She turned and ran.
Liam went after her, let her keep her lead through the store, through the parking lot, picking up his pace only when she neared her car. Then he caught her by the elbow and swung her toward him.
She swatted at him with both hands. “Let me go,” she panted. “Damn you, Liam—”
“Jessie.” He clasped her wrists, gripped them tightly, held her hands captive against his chest. “Jessie, listen to me.”
“What for? Haven’t you done enough?”
He hadn’t. He’d only kissed her once, held her once, but that wasn’t why he was here. He’d come after her for Bill. She belonged to Bill.
“Forget what happened,” he said gruffly. “It’s history.”
“History?” She laughed. “We were climbing all over each other five minutes before I was supposed to say ‘I do,’ and you say that’s history?” Angrily she jerked against his hands. “Maybe you can forget what we did, but I can’t.”
“Of course you can. Okay, we did something neither of us is proud of, but—”
“I’d never be able to look at William again without thinking of how I betrayed him.”
“Dammit, we all make mistakes.”
“Yes,” she said coldly, “but not all of us are so callous that we can pretend they didn’t happen.”
Liam let go of her. “Bill wants you back.”
“Well, I’m not going back.”
“You have to! Otherwise—”
“Otherwise, what?” She smiled thinly. “You’ll have to admit to your part in this mess?”
“This has nothing to do with me,” Liam said quickly.
“Oh, give me a break.” Jessie’s eyes narrowed. “You’re no better than I am. You decided to find me and fast-talk me into going back to William so you wouldn’t have to live the rest of your life dodging the sight of yourself in mirrors.” Her mouth twisted. “Spare me the lies, Liam. This has everything to do with you.”
He stepped forward, his eyes hard and cold. “Okay. I’m not proud of what I did, but I’m not the one who decided to handle it by running away and leaving Bill at the altar.”
Jessie’s face fell. “Was he—was he very upset?”
“Was he…” Liam laughed. “Hell, no. The woman he loves leaves him a note and takes off just before she’s supposed to become his wife. Why would he be upset?”
“I didn’t want to hurt him,” she whispered. “I’d have done anything—”
“Anything but go through with the wedding.”
“How can you say that to me, damn you?” Her face lifted, and there was the glitter of tears in her eyes. “He’s your friend. Do you really want him to marry a woman who—who was in another man’s arms right before the ceremony?”
Not another man’s, Liam thought. My arms. Mine….
“There’s no point in ruining Bill’s life because of a moment’s stupidity,” he said gruffly.
Jessie stared at him. Then she swung away and unlocked the door to her car. “And what about my life?” Her voice broke. “Did you ever think of that?”
“Dammit!” Liam grabbed her and turned her toward him. “You love him. You said so. What am I supposed to say, huh? ‘Bill, look, maybe it’s better all around if the wedding’s off?’”
“Say whatever you like. Just—just don’t break his heart by telling him the truth.”
“Look, let’s start again, okay? Bill asked me to find you, and to ask you to come back to him.”
“Why didn’t he come himself? Oh, don’t bother answering. William knows you’re a master at convincing women to do things they don’t want to do.”
“Fine. That’s how you want to play it?” A muscle knotted in his jaw. “I’ll take the responsibility. All of it, if that makes you feel better. What happened was my fault.”
“It was! I certainly wouldn’t have…” Jessie hesitated. “No. It wasn’t. I wanted you to kiss me, Liam. I thought about what it would be like, all last night.”
“Don’t say that,” Liam said quickly, trying not to think about the rush of pleasure he felt hearing her confession.
“Why shouldn’t I? I can’t tell William the truth, but I’m tired of lying to myself.” Her voice wobbled again but her gaze was steady. “You’re right. We made a mistake. Period. End of story—except that mistake made me face something I think I’ve known for weeks. I’m not right for William or maybe—maybe he’s not right for me. Either way, I’m not going to marry him. Tell him I wish him all the best. Tell him…” Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, God,” she whispered, “I’m so ashamed.”
Liam didn’t think. He reached out and Jessie went into his embrace as if she’d been born for no other reason.
