Page 88 of Ward Willing
She leans forward and stands on her tiptoes, so her lips are inches from mine. “Prove it,” she whispers, patting the pocket of my jacket before turning and walking away.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
THE LIE
Zoe
Liam enters the living room a few minutes after me. He gives me a dark, glowering look before walking over to Orion, and I turn my attention to Chase and Juliet, the latter of whom asks me about college. I really like Juliet—and Stella, for that matter. They’ve looked out for me since the time they entered into the family, and it’s been nice seeing Chase and Miles find theirpeople. The drinks are flowing, the conversation is entertaining, and soon, with Raphael gone and only the “family” left, we devolve into a tipsy game of truth or dare.
Just what I need.
I’m still waiting for Liam to turn the damn vibrator on, too—and something tells me he’s waiting for the perfect moment. He never does things just to do them. There’s always a reason, and he always thinks things through fully before acting.
Sitting in a circle, I notice how Layla and Orion haven’t spoken since Raphael left. Malakai is slurring his words and joking around with Miles. Orion and Liam are still conversing, and Stella, Juliet, and Chase are telling Layla and me all about video cassettes and how you used to have to leave your house to rent a movie.
Gag.
Malakai clears his throat. “Okay, now it’s time for truth or dare,” he says, eyes twinkling. “And as the middle brother, I think it’s fair to appoint the youngest person in this room to go first.”
I glare at him before clearing my throat. “Fine. Truth.”
Orion laughs and muttersoh boyunder his breath.
“I’ll start easy,” Kai murmurs, pressing his lips together and pretending to think. “Where do you see yourself in a year?”
Damn.He could’ve given me something easy to answer, but instead it’s the last question I currently want to think about.
I cross my arms and legs on the chair I’m sitting on, pondering how to answer such a loaded question.
I don’t dare look at Liam—I can’t see his face when I tell the complete truth about this, because it’s been on my mind all day, and I know he’s going to hate it.
“Well, until this morning, I would’ve told you that I could see myself in my final year of undergrad, working hard before going to law school. I probably would’ve been interning for a law firm in LA, and I’d have a list of my top law schools—though UCLA would’ve been number one.” I take a deep breath. “But since I walked out of the LSAT this morning?—”
“Wait, what?” Layla asks, sitting up straighter.
“You walked out?” Orion asks, looking between Liam and me.
I nod and look down at the floor. “Now, I see myself writing full-time. Taking a break from college while I work on getting my book published. I worked so hard for so long, a bit of a break sounds really great right about now.”
I finally let myself look up at Liam, and he’sfuming.Chills skitter down my spine as he cocks his head and narrows his eyes. He’s still leaning back against a wall a few feet away, but I swear I can hear him grinding his teeth to keep from saying something cruel.
“That’s news to me,” he says, his voice eerily calm. “Why wouldn’t you finish your degree since you’re almost halfway done?” he asks.
“I could. But with law school out of the question, I think taking a year or two off to figure out what I want to major in is a smart move, especially considering my scholarship is for the expedited pre-law major. Once I change it, they could revoke the scholarship?—”
“I’ll pay for your education,” Liam growls. “It’s the least I can do. You never have to worry about money with me,” he adds.
Everyone else stays quiet as we argue, and my cheeks heat at how ridiculous we must look.
“It’s not about the money. Why would I wasteanyone’smoney on something so frivolous?”
“That’s interesting, considering your purchases from earlier.”
My eyes widen, and I see Layla stand up. She knowsexactlywhat kinds of things I bought earlier, and I can tell she’s about to save my ass.
“Okay, next person,” she says sweetly. “That’s me, right?”
Liam doesn’t look away, but everyone else seems to have moved on now that the tension is broken.
