Page 18 of Doormat
Her eyes watered and she coughed, opening her mouth.“Wow.”
He chuckled.“Maybe I should warn you that whiskey is not for the faint of heart.”
“Ha, ha, very funny.I don’t really drink.”
Diego had noticed that.She never drank wine and tended to go for water.
“Do you want to tell me why?”
“I don’t know.Mom always said a lady should always be in control of her person, and I guess, alcohol when you drink too much of it, kind of lowers those standards, doesn’t it?”she asked.
“Yeah, it does.”He finished off the whiskey.“Do you play?”
“Nah.My mom used to play the piano.Badly, but she did play.My brother is better.”She spread her fingers out, placed them down onto the keys, and the noise sounded horrible.
Diego laughed.
“Do you play?”
“A little.”Putting his fingers on the keys for the first time in what felt like a millennium, he started to play and just let the music wash over him.
Liana sat with him, watching as he moved up and down the keyboard, coming to a soft close.
“That was beautiful,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“Do you want to tell me why you’re awake?”she asked.
“Because I couldn’t sleep.”
She let out a little chuckle.“That I figured.Is there any other reason?”
“No.”
Liana turned to look at him and he stared at her.Her eyes were so blue, and now he could see they were sharp.She didn’t miss anything.
“Are you awake because it bothers you, or doesn’t?”
He could play dumb, but he didn’t see the point.
“Both.”
Liana nodded.“I think I killed someone once,” she said.
This surprised him.
“I don’t know if you noticed the beeping noise that happens in some of the rooms at my dad’s house.He installed it because a few years ago, there were a couple of people who managed to break in.They killed a couple of guards, and I was at the pool at the time.I sunk beneath the water and it was dark, so they didn’t see me.When they left, I got out of the pool and followed them.Dad has guns everywhere around the house.Locked up, but they’re there.I also know how to shoot, in case you’re wondering.It was something my mom insisted on me knowing.”
“That is good to know,” he said.He had no idea she could shoot.“Are you any good?”
“I don’t know.I ...shot my gun, and Enzo Jr.shot his gun.He claims he made two hits and that I was in shock about what happened, but I don’t know.I don’t know if I did kill a guy or not.”She frowned.“I don’t know if it bothered me or not.I mean, they had come to kill my dad and I’m assuming my brother and me.They were not good men, but either way, I killed them and knowing that was hard.”
Diego reached out and cupped her cheek.“You did the right thing.”
“Did I?I still killed someone.”
He didn’t have the answer to that, and then he kissed her.Diego knew there was a risk of her pushing him away and telling him no, but he kissed her.She put her hands on his chest, and if she told him to stop, he would do so.Only, she ran her hands up his chest, then wrapped them around his neck.