He held her close, his face buried in her hair, his body warmed by hers. She wept softly, her face in the hollow of his throat, and he whispered to her, words he’d never even thought to use with another woman, words of comfort, of solace, and gradually her tears lessened.
“Liam,” she said, and he felt as if a hand were reaching into his chest and closing around his heart.
She pulled back in his arms and looked up at him. Her eyes were tear dampened and swollen. He kept one arm around her, dug in his jeans’ pocket, took out a folded white handkerchief, dabbed at her eyes, then held it to her nose.
“Blow,” he said gently. She smiled a little and did as he’d asked, and he laid his hand against her cheek, threaded his fingers into her hair and tilted her face to his.
“I can’t marry William.”
Liam wanted to tell her that she could, but the words caught in his throat. A woman wasn’t supposed to weep like this on her wedding day. He’d already made one wrong judgment, thinking she was after Bill’s name and money, and he’d be damned if he wanted to make another.
“He’s a wonderful man. And I love him, but not the way I should. I didn’t realize that, Liam. I swear I didn’t.”
He nodded. He knew that, too.
Jessie gave a shuddering sigh. “Tell him I’ll be fine. He mustn’t worry about me. And tell him I’ll get in touch with him, once I—once I get my head together.”
“Come back with me. Tell him yourself.”
She shook her head and moved out of his arms. “I can’t. Not yet. If I did he might realize…he might see…” She opened the door of her car and got behind the wheel. “Goodbye, Liam.”
“No,” he said, “Jessie, wait—”
She moved quickly, heard his hands slap against the car as she put it in gear, and then she was moving and he was running across the lot. Seconds later, a shiny black Corvette was on her tail and she choked back a spurt of hysterical laughter. What else would Liam Malone drive, except for a car that was sexy and fast?
She drove recklessly, tossing aside her usual caution, but his car followed hers like a shadow. A horn blared. Jessie looked to her left, saw a white-faced driver shake a fist at her. Chagrined, she realized she was endangering everybody on the road, and she slowed her car. There was no reason to drive so fast. What was she running from? Liam? That was ridiculous. He couldn’t make her do anything she didn’t want to do.
Yes, he can, a sly little voice whispered inside her head. All he has to do is kiss you, and you’re lost.
No, she wasn’t. She’d never been the kind of woman whose head could be turned by a handsome man.
Well, then, the voice said, even more slyly, maybe you’re running from yourself.
That was even crazier. Just because she’d turned to jelly in Liam’s arms, just because he was all the dangerous things Bill wasn’t, things she’d spent her life trying to avoid….
She had a plan. Maybe it wasn’t great. Still, without money or credit, she had only one place to go where she could marshal her thoughts, and one way to get there.
Liam was right behind her as she took the exit ramp, but it didn’t matter. She’d left her groom, her wedding and her carefully planned life. Now she’d leave the man who’d made her realize that she didn’t want any of those thin
gs. If she had, she’d never have been unfaithful to William and yes, that was what she’d been, unfaithful, kissing a stranger, wanting him, still wanting him….
Jessie swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, drove into the airport and pulled into the first parking spot she saw. Liam did the same thing. He was behind her as she locked her door and started briskly toward the AmericAir terminal.
“Jessie!” His footsteps pounded after her. “Jessie!”
He caught up to her, clasped her arm. She wrenched it free.
“Leave me alone, Liam.”
“Do you think I’m just going to let you run away? We have to talk.”
The terminal doors slid open. She stepped inside, walked to a departure board, checked it. If she remembered correctly, there’d been a morning flight to Miami as well as the one she and William had planned to take. Yes, there it was, Flight 937, leaving from gate twelve. With luck, she could swap her ticket and get on this plane. But there wasn’t much time. She picked up her pace, almost stumbled when Liam did a quick two-step to get in front of her.
“You can’t solve anything by running away from it.”
She moved around him, dumped her tote bag on the conveyor belt at the security checkpoint and went through the gate with Liam right behind her. When she heard the buzzer go off, she heaved a sigh of relief.
