Page 7 of Unfinished

He explained a bit about his family and their businesses to me. Evidently, his great grandfather started off in shipping with Trident Shipping and from there they started several different businesses. The umbrella corporation was Trident Holdings, which dealt in acquisitions and investments of businesses. Under that was Trident Development for real estate, the shipping company, and the advertising company that Liam was set to take over. Each of his cousins would eventually take over and run each of the companies.

Listening to him talk about the businesses his family ran confirmed we were worlds apart. I spent most of my life living paycheck to paycheck. When my mom left, all of my dad’s dreams about retirement went right out the same door she breezed out of. Every single dime he made went towards making sure we kept the house, had food, and all the bills were paid.

My dad was determined to stay where we were, even though it was a bit more expensive. The school I was in was one of the best. He wanted to give me every opportunity to not end up like him or my mother. He took on overtime and side jobs along with his normal construction hours to make it happen.

As soon as I turned fourteen, I started working to help cover the costs of things I would need and to save money for college. I was lucky enough to get a scholarship that at least covered the cost of attending college. Luckily, the savings came in handy for living off campus. Ashley, my best friend, went to Delany School of Medicine in Pittsburgh for nursing, so we had an apartment between our two colleges that we rented during the school year. We both worked while taking classes and it worked out well last year.

I meant what I said about not being interested in Liam, however, as we kept talking, that non-interest was more like I was forcing myself to not be interested. His life was far too different from mine. He was the son of a billionaire family and would likely be as rich by the time he was thirty. I was a struggling college student hoping to make enough money to live in NYC at some point.

Still, there was this weird comfort between us and it didn’t help that whenever he came near me my heart rate sped up. He was attractive with perfectly messy chestnut hair, ice blue eyes, tan skin, sharp jaw, and a straight nose. Not to mention he was tall, at least a couple inches over six feet, and his muscles were defined even through his t-shirt.

He wasn’t what I expected entirely and I didn’t understand why he was so persistent in getting to know me. When we went quiet, my eyes dropped to his lips for a second and I wondered what they felt like. Ignoring the brief thought, I turned my head to look anywhere else but him.

“What are you thinking about right now?” Liam questioned.

“I was thinking about how I need another beer.” The lie came out quickly, maybe a bit too quick. I hoped he didn’t notice it but there was something about his grin that told me he did. I was also a little tipsy. We’d kept pretty much the same pace with drinks.

“Liam!” His cousin, Rion, yelled, thankfully causing a distraction. He walked right over to us while laughing. I could tell he was pretty drunk from the way he was swaying while he walked towards us.

“What’s up, man?” Liam responded, turning his attention to his cousin.

As Rion walked up, he stopped and looked at me with a smile. Rion was a good guy. While their entire family was popular and somewhat friendly, Liam, Archer, and Bas all had an arrogance about them that Rion didn’t.

Rion had dark hair like his twin brother, Bas. His dark eyes twinkled at me and he ran his hands over his jaw. Bas and Rion weren't identical twins but they could have been if not for a few slight differences in height and build. Rion was slimmer while Bas had a bit more muscle mass.

“Hey Hannah, how’s it going?” Rion greeted.

“It’s good, how’s TKU?”

“Meh,” Rion shrugged and Liam looked between us confused, “how’s FIT?”

“It’s good, I like Pittsburgh,” I said, and Rion squatted down in front of me.

“I heard you turned down Bas,” Rion whispered with a grin.

“Yes she did,” Liam spoke up, his tone containing a warning.

“Epic, I don’t think there has ever been a single woman who’s ever rejected Bas.” Rion laughed at his brother’s expense and a bright smile spread across my face.

“That’s sad, every man should know what it’s like to be rejected,” I only half-joked.

Rion laughed while he stood back up and turned to Liam, “Archer is passed out on the lawn.”

“Crap, how the hell did he manage to do that?”

“I don’t know, man, come help me get him upstairs before someone does something to him.”

“I’ll be right there.” Liam stood and Rion stumbled off in the direction where he came. Rion was shirtless and I couldn’t help but notice the muscles along his back.

Liam stepped over to me and put his hands on the arms of my chair and leaned down. His cologne was soft but addicting, it made me want to cuddle with him. Why was men’s cologne such a turn on?

“Do not go anywhere, I’ll be right back,” Liam demanded, and I smiled up at him. He gave me a stern look.

“Fine,” I agreed reluctantly.

“Good,” Liam paused, his eyes dropped to my lips and little flutters hit my chest.

I watched as Liam walked off and nervousness ran through my body. I checked my cell phone for the time and saw it was already past one. We’d been talking for almost two hours and I hadn’t even noticed. I needed to open the diner tomorrow morning and if I didn’t leave soon I’d be completely useless.

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