Page 4 of Little Temptation

“Come on. This is epic. It deserves more than a yep. God, this would have cost you a fortune.” I look around at the lavish room, tastefully decorated in keeping with the rest of the hotel I’ve seen.

“Yeah, yeah, all hail Prince Liam. I thought you’d dropped the idol-worshipping act, Lil.”

“Oh, fuck off, Eric.” He’s always teased me about my crush. And, at times, been particularly cruel about it.

“Wow, what’s he done?” Taylor catches the end of my comeback.

“He’s just being my big brother. Come on, Taylor. Let’s go and see Grammy.” I loop my arm through his and march us over to her.

Grammy is tired after our chat, so Taylor and I walk her back to her room and from then on, the guests all dissipated. Miriam and Eric are nowhere to be found, and – not that I was looking – neither is Liam.

“I guess I’ll turn in, too.” Taylor picks up my hand and kisses the back of it. “See you at breakfast.”

“Maybe. I might indulge and sleep in. Or watch the sunrise. I can’t decide.”

“Well, I’m sure I’ll bump into you at some point. Night.” Taylor leaves, and I look around the deserted dining area.

My body is weary from the travel and months of work with no real break, but my mind’s alive, so I take a short walk out and look over the railing separating the precarious edge of the cliff. Even in the dark, it’s impressive. The sound of the waves lapping in the cove is rhythmical and soothing. I could stand and listen to it all evening.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I close my eyes to the deep sound of his voice and take a fortifying breath to keep myself from sliding back into childhood.

“You’ll have to give me more than a penny for them, Liam.” I finally turn to face him.

“Shucks. I’m all out.”

“Liar.”

“Nice to see you, Lil.”

In the dark, it’s hard to make out his expression, but he sounds sincere.

“Same. And thank you. For this. The flight and the car to the hotel. It’s a very expensive gift.”

“There’s got to be some advantages to having a healthy bank account.”

“I think the size of your bank account could be described as a little more than healthy.” I smirk, knowing he’s the wealthiest man I know and probably will ever know.

“How’ve you been?”

“Great. You?” We’ve not spoken in years, and it shows. He’s been a no-show at any family event I would have expected him to be there for, and I could never understand it. One minute we were all getting along fine. We spent years hanging out. Confiding in each other. Being friends. And sometimes his eyes would linger just that second too long, and he’d make sure he sat next to me on the sofa or at the cinema when we watched movies.

A hundred small, fraction-of-a-detail behaviours all built in my mind, causing me to think that there might be something between us. But I was just a kid. And apparently, I knew nothing.

“Busy.”

“What are you up to these days, anyway? Eric’s never really said.”

“Oh, this and that.”

“Wow, I can see how you’re so busy then.” I roll my eyes and turn back to the sea.

“I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

“No, not at all. I’m sure you’ve got a busy day tomorrow –last-minute best-man duties, so I’ll let you get going.”

“Brushing me off. Not the reaction I thought I’d get from you, Lil.”

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