Page 85 of A Taste of Trouble

“She had an evening class.”

Right. It was Friday.

“Liv, what the hell happened? Were you…in a fire?”

She was too tired to explain. She hadn't told anyone about meeting her father, or how Jake had lied to her, or even about Nancy and her betrayal. And now this. There was too much to tell and she didn't know where to begin.

She turned and walked to her front door. “I'm going to bed.”

“Not so fast.” Before she had the chance to lock him out, he pushed past her and into her condo.

“Suit yourself.” She let the blanket drop to the floor. “You can just follow me to my bedroom, then, while I sleep away my sorrows.” The smell of her space comforted her. Sweet icing and coconut. She used to have a bakery that smelled like that.

“Don't be so dramatic,” he said from the front door. He followed, his footsteps heavy against the carpet.

“Dramatic?” She had every right to be dramatic. “My business burned. It burned, and I have nothing left. Not to mention the fact that my mentor tried to sell me down the river and my boyfriend—I actually had a boyfriend—betrayed me and was in alliance with the one man who I've hated almost my entire life. I think I've earned dramatic.”

She stood with her hands on her hips, her body shaking from the change in temperature. But with the look on Brett's face, she realized she had taken out on him her own frustrations. He didn't deserve that. And he didn't deserve to be the one to listen to her worries.

The look of shock on Brett's face quickly turned to sympathy. She knew she had just thrown him a curveball the size of a mountain. But he took it in stride. “Tell me what happene

d.”

In the couple of years Liv had known Brett, they had always gotten along. They laughed and joked together, but never had they had a heart to heart. He shot her a challenging look, as if daring her to spill her guts. Everything was too fresh, the hurt too deep. She didn't want to talk.

She turned and stalked off into her bedroom, hoping Brett would find it awkward enough not to follow. But he plopped his butt on the edge of the bed right beside her.

She let out a groan, but resigned to the fact that he wasn't going anywhere.

“What do you mean your business burned?”

“There was a fire. Everything's gone.” With that confession, she began to cry. The tears that had threatened to fall earlier finally surfaced.

He cursed under his breath. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?” He reached out and touched her shoulder.

“I'm fine. But…” Everything else was not.

“I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say.”

“Save it, ‘cause there's more.”

His eyes widened.

“Nancy was the one responsible for the inspection, the mistake in the advertising, and for me not getting my business loan.” And maybe the fire. But that was a heavy accusation, and she just couldn't bring herself to say that out loud. Not until it had been proven by the police.

“What the hell, Liv?”

She pulled the bed cover over her body. He might as well know everything. If she was going to heal, she would have to say it out loud, come to terms with this new information. “Jake works for my dad. I was just a game.”

“That slimy son of a—” Brett fisted his hand on his thigh, his knuckles turning white and the muscle in his jaw working overtime as he clenched his teeth. But after a few beats, his face and body relaxed. “Patti told me about your dad once. How he left you and your mom.”

She acknowledged with a quiet hum, but her thoughts were all over the place. “You know, I pegged Jake the minute I met him,” she continued. “But something told me he might be different.” Tears flooded her eyes. “He only needed to get me to that book launch so that he could get a promotion. I even told him about my father and he still…” She was a blubbering mess. “I'm sorry.”

“No sorries. I may not be as compassionate as Patti or as supportive as Austin, but I'm here and I can listen.” He leaned in, offering his shoulder.

She smiled and, for a second, forgot her worries. “Patti's lucky to have you.”

Brett shrugged. “I know.”

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