Tag shook his head. “If you love her, you’ll find a way to make it work. Ending a relationship because it’s going to be difficult is just another form of cowardice.”
Tag ought to know. His fiancée was African-American. The couple hadn’t let racial differences and fear of prejudice wreck their love. It hadn’t been easy.
Gannon laid a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “If you really love this woman, learn from your big brother’s mistakes. I let concern for what others might say break up Erika and me the first time around, and I almost lost the best woman I’ve ever met. Don’t make that mistake. You might not get a second chance like I did.”
Confused, Liam looked from one sibling to the other. “Her part in this doesn’t bother you?”
“It sounds as if she was used as much as you were,” Gannon replied. “As much as I hated having Pulse’s numbers exposed, it sounds as if we were all victims of Matthew Holt.”
“Aubrey and I couldn’t continue to work for rival firms, and I don’t think she’s willing to give up on winning her father’s approval yet.”
“Could you be happy working outside EPH? Family duty’s always been your mantra.”
Tag’s question wasn’t an easy one. “I don’t know. Frankly, Patrick’s challenge has made life a living hell around here. Most days I feel like the grim reaper. Good news for one of you is bad news for the other. It’s been a lose-lose situation.” He scraped a hand over his face. “Jeez, I sound like I’m whining.”
“No, little brother, you sound like the pressure of being caught in the middle is finally getting to you.”
Liam looked at Gannon. “Being the middle man isn’t the only problem. You all know Patrick and I work out and play golf together. I have to wonder if something I said didn’t spark his idiotic competition. At the very least I should have seen this crazy scheme coming and headed it off. Patrick swears he’s doing this to make EPH stronger, but he’s tearing the family apart.”
Bridget rolled her eyes. “Who knows where Patrick’s crazy scheme came from. But you’re not responsible for his actions, Liam, and you can’t let his interference ruin your life.” She held up her hands. “I know, I know, you’ve all heard that from me for years, but from the vantage point of Colorado, I look back on my time here and I see how hard we all tried to please him and to follow his rules. I’m over my need to embarrass him with a tell-all Elliott exposé, but the point is Patrick has had too much control over our choices and our lives. You have to do what makes you happy, Liam. It’s your life. You’ll have to live it long after he’s gone.”
Tag nodded. “I’ll second that.”
“I concur,” said Gannon.
Bridget sat forward. “Liam, you’re a great problem solver. If anyone can come up with an acceptable compromise it’s you.”
Touched by his siblings’ support, Liam took a fortifying breath. “So all I have to do is find a solution that makes everybody happy. A piece of cake.”
Not.
Eleven
Liam entered Patrick’s office without knocking. “Aubrey wasn’t part of Holt’s scheme.”
His grandfather looked up from the reports on his desk. “Are you certain of that?”
“Yes. Patrick, I’m in love with her, and I need to know if you can get past your enmity with her father or if my relationship with Aubrey will be a source of friction.”
“And if I can’t get past it?”
Liam took a deep breath. He’d thought long and hard since talking to his siblings. Lunch sat like a bed of hot coals in his stomach. He needed Aubrey in his life and he had to find a way to make it work. “Then I’ll tender my resignation.”
Patrick didn’t look surprised, but, after losing three other family employees this year, maybe he wasn’t. He laid his favorite Montblanc pen on his desk. His leather chair creaked as he sat back. “And do what? Start a winery in California?”
Liam drew a sharp breath. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think I haven’t seen your books, Liam? Do you think I don’t know that while your head is here at EPH your heart is elsewhere?”
Insulted, Liam bristled. “I’ve given one hundred percent to EPH even though I have to admit that in the past ten months I haven’t enjoyed my role here.”
“I know that, but I have my reasons for seeing this competition through.”
Liam didn’t waste his time trying to decipher Patrick’s riddle. He’d done that for ten months and failed. “I want to marry Aubrey if she’ll have me. If she won’t quit her job, then I’ll have to quit mine. If you can’t accept her into the family and absolve her in this, then I’ll have to quit anyway.”
