by Parker, Ali
Somehow, it even smelled like a spa in there. Like cucumber and eucalyptus.
At least, that was what I imagined a spa might smell like. I’d never set foot in one before.
When I was finished in the shower, I slicked my hair back, helped myself to the men’s deodorant and cologne on a tray on the counter, got dressed, and went back out into the kitchen. Genevieve wasn’t there yet, and I assumed she was still getting ready, so I waited patiently, trying my best not to get too nosey and indulge my temptation to wander around her place.
Lucky for me, I didn’t have to wait long.
Genevieve came out wearing a pair of blue jeans, white sneakers, and a white pullover. She looked just as sexy in her casual wear as she had the night before in her fitted white dress. Her hair was wavy and dry, and she had no makeup on that I could tell, save for a swipe of shimmery pink gloss on her luscious lips.
“Ready?” she asked as she brushed by me and picked up her purse from the end of the counter.
I hopped to my feet. “After you.”
We went out the front door and I found myself staring wide-eyed at Owen’s truck in the driveway.
Right.
The truck.
Shit.
He was going to have my head for not bringing it back when I promised I would. Genevieve walked to the passenger door and stopped, waiting for me to unlock it. Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I unlocked the door, opened it, and held out my hand to help her out. I closed the door behind her and mumbled to myself as I walked around the hood.
“You dumbass. He’s never going to let you borrow it again. And you’re going to have to explain to her where the fuck the truck went.”
I needed to get a new set of wheels.
Maybe Axel could hook me up with something. He was always connected with people moving cars. Surely, there’d be something in my price range that wasn’t too flashy but was nice enough to drive a woman like Genevieve around the city in.
“Is everything all right?” Genevieve asked as I backed out of the driveway.
“Of course.” I smiled tightly.
She and I had yet to spend any real amount of time together, and my lie was already getting hard to keep up with.
Maybe the guys were right. Maybe I never should have kept it from her that I was a Lost Breed.
I was in too deep now. If the right time came along, I’d say something.
If not…
Well, I’d jump that bridge when I got to it.
Chapter 14
Genevieve
I was playing with fire.
I knew it. Liam probably knew it too.
He didn’t need to be at the farmers’ market with me. Really, who needed a security guard to watch their back while they pored over fresh produce and handmade goodies?
Sure, a real celebrity might, but little old me?
Not a chance.
Nobody was going to try something unsavory with me at a place like the market.
People were too busy finding the perfect zucchini or loaf of freshly baked bread. Their hands were full with mountains of treats and veggies for their fridges for the week ahead. Children ran around playing games of tag and hide and seek while the live band sang cover songs up on the stage in the middle of the market. All the tents provided shade and cover from the sun, which wasn’t as hot today as I thought it might be.
There was a real chill in the air that afternoon.
I stole a look at Liam, who was hanging back as I looked at handmade jewelry at one of the tents.
He was dressed in the same thing he’d worn to the club last night: his dark pants, black tee, and black leather jacket. He had aviators on, which I saw him grab from the glove box of his truck. They looked good on him.
Hell, they looked great on him.
He looked exactly like the kind of man any parent with eyes would warn their daughter to stay away from.
Liam was a bad boy through and through. And it was getting to me.
He was carrying one of my bags for me already. I’d picked up a head of lettuce and a squash to make soup, as well as some onions and red peppers. The leafy head of lettuce was half draped out one side of the bag, but he looked less than bothered holding it for me. He scanned the market like a faithful watchdog as I mused over the jewelry.
The young woman, who made everything herself, smiled up at me from where she sat on the other side of the booth. “Is there anything you’d like to try on, miss?”
My eyes were drawn to a pendant hanging off the fake neck of one of her displays. I pointed at it. “That one there.”
The young woman stood up and reached for the one I’d pointed at. Her wavy brown hair fell over her shoulders as she leaned forward, and she brushed it aside before handing me the pendant, which dangled from a silver chain.
The pendant was quite beautiful and unlike anything else I’d ever seen. A round piece of rock—obsidian, I assumed—was set in the back and coiled in silver wire, which had been skewered with what appeared to be jewels of some sort. They dazzled in the sunshine as I draped it over my neck and peered down at it.
Oh yes. It was lovely. The sun caught it just right, and rays of light bounced off it to reflect up on the ceiling of the tent.
“I’ll take it,” I said.
The woman blinked at me. “Don’t you need to know the price?”
“How much?”
“Three hundred and fifty. It took me thirty hours to make, you see. And the stones themselves cost a lot of money.”
She felt bad asking for such a high price. She shouldn’t. Her work was exquisite, and she’d clearly worked very hard to sell pieces she was proud of.
I shoved my hand in my purse, pulled out my wallet, and flicked through my cash tucked in one of the pockets. Then I handed her four hundred dollars. “Keep the change. It’s worth more than three hundred and fifty. And so is your work. Thank you very much. I’m going to get a lot of use out of this.”
Her mouth fell open, and her cheeks turned bright pink. “Miss. This is too generous. I can’t accept it.”
