Page 89 of The Women of Wild Hill
He was chatting with the young bartender who was making their drinks. With his white linen shirt rolled up to his elbows and his chinos turned up at the cuff, he looked like a photo fromTake Ivy. She watched him lift a loafer and mindlessly scratch the back of his ankle. He must have said something funny because the bartender burst into laughter as he finished Brigid’s Dark ’n’ Stormy. When Liam turned around, he was still grinning. He winked at Brigid from across the lawn, and her heart fluttered like a bird trapped behind her ribs.
Ivy used to warn the girls that even the most powerful witches had weaknesses. One day, they would find theirs. Brigid had always assumed hers was pot. Now that seemed like an innocent hobby. She’d finally discovered her own personal kryptonite—the relentlessly preppy CEO of an evil media empire. As much as she tried, she couldn’t convince herself it was all just a sex thing, though the sex was certainly spectacular. No, she had to admit she loved being around him. And not just because he laughed at her jokes.
Now he was here, like a white knight come to rescue her.
“Pardon me,” he told the yapping lady. “Do you mind if I borrow my lovely date?”
“A pleasure,” Brigid told the woman. “Don’t take me too far,” she said as Liam whisked her away. She’d promised Phoebe she wouldn’t leave the party without Sibyl. Never before had she been forced to show such restraint.
“DID I TELL YOU HOWstunning you look tonight?” Liam asked when they finally came to a stop. They were standing alone at the end of a pier, watching the other partygoers from a safe distance. He was so close to her that she got a whiff of his rich, mossy scent, which left her lightheaded.
“You did,” Brigid confirmed. “Did I happen to mention that you’re fine as fuck?”
“Yes, and I immediately contacted my lawyers to ensure that epitaph will be carved into my tombstone.Here lies Liam Geddes. Fine as Fuck. Too bad I’ll never have any descendants to be impressed by the legends.”
“No children for you?” she asked.
“I think it’s best if the Geddes line ends with me. Don’t you?”
“I thought that’s why men hoard money—to ensure their spermlets rule the earth.”
“They call it generational wealth,” he said. “I’d rather spend all my money on you.”
“No need,” Brigid told him. “I have more than enough of my own.”
“Well then, how about we pool our cash and take over the world.” He leaned down and kissed her. She felt something strange pass between them, but before she could make sense of it, the moment was ruined by a hideous cackle from somewhere in the crowd.
“Why do you go to these parties?” she asked. Every time she felt like she might float off into the clouds, something would yank her back down again. “These people are terrible.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “They all look fairly normal to me. Aside from all the Botox and filler.”
“They’re in disguise. They seem normal until you talk to them and find out they all murder puppies for a living.”
Liam tsked. “No one here murders puppies, silly. That would be breaking the unwritten laws of the ruling class. People are expendable, but dogs are strictly off-limits.”
“That’s not a very funny joke,” she informed him.
“Who said I was joking?”
Her mood was beginning to sour. “I just don’t understand.”
He seemed to sense the change and adjusted his tone. “What don’t you understand?”
“Why you would choose this.” They’d never been so serious together.
“We’re all given our role in life,” Liam told her. “I’m simply playing the cards I’ve been dealt.”
It wasn’t an answer. It was just an excuse. “It must have been terribly difficult being born holding a royal flush.”
“You’re assuming you know how I plan to play it.” Liam kept the tone light, but Brigid detected a hint of annoyance.
“Don’t I?” she asked.
“Are psychic powers among your many gifts? By the way, it’s rich of you to criticize my hand when you were born with four aces.”
Brigid would have taken the bait if a giant hadn’t chosen that very moment to rise from the depths. A whale breached a hundred feet from the end of the dock, launching itself into the air and twisting around before landing on its side. The spray hit them right in the face.
“I guess she didn’t want us to argue.” Liam was laughing as he used a shirtsleeve to wipe his eyes.