“Only you can make the decision about which is more important—the woman or the job.”
“What kind of vague nonanswer is that?”
Patrick lifted his pen. “The only one you’re going to get from me. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
No closer to resolving his dilemma than he’d been hours ago, Liam let himself out of the office. Something had to give. His job? Or Aubrey? Could he be happy without either?
And was it a moot question? Would Aubrey give him a second chance or tell him to go to hell for breaking his promise at the first hurdle?
Another bitch of a day. The good news was it was almost over and it couldn’t get worse. Liam pulled open the glass front door to his apartment building. “Evening, Carlos.”
“Evening, Mr. Elliott. You have a visitor.” The doorman nodded toward the corner of the lobby. Liam whipped his head sideways, hoping to find Aubrey. Instead he saw her father, Matthew Holt, rising from the sofa.
Liam’s hand tightened on his briefcase. After the day he’d had he did not need this aggravation. “Holt, I have nothing to say to you.”
“Then listen.”
“Forget it.” Liam headed for his elevator. Holt followed.
“It’s about Aubrey.”
Liam’s step hitched, but he kept moving. He wanted a glass of wine. Hell, who was he kidding? He wanted a shot of whiskey. Maybe three shots.
“She quit her job and she’s moving out of her apartment.”
That stopped him. Liam turned. His heart slammed against his ribs with the force of a jackhammer wrecking a concrete sidewalk. “What?”
“She called me a selfish bastard. And she’s right.”
Liam studied Holt’s drawn face. The man looked decades older than the photos Liam usually saw in the paper. “Upstairs.”
The elevator opened instantly. Liam waited for Holt to precede him. Seconds later he let the enemy into his home. Bad decision? Probably. Would he regret it? That remained to be seen. “What happened?”
“Aubrey came by my place as soon as she returned from California Friday night. She chewed me out for using her as a pawn and for hurting her and the man she loves.”
An invisible steel band compressed Liam’s chest. “She should have punched you.”
Holt nodded. “I would have deserved it. She’s leaving New York.”
Another hit, this one winding Liam. He crossed to the wet bar, set down his briefcase and poured himself a glass of Woodford Reserve whiskey. He poured a second for his unwanted visitor. The bite of the liquor only added to the burn in his belly. “When did she quit?”
“Friday night.”
Why hadn’t she told him when she’d come to see him that morning? Was it because it didn’t matter? Because she didn’t want to be with him now? “And you’re telling me all this because…?”
Holt downed half his liquor in one gulp. “Because Aubrey won’t answer my calls or open her door, and because I’ve damaged my relationship with my daughter beyond repair. I don’t want to be responsible for doing the same to her relationship with you.” He knocked back the last of his drink. “I’m a selfish son of a bitch, Elliott, and I won’t be a bargain in the father-in-law department, but I want Aubrey to be happy. Apparently, you make her happy.”
Liam had made her happy. Had being the operative word. And s
he’d made him happy, happier than he’d ever been. But then he’d hurt her with his lack of trust and his unjust accusations. Holt’s relationship with Aubrey might not be the only irreparable one.
But she loved him. Or at least she had. And God knows he loved her. Burying himself in work eighteen hours a day hadn’t helped. Not a second had passed since Friday that he hadn’t ached for her. He couldn’t walk away without trying to salvage the bond they’d forged.
He set his glass aside. “I’ll call her.”
“She won’t answer. I don’t know how in the hell to get through to her.”
“I’ll find a way.” He had to.
“Elliott, if you get through, would you tell her…tell her I’m sorry and that I love her?” Defeat curved Holt’s shoulders.
“I’ll tell her, but she needs to hear it from you.”
Liam closed the door behind Holt. He had to have a plan, a foolproof plan, to regain Aubrey’s love and trust before she left New York. Before he lost her completely. If he hadn’t already.