“Sure you can because I’m not taking it back.” I winked. “Have a good day!”
I ducked out of the tent before she had a chance to try to give me my money back. Liam fell into step beside me and eyed the pendant. “That’s pretty.”
I picked it up to admire it. “It is, isn’t it?”
“And it suits you.”
“Thanks.” I grinned, lifting my face to let the sun kiss my cheeks. The warmth felt good against the heavy chill in the air. Our shoes struck the paved path that wove between booths, and I found my curiosity getting the best of me. I knew I liked Liam. And I wanted him to stick around. So I needed to know more about him. “Tell me about yourself, Liam.”
“About me?” he asked.
I giggled. “Yes. Anything. You can ask me anything too.”
He frowned. His brow creased adorably as his brows drew together and he stroked his chin with his free hand. “I don’t know what to say.”
“What line of work were you in before security?”
He hesitated. “Nothing worthwhile. I moved here from Chicago a year and a half ago. That’s when I got into security.”
“Chicago, huh?”
He nodded.
“What made you want to move out here to the Big Apple?”
He licked his lips. “There was stuff I wanted to leave behind. Bad memories. Shitty times.”
I could feel pain radiating off him. Maybe all these questions weren’t such a good idea. But he wasn’t giving me the impression he didn’t want to talk to me. So I pushed a little further. “I’m sorry. Things weren’t good for you there?”
He shook his head. “No. Not really.”
“I know what it’s like to have it rough growing up.”
He looked sheepishly at me. I knew that look. It was a look that said, You had it rough? Really?
“Yes, I did,” I said firmly. “I know from the outside it looks like my l
ife has been smooth sailing. But I’ve been through the wringer. My parents were killed in a car accident when I was twelve. The women’s shelter was my mother’s dream. Not mine. But after she died, I felt called to follow it through. And I don’t know. Now it’s my dream too.”
“I’m sorry, Genevieve.”
“Don’t be. Bad things happen. And it was a long time ago. I still miss them every day, but I’m thankful for the time I did have with them. Even if it was cut short. They taught me everything I needed to know, and what they couldn’t, my uncle did.”
“Your uncle?”
I smiled as I thought about Uncle Tom. “Yep. My dad’s little brother. He was my godfather. He was only thirty when my parents were killed, and I turned his life upside down. But we made it work. And I owe everything to him.”
“So,” Liam paused, and I could tell he was searching for the right words. “The money. Did it come from your mom and dad?”
I nodded. This was always an awkward conversation that other people didn’t like to have. But it didn’t bother me in the slightest. “Yep. My great grandfather worked in the oil industry. Lots of money there. He put it all away in high-interest accounts, and my grandfather after him made a lot of smart investments. My family was always really good at spending what they needed, donating what they could, and saving some to set up their younger generations for success. Dad always said things were only getting harder and harder for young people.”
“Can’t disagree with that,” Liam muttered.
“How about you? What was it like growing up in Chicago?”
He shrugged. “To be honest? A healthy balance of shit and not shit.”
I laughed as we weaved around a very slow walking elderly couple. “Please explain.”
Liam rolled his shoulders. “All right. Well. My parents were the kind of people who never should have been parents. You know? They preferred to spend their weeknights smoking weed in the garage, watching UFC fights, and drinking beer. I didn’t have a place in their life. I was just a burden. An extra mouth to feed. They didn’t notice when I didn’t come home at night, and they didn’t care, either. So I bailed as early as I could.”
“How old were you?” I asked.
“Sixteen.”
“That’s so young to be out on your own.”
“It was better to be alone than at home.”
My heart hurt for him. I was a lucky girl. Even though I’d lost my parents, I’d always known one thing for absolute certain: they loved me more than anything else in this world. Their love got me through every trial before and after their deaths. Growing up unwanted by the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally was cruel punishment for an innocent child.
“I wish things had been different for you,” I said softly.
Liam smiled at me. “So do I. But everything happens for a reason. Because of them, I made lifelong friends. And they became my family. My brothers.”
A silver lining.
“Brothers?” I paused and stepped off the paved path to allow others to pass. Liam sidestepped around a couple of young girls with sticky faces from their candy apples, giving them a wide berth with their caramel-laden fingers.
He stepped up beside me and nodded. “Yeah. Guys who helped raise me. They kept me away from all the bad stuff that a young kid might find himself buried under. They gave me a purpose.”
“They sound like good men. You’re still close with them?”
Liam searched my eyes before dropping his gaze to the grass under our feet. “Yes. I am.”
There was something about the way he answered me that had me thinking there was more to the story than he was currently willing to share. It was unreasonable of me to ask him for more. The fact that he’d already opened up about this much was pretty impressive, especially considering he didn’t have an easy, cookie-cutter past to talk about.
He had dark parts, like me. The parts that made him who he was.
I adjusted the shoulder strap of my purse. “Do you want to grab something for lunch?”
Liam looked up at me. “Yeah. Sure. Here?”
