Page 19 of Mysterious

God, I hate seeing him so unhappy!

I tighten my hold on his hand, sure he’s about to leave before I can say another word. “You don’t have to be sorry. I’m not. It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He stares down into my eyes and says, “Yes, I did. I live by a code that’s meant I kept a sharp line between me and my clients. Until you, I never had a problem respecting that line that kept me over here and everyone else over there. But I’ve stepped over that line, blurred it, and even tried to forget it existed because you make me want to do things I shouldn’t.”

“Why shouldn’t you want to feel someone care about you? Why wouldn’t you want to care about me?”

“Because it goes against everything I believe in.”

“So you won’t let yourself feel something you already know you feel for me?”

I wait for him to answer me, to tell me what I want to believe is true. That he does feel something for me like I do for him.

But he says nothing.

My father used to tell me that if you want things in life, you have to take a chance. He didn’t seem to believe in that mantra when it came to my wanting to be a star, but I never forgot him telling me that when I was a little girl and my family was still something I had in my life.

I have to take a chance now. If it all goes bad, then at least I’ll know that I took a chance at having the kind of man in my life that I’ve always sung about.

Someone strong who would stand against anyone who wanted to hurt me. A man who would brave the winds of a hurricane to protect me. I want that man, and since he’s standing here in front of me, there’s no time like the present.

So I stand up on my tiptoes to reach his mouth and kiss him with every ounce of desire coursing through me. My eyes closed, I don’t know what he’s doing as I move my lips against his. At first, he feels stiff, almost like a statue I’m trying to wake from its cold slumber, but slowly, his mouth softens and then he returns my kiss with one of his own as full of need and passion as mine and I’m suddenly soaring my heart is so full.

Liam’s left arm wraps around my body, pulling me to him, and for the first time, I realize how much larger than me he is. I’ve always had to look up at him since I’m shorter, but pressed against me, his body is like that of a giant’s.

Opening my eyes, I see his face close to mine filling my gaze. He leans back, breaking our kiss, and smiles as he lets out a heavy sigh.

“So much for that sharp line.”

I lift my hand to his mouth and press my fingertip to the center of those delicious lips. “I didn’t like that line anyway.”

He gives me a big smile in return that makes this night the best night of my life. Then it fades, and I wonder if I’m going to need to kiss him again to calm all those unnecessary worries he has.

Ainsley is right. Liam really is Mr. Rules and Regulations.

“What’s wrong? I swear to God, I will throw you down on that bed and make you smile again,” I say with a laugh.

“It’s nothing, but what do you think about keeping this to ourselves? You may be used to the whole world knowing your every move, but I’m not.”

He’s got a point. To be honest, the last thing I want to have to deal with is the nosy press snooping around if they find out I’m with someone new. I’ve worked hard to make sure that the only time my name appears in the press is because of my talent.

Or when I run off and my mother makes it a media circus. But those days are behind me now that I’m with Liam.

I kiss him sweetly on the lips and smile. “Our secret. Just you and me.”

CHAPTERTEN

Liam

The second showat the pavilion went off without a hitch, and since that first night, Andrea has kept her distance from me, making herself practically invisible around the house and anywhere near Mia. I expected her to make an appearance today since we left for the first big show in New Orleans, but she wasn’t to be found. I thought maybe she decided to hide out on one of the other tour busses, but neither the band nor the dancers saw her at all.

All night I’ve kept an eye out for her and Michael, just in case she wanted to try to pull something, even as I watched out for any of the more rabid fans of Mia’s. In between that and making sure every one of my men and the local security were in their places, I’ve tried to sneak a few moments to watch her perform.

The arena falls almost silent and the lights dim until only a single spotlight shines on her in the center of the stage. Behind her, the guy who plays keyboards sits at a grand piano playing a sad melody. When she begins singing, I feel like someone’s stolen my breath away with how beautiful yet mournful the words are. She told me she writes all her songs, and as I listen to her sing about losing someone dear to her, I wonder who this one is about.

Whoever he is, he has no idea how lucky he is to have her write this song about him.

I pull myself away from watching her when it sounds like each word she’s singing is filled with tears, turning around and seeing Drew staring at me. Instantly, my senses go on high alert. Is something wrong? Does he see something we need to handle?

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