Page 87 of Dare Me

Then he waved the lease in Liam’s direction. “And like I told you, Marissa never makes a mistake. Ever.” With a wave, he walked out, leaving Liam and Will alone.

Shit.

Quietly, Will walked to the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee. “You want one?” he called out.

“No thanks.”

O-kay…

Stalling as long as he could, Will finished adding milk and sugar to his mug before walking back over to the sofa and sitting down. Clearing his throat, he said, “So.”

“So.”

It got painfully quiet again before Liam spoke.

Leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees, Liam looked at him. “I want her to be happy. Bottom line. We went to lunch on Monday and she told me about you without telling me it was you.” Hanging his head for a moment, he shook it before looking up again. “I think what’s bothering me most is that you didn’t trust me enough—trust our friendship enough—to be honest with me.”

“I really thought I was doing it for her,” he admitted lowly. “All I knew is what you’ve been saying for years and then listening to her that day in San Francisco…”

“I’m sure she exaggerated at least part of that.”

“Not from where I was standing,” Will told him. “After I showed up here and watched how you all interacted, I think she went easy on all of you.”

“Damn.” After letting out a long breath, Liam straightened in his seat. “I still just wish…”

“You’ve been a total dick toward me where Arianna’s concerned since the get-go!” Will finally blurted out. “And youseriously wonder why I didn’t tell you? Why I didn’t confide in you that I had feelings for her? Seriously?”

“Okay, yeah, I get it,” Liam snapped. “But in my defense, the last time I was around my sister, she really was just a kid! It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that she not only had grown up, but that she…you know…didn’t need anyone’s help. She’s the baby of the family, Will. I’m always going to look at her as my kid sister. I can’t help it.”

“I can’t say that I know how you feel because I don’t have any siblings, but…I guess I understand. I just…I don’t know if us working together is the right thing to do. It seems like there’s just too big of a chance for things to get complicated and family and business never seem to work.”

“I never thought I’d be this guy or that it would be looked at as a bad thing to look out for my kid sister. When I think about Arianna, I still see the gangly kid with pigtails and braces.”

“Yeah, well, your kid sister is brilliant and funny and so freaking everything that I ever wanted.” Frustration had him pulling at his own hair as he raked his hands through it. “So maybe instead of giving me so much shit, you just be happy for me? For her? Because this is happening whether or not you approve. I already lost a year with her because I thought I was doing the right thing and didn’t want to upset you or cause any issues between the two of you. But you know what I’ve learned?”

“No, what?”

“That your family thrives on issues! Holy crap! It’s like you all go out of your way to antagonize and instigate crap! So I guess I’ll fit right in because that’s what we’re doing, Arianna and I. We’re pissing everyone off and we don’t care.”

With a shrug, Liam said, “I think she might care a little. She talks a good game, but when it comes time to talk to my parents—particularly my mother—she’s not going to go in all cocked and loaded like she was with us. I wouldn’t even be surprisedif she puts it off for a few days or asks me or Patrick to lay the groundwork for her.”

Shrugging, Will didn’t see that happening, but he kept that opinion to himself.

Liam’s phone pinged with an incoming text. He pulled it from his pocket, swiped the screen, and frowned.

“Something wrong?”

Rather than respond, he held up the phone for Will to see for himself.

Mom: Family dinner tonight. MANDATORY.

Will wanted to be offended that he didn’t get the invite and wondered if he should just go anyway to show that he wasn’t the kind of guy who was going to let the woman he loved deal with this situation on his own.

“Do you think…?”

“Oh, you can’t be there,” Liam said.

“Why not? Shouldn’t I ask Arianna?”

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