The barrier of her job no longer stood between them. That was a start, but was it enough?
“Happy Halloween, ma’am,” the courier said before departing.
“You, too,” Aubrey replied automatically, her gaze stuck on the envelope in her hand. The return address read Ernie’s Pub. Liam. Her heart hesitated and then settled into a heavy thud-thud. She closed her door and walked blindly back into her apartment and tripped over a box.
She caught herself against the wall and surveyed the room. Packing boxes littered the floor and tabletops. Uneasiness slithered through her. Moving was the right thing to do. Wasn’t it? She couldn’t stay here knowing that her father was a jerk without scruples and that Liam lived just around the corner.
Liam. Her gaze returned to the envelope and a well of ache opened up inside her. He thought she’d betrayed him. That he could believe her capable of such deceit didn’t just hurt. It angered her. She dumped the envelope, unopened, into a nearby trash can and returned to the kitchen and her packing.
Think positively, A. You’ll finally get a chance to open your bed-and-breakfast.
Yesterday after talking to Liam she’d come home, cried until her eyes had practically swollen shut, and then she’d picked up the phone and called Jared Maxwell, the B&B owner she’d met in California. Mason’s brother-in-law had generously agreed to walk through Hill Crest House with Aubrey and to guide her in setting up business. By this time next year Aubrey would be an innkeeper. The thought didn’t fill her with the happiness she’d expected.
She’d miss Liam. The unexpected thought slipped through her defenses, renewing her anger. She slammed pots and pans into a box. How could he think she’d betray him?
Because his grandfather had.
Her hands slowed. Liam had already been hurt by someone he loved and trusted, and from what little he’d let slip about his relationship with his grandfather the wound was open and raw. What else would he expect except that she’d betray him, too?
Her anger evaporated. Aubrey set the vegetable steamer on the counter and returned to the trash can. Open the envelope or not? Heartache either way. She retrieved the envelope and ripped it open. Inside she found a bright orange-and-black flier from Ernie’s Pub advertising its Halloween party tonight.
“Costumes preferred, but not required. Seven to midnight, the witching hour.”
Liam’s handwriting in the margin caught her eye.
“I wouldn’t wear this getup for anyone else. Please come. Liam.”
Her heart pounded and her mouth dried. She clutched the flier to her chest and tried to tamp down the hope rising inside her like a hot air balloon. Liam wanted to see her. Why? She reread the note, looking for a clue in the short sentences, but found none.
Getup? He’d be in costume?
Should she go?
No.
Yes. What did she have to lose? She’d already lost her heart.
She glanced at the clock. Three hours to find a costume. Most likely an impossible task on Halloween night.
“You okay in there?” Pam, the waitress, asked as she set Liam’s drink on the table.
“I’ll never eat another sardine,” Liam muttered and shifted his shoulders. The accompanying scrape of metal against metal grated on his overstretched nerves. He lifted the tumbler and then set it back down. How in the hell was he supposed to drink it through this helmet?
“Want a flexible straw?”
“I guess I need one. What time is it?” He couldn’t fit a watch under his costume.
“Almost nine. You think she’ll show?”
The sinking sensation in the pit of Liam’s stomach said no, but he refused to give up. Aubrey had been late once before and she’d been worth every second of the wait. He shrugged and his hinges screeched. “We have a few more hours.”
Pam patted his shoulder. Clank. Clank. “Just give me the signal when you’re ready.”
He peeled the paper from his straw, stabbed it into the tumbler and lifted his visor to sip. Around him revelers enthusiastically celebrated Halloween in a variety of costumes from common to absurd. His suit of armor fit right in.
He occupied the booth he and Aubrey had used when they’d first met. When he’d arrived, he’d had to bribe the guys who’d occupied it to get them to move, but he figured having the good luck seat when Aubrey arrived was worth a pitcher of beer.
