Page 19 of His Price

“I think all of this is just so stupid,” Mallory says, anger edging her voice. “Why can’t you two be together? I know Liam. I care for him. He’s a good guy. He’d make you happy. You’d make him happy. You guys would be so great together—which I have told you a thousand times before now. Why is Jackson stopping that from happening?”

“Because he hates him.”

“For what, though?”

“I don’t know.” And that was the problem. “Whatever it is, Mallory, it must be serious. They loathe each other, and right now I can’t see who is really at fault. Because as much as Jackson has told me that Liam is going to play me like fiddle, I don’t see it. Everything he does, it’s with me in mind.”

“Well, yeah, that’s because Liam is in love with you, which I’ve also told you.”

“I know you have, and I’m starting to believe you,” I finally admit to both her and myself for the very first time.

She pauses again, obviously shocked by my admission. Hell, even I’m shocked by my admission. Okay, yes, I knew there was something special between us but maybe I’d convinced myself that I had some way of controlling it.

I was dead wrong.

When Mallory speaks again, her voice is softer now. “Did he say those three little words to you?”

“He doesn’t need to, I feel them right in my bones, Mallory.”

Another pause. Then, “I guess the only thing left to ask is how do you feel about him?”

I draw in a long deep breath, allowing myself to absorb the meaning behind the words before I let them free. “You already know how I feel about him.”

“Yeah, I do know.”

I don’t need to say those three little words as much as Liam doesn’t need to tell them to me. It’s strange falling for someone you have a business relationship with, but Liam’s right, in our world professional and personal mix often. I think keeping things professional kept a boundary up, but now we’ve crossed that line and there is no going back.

When the heart knows, it knows. But what in the fuck do I do now?

The thought of hurting Jackson devastates me. Liam has hurt him, that much I know. He might not have told me what stands between him and Liam but his pain has always been clear to me.

Though can I say goodbye to Liam tomorrow?

“I should get going,” I say, lifting my head, knowing I’m never going to have that answer tonight. “I’m sure Liam’s wondering what I’m doing in here. And I really don’t want him thinking I’m sick or something.”

Mallory barks a laugh. “Total sexy killer.”

I laugh with her, glad for the break in the tension. “Before I go, how about you? Any news on your front about your date?”

“The only news at all was a message from the event coordinator telling me that a driver would be picking me up Tuesday morning.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

For Mallory’s sake, I’m hoping this date happens. Unlike me, she actually dates, but she’s been unable to hold down a steady boyfriend. I don’t really know why. She’s beautiful, sassy, and smart but she’s picky. Very picky. Though I’m also starting to wonder if someone bet on her at the auction to donate the money to the charity but doesn’t want the date to happen. “Keep me updated on that, all right?”

“Will do,” she says then hesitates. “And, Aria?”

“Yeah.”

“I know you and Liam both very well. I can’t say why Jackson hates him. Maybe Liam burned him somehow. But that had to have happened a long time ago. Everyone deserves a second chance, and Liam never hurt you. In fact, I’d say the only person possibly hurting you right now is Jackson if he’s holding you back from being incredibly happy with Liam.”

“Saying it like that makes it sound all very simple.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

I rise and stare at myself in the mirror, seeing a sparkle there behind the tension. It’s that feeling when someone understands you, truly, and appreciates you. It’s infectious and warm, and the fact that I’m feeling it with Liam is incredible. “It would be, if I could trust what I’m feeling around him. If I could trust the words that come from his mouth.”

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