The next morning Eva woke up feeling much better about everything.
After leaving out food for Liam, she'd escaped to her room, where she'd had a bath and a good cry. Some of her tears had been about her brother, but a lot of them had been for herself. For the geek she'd been and the losses she'd suffered. After Emmett had died, their father had totally lost it. He'd been less than useless to her. Within a year he'd started dating nineteen-year-olds, and in the eight years since, his girlfriends had stayed depressingly young. She'd been on her own and she'd survived. Wasn't that what mattered? That she'd managed to get the help she'd needed to move forward and thrive? She turned on her clock's radio and rocked her hips to the disco music that blasted into the room. She was sorry she'd missed the disco years-the music had such a driving beat. Of course, she was a total spaz on the dance floor, but what she lacked in style and grace she made up for in enthusiasm. After brushing out her hair, she braided it, then dressed in a sports bra, tank top and another pair of skimpy shorts. Ankle socks and athletic shoes completed her outfit. Humming "We Are Family" under her breath, she left her room and prepared to implement the next part of her plan for revenge. Liam was in the kitchen. She walked up to him and smiled. "Morning," she said, reaching past him for the pot of coffee. She made sure she leaned against him rather than going around. "How did you sleep?" His dark eyes flickered slightly, but his expression never changed. "Fine." "Good. Me, too." She poured the coffee, then took a sip, looking at him over the mug. "So," she said. "A whole month. That's a long time. Whatever will we do with it?" "Not what you have planned." She allowed herself a slight smile. "I remember you saying that before. Did you always repeat yourself? I remember you being a whole lot more articulate. Of course, I was younger then, and one looks at one's elders with the idealism of youth." He nearly choked on his coffee. "Elders?" "Time has been passing, Liam. You're, what, nearly forty?" "I'm thirty and you know it." "Oh, right. Thirty. Time has been a challenge for you, hasn't it?" She enjoyed baiting him too much, she thought, knowing she was being totally evil and unable to help herself. The truth was, Liam looked amazing. Fit, sexy-a man in his prime. The good news was that sleeping with him wouldn't be a hardship. "You gave up on seducing me?" he asked. "Not at all. But this is fun, too." "I'm not sleeping with you." She glanced around the kitchen, then looked back at him. "I'm sorry, did you say something? I wasn't listening." "You're a pain in the ass." "But it's a darned nice ass, isn't it?" She turned to show him, patted the curve, then faced front again. "Okay, go get changed. I'll take you to the nearest gym. You can get a thirty-day membership. Then we'll work out together." "There's no equipment here?" She smiled. "I guess Emmett didn't think of everything after all. It's a good thing I'm around.". He stared at her. "You think you're in charge?" "Uh-huh." He put down his mug, then moved close and stared into her eyes. "Be careful, Eva. You're playing a game you don't know how to win. I'm out of your league and we both know it." A challenge? Was he crazy? She always won and she would this time. Although there was something about the way he looked at her that made her shiver. Something that told her he was not a man to be toyed with. But he was just a man, she reminded herself. The sooner she got him into bed, the quicker she could get on with her life. Liam followed Eva into the large gym overlooking the lake. The facility was light and clean, with only a few people working out. Probably because it was midday, he thought as he took in the new equipment and mentally planned his workout. Back in Austin, he worked out in his private gym, built to his specifications. But this would do for now. "So we can circuit-train together," she said brightly, standing close and gazing up at him with a teasing smile. "I'm great at spotting." She was trying to push his buttons. He was determined not to react, regardless of what she said or did. Eva was playing a game that could be dangerous to her. He might not have taken care of her the way he should have, but he had looked out for her. That wasn't going to stop just because she was determined to prove a point. "Want to warm up with some cardio first?" she asked. "We can race. I'll even give you a head start." "I'm not going to need it," he told her as he headed over to the treadmills, not bothering to see if she followed. "That's what you think." She stepped onto the machine next to his and set it for a brisk warm-up pace. He did the same, not bothering to look at her speed. "You didn't used to exercise," he said conversationally a few minutes later as he broke into a jog. Van punched a few buttons on her treadmill and matched his speed. "I know. I was much more into food than anything else. Not surprising-food was my only friend." "We were friends," he said before he could stop himself. He'd liked Van-she was Emmett's little sister. She'd been like family to him. "Food was the only friend I could depend on," she said as she cranked up her treadmill again. She was breathing a little harder but barely breaking a sweat. "It didn't disappear when I needed it most." No point in defending himself. She was right-he'd taken off right after Emmett's funeral. He'd been too devastated by loss and guilt to stick around. A few months