Page 95 of Beautiful Lies
“Weare not doing anything.”
“But you have a plan, right?”
I tilted my head and studied her face. “Whose side are you on?”
“Mine. And yours. I did the right thing by coming here and I’m not going back to Miami. I’m staying. This is my life to live…not my father’s and not my mother’s…mine. And I want to live it on my own terms.” She sounded defiant, and looked me in the eye, waiting for me to shoot holes in her plan. I wouldn’t. Keira and I had a lot more in common than I would have suspected.
I wasn’t sure when I’d decided that she deserved a shot at freedom and happiness, or that it had become my mission to help her get that, but I had. “If that’s what you want, I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
“Really?”
The first time we’d met, she’d been a means to an end. I’d been hoping to find out more about my mysterious mother. I’d told her my real name and that I was from Brooklyn, and I’d known from the look on her face, that she had no idea who I was or that we were in any way related. I could also tell that she found me attractive, so I played her. A part of me had hated her, resented her for having my mother in her life when Killian and I had been left by the wayside. But she shouldn’t be made to pay for the sins of her father. None of that was her fault. Our mother may have abandoned us, but Keira wanted to be a part of our lives and I wanted her to have that chance. Truth be told, I was warming to the idea of having a younger sister and over the course of this conversation, I had started to like her as a person.
“Really. I understand what it’s like to need a fresh start.”
“I guess you would,” she said, no judgment on her face or in her voice. “How do you know Tate? He only agreed to help me unload the car because of you.”
“He’s my sponsor.”
She nodded. “He seems like a good guy.”
I eyed her suspiciously, knowing damn well she had an angle. Tate told me she’d been a nuisance, poking around under the hood of his prized Mustang, peppering him with questions about his business. She’d suggested that he buy muscle cars and restore them to turn a profit. “Sounds like she wants to run the damn place,” he’d grumbled. “She asked me for a job. No way in hell am I gonna hire a woman like her.”
“Afraid she’ll boss you around?” I’d teased.
“Wouldn’t put it past her to try.”
Keira gave me a dazzling smile and I’d already figured out it was the one she used to get her way. I suspected a lot of men fell for it. “I want to work for him,” she said, not beating around the bush.
“Yeah, I got that.”
“Maybe you could put in a good word for me.”
I chuckled and shook my head, thinking that I’d never hear the end of it if he did end up hiring her. I eyed her manicured hand wrapped around the bottle of water. “I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty,” she said, reading my mind.
“You just got here. Let’s give it a few days.” To see if you’ll still be around by then. I noticed that she hadn’t checked her phone once, so I assumed she’d left it behind in Miami. Her father probably had tracking devices on it.
She conceded, but I knew it wasn’t the end of this discussion. “Now that we’re on the same side, what’s the deal with you and Ava?”
“You’re like a dog with a bone.”
“I’m tenacious. And curious. We’re bonding.”
“Bonding. Right. Ava and I are taking a break. I’m trying to make things right.”
“You’re a good guy, Connor.”
“Not always.”
“A little bit of bad is good for a girl. Otherwise, she’d be bored out of her skull.”
Her logic was skewed, but I appreciated the effort.
“She loves you. That much was obvious. What’s so wrong about that?” she asked like she really wanted to know, and my answer mattered to her.
“It’s complicated.”
“The best love stories always are.” She propped her chin on her hands as if she was waiting for me to tell her the whole story. We didn’t have that kind of time.