I nodded. “There’s a booth at the far end that makes pretty good sandwiches and iced tea. They usually have little tables set up so there is a spot to sit and eat and people watch.”
Liam gave me a wide grin. “I like people watching.”
“Me too.”
We began making our way slowly toward the other side of the market. We smiled at people we passed, and I lingered at some of the booths. Liam never rushed me.
It felt right being by his side. It felt like he was mine and I was his—not like he was my employee.
We still hadn’t had that work conversation yet. I considered bringing it up over lunch, but I didn’t want to ruin a perfectly good afternoon with work talk. I knew how foolish it was to look at this as a date. But I did.
Liam was so charming, kind, patient, and willing to help that it was impossible to see him as just an employee.
And last night… well, there was no going back from that.
My toes were still permanently curled at that very moment.
Chapter 15
Liam
“Beer?”
I looked up from my lap where I’d zoned out, fiddling with my thumbs. Owen was hanging off the doorframe to the kitchen at Ryder’s house, staring expectantly at me.
“Sorry?” I asked, sitting up straighter.
Owen growled in annoyance. “Beer?”
“Oh. Yeah. Sure.” I nodded.
Owen swung himself off the doorframe and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me in Ryder’s living room with Sabian, Jax, Derek, Ryder, Aiden, and Rhys. There was a race of some sort playing on the television in the corner. I hadn’t been paying much attention. While the others chatted around me, their voices rising with excitement at highlights of the race, I sat and thought about her.
My wealthy, drop-dead gorgeous dream girl.
I was still confounded that I was lucky enough to be spending so much time with her. Since the farmers’ market, she’d called me up twice asking for an escort: once to the mall and the second time as her chauffeur while she ran errands.
Truth be told, I got the impression she just didn’t want to be alone. Both times, Marley had been busy at work. Apparently, she was opening her own retail store and was in the final and most intense stages of the planning process. Soon, she’d be moving on to work on her first ever brick and mortar store. Until then, she was dealing with orders, shipping and merchandise issues, payroll, and insurance complications.
There was a lot to being a small business owner. I was learning that on the fly the more time I spent with Genevieve. I was also learning how woefully out of my element I was.
Keeping up with her was a fucking struggle. And I ran with a motorcycle club. But the life and pace of being an MC member was a hell of a lot more relaxed than being a twenty-four-year-old female billionaire with a dream and a will to see it through.
Genevieve didn’t have an off button. When she wasn’t working, she was thinking about working, and all the while, she was multitasking and getting every other little thing done under the sun that she could.
She inspired me. She made me want to be better.
And she made me terribly nervous.
I’d never been one to get flustered in front of a pretty girl. I liked the adrenaline rush, and I liked showing her that I was a smooth-talking guy who could keep his cool no matter the situation.
But Genevieve changed that. I was constantly on edge, constantly wondering what loop she was going to throw me for next. She kept me on my toes, and I liked it. I craved it. Like a goddamn drug.
I was out of my depth and floundering.
Owen returned to the living room and tossed me a beer can. I caught it and eyed him suspiciously. “You didn’t shake it, did you?”
I didn’t trust Owen at the moment. Ever since I’d brought his truck back twelve hours later than I promised, he’d been hazing me. Pulling
my chair out from under me when I went to sit down, putting vinegar in my water, and—his personal favorite because I’d fallen for it so many times—offering me something carbonated to drink and shaking the shit out of it first.
Owen widened his eyes innocently. “I didn’t shake it. I wouldn’t want to get beer all over Ryder’s carpet. Come on, man. His kid plays here.”
“Right,” I grumbled. “Now I’m the bad guy for being overly cautious.”
Ryder, who was sitting in his armchair near the fireplace, looked back and forth between the two of us. “When are you going to tire of this charade? The rest of us have been bored for days.”
Sabian snickered and leaned back against the wall slightly behind Ryder’s chair. “Be real, boss. Owen’s gonna fuck with him until the pipsqueak starts to get nervous twitches. And speak for yourself. I’m not bored yet.”
I stewed over opening the beer can while the others poked fun at me. Owen was delighted as he dropped down into the sofa beside Aiden, and the two of them exchanged a couple of quiet words I couldn’t hear.
“Just open it,” Ryder growled.
“If it spills on your carpet—” I protested before being cut off by the president.
“You’ll clean it up,” Ryder said simply.
I blinked at him. “Me?”
Ryder nodded, tilted his head back, and unceremoniously sipped his beer. “Yes. You.”
“That hardly seems fair,” I said under my breath.
Sabian chuckled again and ran his thumb along his jaw. “Don’t be a pansy. Just open it.”
Bracing myself for the spray that was probably about to explode out of the can, I pulled the tab back. The can gave out a resounding pop before a little foam bubbled out. Nothing serious. I slurped it up while glaring daggers at Owen, who was laughing at me.
“I told you I didn’t shake it,” he said.
I prickled. “Yeah. That’s what you said the last three times. And guess what? You were lying.”
Owen looked around at the others, still quite pleased with himself that he’d hoodwinked me so many times. “I was.”