Had she really seen Liam, or was her imagination playing tricks on her? She’d been thinking about him almost every day. She couldn’t seem to stop. She had told herself again and again he wasn’t worth it, and yet the constant reminder didn’t seem to matter.
Not a single phone call. He couldn’t take the time to pick up the phone and call her just to see how she was doing? With each passing day it had become abundantly clear she meant nothing to him. He had moved on without so much as a backward glance. Liam Scott, she decided, was insensitive and rude, and once again she reminded herself that she was happy to be rid of him.
Her friends took her to dinner to celebrate her graduation. Then Dan drove her home. As soon as she locked the door behind her, she started thinking about Liam again. He really had forgotten about her, hadn’t he? He couldn’t even be bothered to send her a text or an e-mail. No, she definitely hadn’t seen him at graduation. He was in some far-off country, and the man she saw was simply a figment of her imagination. She went to sleep that night calling upon every happy image she could think of, anything to block images of him.
The following week was grueling, and she was glad of it because she didn’t have time for thoughts of Liam. She didn’t get home before nine or ten every night. Friday finally came, and fortunately there weren’t any after-work emergencies. She arrived home at a decent time, packed her overnight bag, and drove to Jordan and Noah’s house. Her friends were taking her to Nathan’s Bay for the weekend to celebrate her graduation. She’d been there several times with Jordan. She loved her large family and the tiny island. It was magical. And isolated. A bridge arching over a narrow channel was the only way in and out, and the sprawling two-story house was the only one on the island. Judge Buchanan owned the island and constantly fought off eager developers who wanted a slice of paradise. Allison was happy he kept refusing.
She was looking forward to seeing the Buchanans again. They were so kind to her, and time with them was always relaxed and fun. As she drove to Jordan’s house, she toyed with the idea of telling her about Liam but decided against it because she planned to erase him from her memory. As if that were possible. Damn it all, she wanted to move on. She hadn’t wanted to get involved with any man, because he would interfere with her plans for the future. What had happened to her?
She was in quite a state by the time she parked the car and ran up the steps to the town house.
Jordan opened the door. Allison’s greeting wasn’t what her friend had expected.
“Men suck.”
Too late, Allison saw Noah step out from behind the door. She hoped he hadn’t heard what she’d said . . . but of course he’d heard. He was trying not to laugh.
“I’m a man,” he reminded her.
How could she forget? Like with Liam, testosterone oozed from every pore in Noah’s body.
“You’re the exception.”
“What about them?” he asked with a tilt of his head. “Are they the exception, too?”
Allison froze. “Them?”
Jordan had to pull her out of the way so that Noah could get the door closed. Before she could ask who else was there, Jordan said, “You’re in an odd mood tonight. Is Agent Phillips making you nuts?”
That was as good an excuse as any for her lame behavior, she supposed. “He’s certainly not making my life easier,” she replied.
She walked into the living room, stopped to rave about the new furniture, then turned to go into the dining room, and there, leaning against the new table, was the bane of her existence, Liam “What-a-Hunk” Scott. He wasn’t alone. Alec stood on the other side of the table with a green trash bag in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.
It was almost impossible to stifle her reaction. Liam looked as though he’d been in a fight. There were a couple of bruises on his jaw and cheek and a cut above his right eyebrow. Were they from a rugby game? Or a fistfight? Maybe one of his assignments had turned violent. She told herself she didn’t care enough to find out.
Did he have to look so good? He wore old worn-out jeans that hung low on his hips and a T-shirt that was molded to his chest and upper arms, outlining his muscles. The T-shirt had seen better days. There was a faint logo of a sports team on it, she thought, but she couldn’t make out what it was. Although Liam’s stance was relaxed, his gaze was intense and it locked on her.
She broke the silence. “Hi,” she said, and before he could respond, she smiled at Alec and greeted him. She noticed his eyes kept bouncing back and forth between Liam and her. Great. Now he was suspicious and was going to ask questions.
“Why are you holding a trash bag?” she asked, trying her best to ignore Liam.
Jordan answered, “It’s your graduation present. I know how you love puzzles, so I got you a dozen. One has ten thousand pieces, and there’s even a 3-D one in there. Actually there are only eleven in the bag. I was telling the guys how amazing you are, and I don’t think they believed me.” She pointed to the table, which was covered in tiny jigsaw pieces. “All the pieces are faceup, so it shouldn’t take much time to put it together. It’s a thousand pieces, I think.”
“I’m not going to show off for you,” Allison whispered.
Jordan took pity. “Don’t worry. You can put it together when we get back Sunday. I just thought, knowing how puzzles are a great stress reliever for you, and given the circumstances . . .”
Allison could have sworn she gave an almost imperceptible nod toward Liam. “Given what circumstances?” she asked.
Jordan didn’t answer her. Noah had come up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. Allison envied how affectionate they were with each other. Their love was evident in every look, every action.
“She really is amazing,” Noah said to Alec and Liam.
Noah had firsthand knowledge. He had been at Nathan’s Bay when Jordan’s mother complained to her husband about a puzzle that was spread out on the dining table. According to Mrs. Buchanan, the judge had put it there over a month ago. Believing her husband would never finish it, she ordered that the puzzle be put back in the box. Then Allison happened to walk past. She stopped as soon as she saw the puzzle, stared at it a minute, and then began to put the pieces together at a dazzling speed. Noah stood in the doorway watching her and was soon joined by Jordan and her parents. He was certain Allison set some sort of record. Once she was finished, she sighed, turned around, and walked out into the sunroom, leaving her audience speechless.
Alec set the bag on a chair. “You wrapped her gift in a trash bag?” he asked Jordan. “That’s kind of lazy, isn’t it?”
Jordan laughed as she defended herself. “All the boxes are different sizes. How else do you wrap them?”
The two began a silly debate about gift wrap, but Allison wasn’t paying attention. She had suddenly guessed why Liam and Alec were there. She took a step back and shook her head. “Oh no, you don’t.”
Liam noticed how pale her face had become. “Oh no, what?”
“What’s going on?” Alec asked.
“You want me to do something else illegal for you, don’t you? Did Agent Phillips send you? Does he know about this?”
Jordan was outraged on her behalf. “You are not going to make her do anything more.”
Alec put his hands up. “Hey, we’re on her side.”
“Ha,” Allison scoffed.
“What does ‘ha’ mean?” Liam wanted to know.
She wouldn’t look at him when she said, “It means I’m not so sure you are on my side.”
Liam decided Allison had ignored him long enough. She was obviously in a strange mood, and he couldn’t figure out why. He was contemplating grabbing her and asking her what the hell was wrong with her when she finally turned her attention to him. She walked over to him, poked him in the chest, and said, “I’ve been following the contract, and I’ve been more than compliant, Liam. Way more.”
“Way more, huh?” Liam repeated, and dared to smile.
“I’ve been trying to get along with the man. He wore me down, and I finally agreed to this.” She lifted her arm to show off her new bracelet. “But that’s it. I’m not doing anything more to keep him happy. I’m already working eighty-hour weeks. And I just found out he programmed his phone number in my cell phone. All I have to do is push the number one and he’ll answer. Why he thinks I would want to call him is beyond me,” she added. “I’m trying to get along, and Agent Phillips has absolutely nothing to complain about.”