later he'd realized he needed to make sure Van was all night. So he'd hired a P.I. to check in on her every few months. The quarterly reports had given him the basics about her life but nothing specific. Later, when he'd started his own company, he'd gotten his people to keep tabs on her and he'd learned more about her. He'd learned that she'd grown up into a hell of a woman. Obviously she hadn't needed him around, taking care of things. "The downside of food as a friend," she continued, "is that there's an ugly side effect. Still, I couldn't seem to stop eating. Then one day I made some new friends and I stopped needing the food so much." She grinned. "Okay, friends and some serious therapy." "You were in therapy?" The reports hadn't mentioned that. "For a couple of years. I worked through my issues. I'm too smart and weird to ever be completely normal, but these days I know how to pass." "You're not weird," he said, knowing better than to challenge her brain. Van had always been on the high side of brilliant. "A lot you know," she said. "But I like who I am now. I accept the good points and the bad." There were plenty of good points, he thought, doing his best not to look at her trim body. She had plenty of curves, all in the right places. They continued to jog next to each other. After another five minutes, Vanessa increased the speed again and went into a full-out run. Adam's competitive side kicked in. He increased not only the speed but the incline. "You think you're so tough," she muttered, her breath coming fast and hard now. "You'll never win this battle," he told her. "I have long legs and more muscle mass." "That just means more weight to haul around." She ran a couple more minutes, then hit the stop button and straddled the tread. After wiping her face and gulping water, she went back onto the treadmill but at a much slower pace. He ran a few more minutes-because he could-then started his cooldown. "You're in shape," he told her as they walked over to the weight room. "I know." She smiled. "I'm a wild woman with the free weights. This is where you really get to show off, what with having more upper-body strength. But pound for pound, I'm actually lifting nearly as much as you. Want me to make a graph?" He grinned. "No, thanks. I can see your excuses without visual aids." "Reality is never an excuse," she told him as she collected several weights, then walked over to a bench. She wiped her hands on the towel she'd brought. "I can't be too sweaty," she said. "If my hands are slick, it gets dangerous. About a year ago, I nearly dropped a weight on my face. Not a good thing." "You should be more careful," he said. "You think? I paid a lot of money for my new nose. You never said anything. Do you like it?" He'd known about the surgery. She'd had it when she was twenty. He supposed the smaller nose made her a little prettier, but it wasn't that big a change. "It's fine," he said. She laughed. "Be careful. You'll turn my head with all that praise. My nose was huge and now it's just regular." "You worry too much about being like everybody else. Average is not a goal." She looked at him. "I haven't had enough coffee for you to be philosophizing. Besides, you don't know anything about normal. You were born rich and you're still rich." "You're no different." "True, but we're not talking about me. As a guy, you have different standards to live up or down to. If you have money, then you can be a total loser and you'll still get the girl. But for me it was different. Hence the surgeries.""You had more than one?" he asked, frowning slightly. He knew only about her nose.She sat up and leaned toward him. "Breasts," she said in a mock whisper. "I had breast implants."His gaze involuntarily dropped to her chest. Then he jerked his head to the right and focused on the weight bench next to him."Why?" he asked, determined not to think about her body and especially not her breasts, which were suddenly more interesting than he wanted them to be."After I lost weight, I discovered I had the chest of a twelve-year-old-boy. I was totally flat. It was depressing. So I got implants. I went for a jumbo B—which seemed about right for my newly skinny self."She stood and turned sideways in front of the mirror. "I don't know. Sometimes I think I should have just gone for it and ordered the centerfold breasts. What do you think?"He told himself not to look, but it was like trying to hold back the tide. Against his will, his head turned and his gaze settled on her chest. Eva raised he
Liam spent a couple of hours in the loft office, working. He called his assistant back in Austin."They're building more roads in Pakistan," Raina Patmore told him. "They're looking at maybe an eighteen-month contract, but we all know those things take longer. And Sister Angie called. They want to take in another convoy of medical supplies."His business provided protection in dangerous parts of the world. His teams allowed building crews to get their jobs done and get out.The work was dangerous, often a logistical nightmare and extremely expensive.His corporate clients paid well for what they got.The corporate profits were channeled into funding protection for those providing relief efforts in places often forgotten.He'd grown up in the shadow of the Sanz Formation, a philanthropic trust that helped the poor.His critics said he could afford to be generous-he had a trust fund worth nearly a billion dollars. What they didn't know is he never touched it. A vow he'd made to himself.