The pub’s door opened. His heart had quit stalling each time someone new entered about forty patrons ago. A hooker in a cheap blond wig with a red mask covering the upper half of her face hesitated on the threshold. Her minuscule red halter top cupped small breasts, and a matching miniskirt stretched low on slim hips, leaving a lot of bare skin in between. A navel ring glinted on her flat belly. She’d strapped mile-high heels to her feet.
Wolf whistles and catcalls greeted her. A couple of guys pulled cash out of their wallets and shouted offers. Her neck and the visible part of her face turned almost as red as her clothing. Liam was about to look away when the woman moved forward, looking left and right, searching the patron’s faces without looking too closely or acknowledging their lewd invitations. Something about the way the hooker moved looked familiar. His pulse kicked into high gear, and his glass hit the table with a thud. Aubrey.
Sliding out of the booth was as laborious as wedging himself into it had been. He stepped in front of her when she tried to pass. The startled violet eyes looking up at him through the red mask stole his breath.
Her eyes widened in recognition and her lips parted. “A knight in shining armor. It suits you, Liam.”
He smiled, but realized she probably couldn’t see his mouth. Liam pried off the heavy helmet and set it on the table. “A hooker?”
“I had trouble finding a costume. I was about to give up and come without one, because this is so not me. It’s—”
“The sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He was as hard as steel beneath his metal suit, and hot. Oh, man, was he hot. He lifted a hand to touch her face, but stopped. The heavy glove would scrape her skin.
“I wouldn’t wear this getup for anyone else,” Aubrey parroted his words back at him.
“Good to know.” He could spend all day looking at her. Aubrey had a body made for sexy clothing. But her delectable body wasn’t the reason he’d sent her the bar flier. He gestured to the table instead. “I’m glad you came. Have a seat before I have to draw my sword and start hacking these guys down one by one.”
She scooted into the booth, nibbled her siren red lip and studied his face. “I almost didn’t come. Why did you send the invitation?”
He grimaced and yanked off his gloves so he could cover her hand with his. “Because I wanted to apologize. Aubrey, I’m sorry. For doubting you. For hurting you. For letting our families come between us. And I’m sorry for breaking my promise. It won’t happen again.”
“You had good reason.”
“I had a good reason to be angry with your father, but not with you.”
He stroked a thumb over her palm. She shivered and her nipples beaded in the skimpy top. He drew courage from the knowledge that she couldn’t be over him when his touch could still turn her on.
“Liam, you told me enough about your grandfather and the situation at work for me to figure out that you believed someone else you loved had betrayed you.”
He shouldn’t be surprised that she’d figured him out. Aubrey understood him better than anyone. Better than he understood himself, in fact.
“The tension at work, my mother’s cancer and my brothers and sister finding someone special to share their lives with made me look hard at my life. Life was passing me by until I met you, Aubrey, and now I’m not only living it I’m looking beyond robotically doing what’s expected of me.” He caught Pam’s eye and thumped the metal breast plate over his heart—their signal. And then he gently removed Aubrey’s mask and laid it on the table beside his helmet.
“When we were in Napa you suggested I quit my job at EPH and follow my dream of opening a winery. I rejected your idea because I didn’t have the courage to risk it. But you were right. Without risks there are no rewards.”
Pam arrived. She slid a silver platter onto the center of the table and quickly departed. On the platter lay a single red rose and a ring box.
Aubrey gasped. Her wide gaze jumped from the tray to Liam’s eyes and back again.
Liam lifted the rose and dragged the bud along Aubrey’s cheek. “One rose because for one month you’ve excited me, soothed me and made me happier than anyone ever has. You’ve made me believe that dreams can come true, Aubrey.”
He laid the rose back on the tray, picked up the Tiffany ring box and opened it to reveal a marquise diamond flanked by two heart-shaped amethyst stones. “One flawless diamond because you’re more precious to me than anything, and my love for you is as strong and as enduring as this stone. Two amethysts hearts because our hearts belong together and because I’ve found my destiny in your violet eyes.”
Dynasties:The Elliots, Books 7-12 Page 60