. I forgave myself and decided to move on.
My alarm going off, like glass shattering in my head, woke me up. It reminded me of last night, which I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about. Focusing on the night ahead wasn’t any better—it was actually worse—so instead, I focused only on my next step.
First, I scrolled through my missed messages on my phone. Lexi had texted.
U r fucking awesome if your family doesn’t see it call me and I’ll kidnap you.
I texted back.
Good plan. Stay on standby please.
With my escape plan in place, I felt a little more confident.
Next step, bathroom. I stared at my reflection. My skin was blotchy and dry and my hair was a wavy mess; I should’ve never fallen asleep with it wet. I considered going to dinner just as I was. I could just picture Carly’s reaction, but that’s not what stopped me. If it was only Connor and Carly, I wouldn’t have cared, but I would be meeting my sisters as well. My stomach squeezed in nervous anticipation. I brushed my hair and put it in a braid over my shoulder. Then I applied lotion and a little concealer to my face.
Next step, clothes. I went for comfort, skinny jeans and a loose dark tank top. I grabbed my big sunglasses from the nightstand as I left the room.
Carly’s arms wrapping around me the moment I stepped out of my room took me off guard, and I froze.
“Baby, you’ll see everything will work out.” She held me at arm’s length and looked me up and down.
I took a step back to break her grasp on me. Maybe she flinched slightly, but she quickly covered it with a big smile.
“We have such an opportunity here. Please behave tonight and give your father a chance. He has so much to offer and can turn our lives around. He already is.”
“Why now?” I cut off her excitement. “Why didn’t he offer all this when I was born?” My emotions bubbled inside me, and I had to choke down the dozen other questions I wanted to ask.
“He had family issues when you were born. I did what I thought was best, and we moved. He wants to give you things now, let him. If you had come home last night, we could have talked more about this. But now is not the time. We should not keep him waiting.” She cleared her throat and then plastered a smile back on her face as she walked out the door.
On the drive to Connor’s house, Carly rattled on about how much my father was going to do for us. The apartment, my college loans, a chance to continue my education, and money. It was all about the money.
I had to fight the impulse to open the car door and let myself roll out onto the street with the car in motion. That would’ve been preferable to listening to Carly exalt a man who had shown no interest in being in our life before.
As we turned off the boulevard, my apprehension rose as our car climbed a hill. I couldn’t see the homes from the street, due to high hedges and walls, but it was easy to tell the neighborhood was wealthy. Even the street lamps looked expensive. The GPS guided us to make a few more turns, and then the street ended at a large stone gate. We’d reached our destination. The heavy gate slid open, and we rolled into the driveway.
“Here we go,” Carly’s excited chirp held a hint of nerves.
It was expansive—and overwhelming. The mansion was three floors with stone pillars along the front. We followed the stone driveway around a two-tier fountain. The sprawling landscape was a dark green and flawlessly maintained.
I focused on my breathing as I worked up the courage to open my car door.
The large front door flew open, and a petite girl—maybe about my age—ran out. Her long strands of strawberry blonde hair swung behind her as she approached my car door. She squeezed my hands in hers and with a breathless energy she greeted, “Kate, Hi. When did you find out about us?”
My mind raced to make sense of her question, “Yesterday?”
“Oh good.” She hugged me with a squeal and then hurried to explain, “I only just found out too. I wanted to like you, but I would have had to be angry with you if you had known and didn’t call or something.”
She linked her arm with mine and walked me to the front door, without acknowledging Carly following behind us. I'm barely 5'4, but this small girl, who I assumed was my sister, only came up to my nose.
As we walked, she leaned towards me and whispered, “I’m not talking to father right now. I’m mad at him for keeping this secret.” Then she smiled brightly at me, revealing perfect white teeth. “I am so glad to meet you. I’m Sonja.”
She whisked me into a grand entryway that flowed off into several hallways and a wide staircase. She gestured her free hand to a curvy brunette who was a head taller than me. “Kate, this is Chelsea. Our older sister”
Chelsea nodded her head in my direction and gave me a tight smile. “Nice to meet you.” She turned to my mother. “And ni
ce to meet you Miss…?”
Carly jumped at the opportunity to be included. “Green. Carly Green. But please, just call me Carly. It’s so very nice to meet you both.”
I struggled to arrange my thoughts. I'd assumed my sisters would be young, a lot younger, like pre-teen or younger. But these girls were around my age. My heart jumped to my throat. The family complications Carly told me about was that Connor already had one when I was conceived.
Connor walked into the foyer and smiled at us all. “I am a very blessed man to be dining with such lovely ladies tonight.”
Carly and Chelsea smiled back at his words, but Sonja rolled her eyes. If I hadn’t been so stunned by my surroundings and new revelations, I would have rolled my eyes too, but I could barely manage to breathe and blink.
Sonja turned away from her father and formally addressed Carly, “Mr. Hampton, our chef, said dinner would be ready at seven. Chelsea, Kate, and I will take this time to get to know each other. I’m sure my father will keep you company. Please excuse us.”
We walked up the stairs at the back of the foyer. On the second level, you could see out to the covered balcony and tall palm trees in the yard. Sonja continued dragging me up to the third level, into her bedroom. No, not bedroom, suite. She continued dragging me around to give me a tour. Her suite was four rooms, a sitting area, bedroom, bathroom, and a closet the size of our apartment in Georgia.
“… And our decorator insisted I stick with European furniture to fit the design of the house, but I insisted I didn’t care what the rest of the house was. My room would be my room, ya know?” She gestured to her sitting area without pausing for air. “We can all sit here and talk. Oops, I almost forgot, do you want a drink?” She continued talking as she walked to a refrigerator that blended in seamlessly with her bookshelves.
Chelsea relaxed on a rounded chair, looking at her phone, and I sat on a similar one opposite her. I’m not sure exactly what European style furniture would look like, but her jeweled color decor and furniture seemed inspired by India.
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