"Not much to tell.""It's tough, isn't it?" She leaned against the counter opposite his. For once, her eyes weren't bright with humor or challenge. "Being who we are and trying to get involved. The money thing, I mean."Because they both came from money. Because they'd been raised with the idea that they had to be careful, to make sure they didn't fall for someone who was in it for the wrong reasons.Without wanting to, Liam remembered sitting in on a painful conversation between Emmett and Eva. He'd tried to escape more than once, but his friend had wanted him to stick around to make sure Van really listened."Guys are going to know who you are," Emmett had told her. "You have to be smart and not just think with your heart."Eva had been sixteen. She'd writhed in her seat as Emmett had talked, then she'd stood and glared at him."Who is going to want me for anything else?" she demanded. "I'm not pretty. I'll never be pretty. I'm nothing more than a giant brain with braces and a big n
Eva sat up and took Sloane's hands. "I love and admire you, but you are desperately wrong."I hope so, for your sake."But her friend sounded worried as she spoke. Eva appreciated the show of support. They were never going to agree on this topic. Better to move on.She released Sloane's hands and grinned. "So Derrick is right next door. Whatever will the two of you get up to late at night?"Sloane flushed. "Lower your voice," she whispered. "He'll hear you.""Oh, please. He wouldn't hear a nuclear explosion if he was focused on something else, and when I walked by his room, he was already booting his laptop. We're safe.Don't you love how I got the two of you into the house while everyone else is far, far away?""I guess," Sloane said with uncharacteristic indecision. "I know something has to happen soon or I'll be forced to back the car over him. He's such a sweetie. And you know I really like him, but I don't think I'm his type."+Eva groaned. "He doesn't have a type. He's a nerd.
Eva arrived home from dinner with her team feeling just full enough, with a slight buzz.They'd taken the shuttle van into town and that had meant no one had to be a designated driver.Wine had flowed freely. Well, as freely as it could given no one drank more than a glass, preferring the thrill of intellectual discussion to the mental blurriness of too much alcohol.+But just this once Eva had passed up the wine and gone with a margarita. That was fine, but she'd ordered a second one and was absolutely feeling it as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom.As she reached the landing, she was two doors and was reminded that it was also the same floor with Liam's bedroom.What an interesting fact, she thought as she paused and stared at the firmly closed door. He was in there. By himself, she would guess.So what exactly was he getting up to?She was pretty confident he was stretched out on the bed, watching TV or reading.But this was her buzz, and she could imagine him waiting for her
It was a perfect night for viewing the stars, but she wasn't in the mood. Not even on her brand-new telescope. She hurt too much and it was hard to say why.Maybe because Liam was right. If Justice was that important to her, she wouldn't stay away from him for six months. But she had, and it had been relatively easy.Too easy. If she were really in love with him, wouldn't she be desperate to be with him?Finding the engagement ring had shocked her. She hadn't known what to think about his proposing.She'd been happy, but a part of her had known that it was time to put off the inevitable. That closure with Liam was required.She'd known about Emmett's friends coming to stay at the house. She'd taken the consulting job in California, hired on as the caretaker of the house and had waited to confront the man who was holding her back.Once she got her revenge on Liam, she would be fine."That's what's wrong," she whispered to herself. "I'm still waiting to punish him. Once Liam is reduced
Eva paid the driver, then carried the bag of Chinese food into the house. "Dinner," she yelled in the general direction of the stairs, not sure if Liam would come down or not. She was gratified to see him walk into the kitchen a couple of minutes later."Why aren't you out with the nerd brigade?" he asked as she pulled a couple of plates out of the cupboard."Nerd brigade?" She smiled. "They'd like that. It sounds very military. They're all going to a club downtown and I'm not in the mood. Plus, I knew you were lonely, so I stayed home to keep you company.""I'm not lonely."He sounded annoyed as he spoke, which made her want to giggle. Liam was really easy to rile. It was that stick up his butt-if he would just let it go, he could be a regular person.Of course, his macho I'm-in-charge attitude was part of his appeal."Can you reach those?" she asked, pointing to the tall glasses some idiot had put on the top shelf. She could never have left them there.While he got them for her, she
"You think I'm girlie?" he asked in a low, slightly dangerous voice. A voice thick with power. A voice that made her realize he was a whole lot bigger than her and that there were a couple of floors between her and help."Not at all," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to say it. The words just slipped out. Bad me. You should probably stalk out and teach me what for by leaving me alone."Instead he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you play all the men in your life?"She swallowed. "Pretty much.""Does it work?""Mostly.""Not this time."He cupped her cheek with his hand, bent down and kissed her.She'd sensed he was going to and should have had time to brace herself. It was just a kiss, right? No big deal. They'd kissed before, and while she'd liked it, she'd managed to keep perfect control...sort of.But not this time. The second his mouth touched hers, she started dissolving from the inside out. Technically that couldn't be true, but it felt true.Heat poured through her,