Goodbye, Liam, she thought, and blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes again.
“Sir?” said a polite voice. “Would you empty your pockets, please?”
Liam bit back a groan, dumped his change into a receptacle and watched as Jessie merged with the crowd. By the time he started after her, she’d disappeared. He moved quickly from one gate to the next. She could be anywhere by now. If only he had some idea…
There she was, at the information desk at gate twelve. Liam looked at the sign behind the desk. Flight 937 to Miami, it said. Departing at 10:45. He looked at his watch. It was 10:15. Not that it mattered. Jessie wasn’t going anywhere, not without a ticket. But she was. Everything clicked into place. No cash, no credit card needed, not if she’d made all her arrangements via the Internet. With luck, she could even switch to an earlier departure.
“Where are you guys going on your honeymoon?” he’d asked last night, as he’d tried to make conversation and get his mind off Bill’s fiancée.
“Florida,” Bill had replied with a quick smile at Jessie. “Hibiscus Key. Well—” he’d blushed “—actually, it’s a place called Couples’ Cove.” He’d looped his arm lightly around Jessie’s shoulders. “Jessica made the arrangements. She makes all my travel plans on the computer, don’t you, dear?”
And Jessie had torn her eyes from Liam, cleared her throat and said yes, yes, she did, and they’d continued with some meaningless chitchat.
Liam swung away and ran through the terminal to the AmericAir ticket counter while he dug his cell phone from his pocket. There were two people ahead of him. “Emergency,” he said, and stepped quickly to the head of the line as he punched in Bill’s number.
“Hello?”
It was Carrie’s voice. “Put Bill on,” Liam said curtly.
“He’s resting. I hate to wake him, Mr. Malone. He’s had such a bad—”
“Give him a message. Tell him…” He looked up. The ticket clerk was staring at him, eyebrows raised. “Hang on,” he said, and hit the mute button. “One seat, Flight 937 to Miami.” He dug in his pocket, took out his driver’s license and his credit card, handed them over. “Charge the ticket, and there’s my photo ID.”
“Coach or first class?”
“First class. Look, pal, the flight’s going to be boarding in—”
“It’s already boarding, sir. If fact, I don’t know if I can—”
“Just do it,” Liam said tersely, and put the phone to his ear. “Carrie? Tell Bill… Tell him I…” Liam watched as the clerk began typing his ticket. Jessie was on that plane. She was leaving Seattle, putting three thousand miles between them. “Tell him that I’ve found Jessie. She’s at the airport, and she’s fine, and—” And what? “Tell him I’ll be in touch,” he said, and hit the disconnect button as the clerk handed him his ticket.
The attendant was just closing the door that led to the boarding ramp as Liam sprinted through the gate. “Wait,” he yelled. “That’s my flight.”
The attendant opened the door and reached for the phone. “Talk about cutting it close—”
He thundered down the ramp to the plane. The flight attendant greeted him with a smile.
“Just about missed it,” she said brightly.
He nodded, struggled to catch his breath. “Yeah,” he said—and then he saw Jessie, sitting by the window, alone in the last row of the first-class cabin. She looked up and saw him, and for the first time in his life, Liam knew what people meant when they said they were terrified, because that was how he felt now, scared right through to the marrow of his bones.
His eyes never left hers as he walked down the aisle. “I almost missed the flight,” he said softly when he reached her. “I probably could have bluffed my way into picking up Bill’s ticket and using it, but I didn’t want to.”
Jessie touched the tip of her tongue to her bottom lip. “Why not?”
“Because I’m not standing in for Bill, or speaking for him. Not anymore. Do you understand that?”
Her mouth trembled as Liam sat down and took her hand. “Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, yes, I understand.”
Liam took Jessie’s face in his hands. This time, when their lips met, it was in a kiss so tender that it almost turned him inside out.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE SEAT BELT SIGN BLINKED OFF when the plane reached cruising altitude.
Liam looked at Jessie. The softness of her smile, the undisguised joy with which she’d greeted him, were gone. Instead, she stared straight ahead, features rigid, face pale, her hand turning to ice in his.
“Jessie,” he said, and she looked at him, her eyes wide with a fear he could only guess at.
He wanted to gather her into his embrace. He’d always liked having a woman in his arms, in bed or on a dance floor, but women in need of soothing made him feel clumsy. That wasn’t how he felt now. He wanted to hold her, not to kiss her but to comfort her, warm her, rock her against him as if she’d just awakened from a bad dream and only he could chase away the demons.
“It’s a long flight,” he said to ease the tension.
She gave him a strained smile. “I know. Almost five and a half hours.”
Liam cleared his throat. “How about some wine? Or some coffee? I can ask the flight attendant to—”
“No, I’m fine.”
She wasn’t. The shadows under her eyes looked like bruises and he fought back the desire to press his mouth to that tender skin, to draw her close.
“Well,” he said briskly, “I think I’m going to read for a while.” He let go of her hand and fumbled in the pocket of the seat in front of him. “Sometimes these airline magazines are pretty interesting.”
Airline magazines were interesting? He was running away with his best friend’s fiancée, he ached with the need to make love to her, and now he was going to bury his nose in a magazine?
Damn right, he was. Otherwise, he was going to take her in his arms and say things he didn’t believe in, things he’d never imagined ever saying to any woman, much less one who belonged to Bill.
“Let me know if you need anything,” he said, as brightly as a waiter hoping for a big tip. Then he whipped open the magazine and pretended that the print wasn’t one enormous gray blur.
* * *
JESSIE STARED OUT HER WINDOW.
Liam was reading. Reading, she thought, and clamped her lips together so hard her jaw hurt. He’d turned her life inside out, made her run away from her wedding, followed her through half of Seattle and onto a plane headed for the other side of the continent, and now he was sitting next to her, engrossed in a stupid magazine.
It was hard to know who she d
espised more, herself for letting him ruin her life or him for doing it.
“Excuse me,” she said coldly, and shot to her feet. Liam looked up, his brows lifted as if he’d never seen her before. “I have to go to the bathroom,” she said, even more coldly, and he rose so she could march past him. It seemed like a good move, but it turned out that her timing was rotten. She was halfway up the aisle when a man in the first row stood up and went into the lavatory.
Jessie blew out a breath, folded her arms and leaned back against the bulkhead. Perfect. He was the only other passenger in first class, and he’d made it to the bathroom ahead of her. Well, why not? The entire morning had been perfect, starting with the moment she’d been stupid enough to think she didn’t want to go through with the wedding, stupid enough to think the rush of lust Liam Malone had stirred in her blood was anywhere near as important as the love she felt for William. As for what she’d felt when she saw Liam board the plane—what she’d thought she’d felt—that had been nothing but surprise.
She glanced at her watch, frowned and looked balefully at the Occupied sign on the lavatory door. What was taking so long? Airplane bathrooms were little more than high-tech closets, first class or not. She wanted to splash some cold water in her eyes, think about the best way to tell Liam that she’d changed her mind, thank you very much, but she wasn’t going to Hibiscus Key with him.
Did he really think she’d let him take William’s place in their honeymoon bed?
The door to the lavatory opened. The man who’d been inside stepped out. He smiled. Jessie glared and moved into the narrow space. The guy’s cologne engulfed her. William wore cologne, too. She’d thought she’d liked the smell—it seemed masculine and fresh—until Liam had taken her in his arms. He didn’t seem to wear any cologne at all. He smelled of things she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Soap, maybe, and fresh air and leather. And of himself. Pure male, intriguing, sexy…
“Oh, stop it,” she said through her teeth.
Scowling, she locked the door, then met her reflection in the mirror. It wasn’t a happy moment. The lime-green jacket had been cheap, but it was ugly as sin. The rest of her wasn’t much better. Brushing the gel from her hair had left it an unruly mess. Her face was as shiny as a polished apple. Her nose was pink, her eyelids swollen. How Liam could still want her was…
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