Eluding Nirvana (The Dark Evoke Series Book 2) (19 page)

Her plump lips were caressed with a swipe of h
er tongue before her chest expanded then deflated on a troubling sigh. “Do you think I’m in the wrong for fucking that guy?”

The edge of my mug was unconsciously traced by my middle finger, as
I concentrated distantly on the action and on my words. “The guy who is in a pretty stable relationship and using you as a mistress, all the while his poor girlfriend is the one preparing his meals and making sure he has a nice home to return to, after finishing his rendezvous with you?” the sardonic tone in my voice went unmasked as I spewed my words.

“There’s no need
to be so harsh, Kady. But yes,”––Peeking up, I noticed her rolling her eyes––“that guy.”

For a moment I pushed myself back in the white leather seat. A hissing, gargling sound came from my lips as I
sheathed my teeth and sucked in a breath through the diminutive gap. “I think that there are plenty of men out in the world who are single. I also think––” drawing a pause on my words, with a scowl, I eyed Liv circumspectly. “We’re going for brute honesty?” I quizzed.

The frantic nod of her head told me to continue.

Okay, she’d asked for it. “I think that you’re being heartless and insensitive.” Hazel eyes glazed as fire and affront shone through her panic. Opening her mouth to speak, I cut her off with the lifting of my index finger then pressed it against my lips like a tutor in kindergarten. She took my advice and grimly shut her mouth. “It’s code. A woman shouldn’t betray another woman like that. How do you think she’s feeling?”

The slight snigger which followed the shake of
her head triggered a form of incense which heated my blood and knotting my stomach. “It’s not my fault she can’t see what’s happening in front of her eyes, Kady. Why should I feel guilty?”

“Because you’re breaking
up a happy home,” was the simplest, most pungent reply I could mutter.

“If it was a happy home,”––she took a
nother sip of coffee and swallowed before resuming with her head held high and conceited––“then he wouldn’t have come to me in the first place.”

Who was this woman s
itting in front of me? She looked like Liv, but the Liv I knew for many years wouldn’t stoop as low as that. Although a stripper, she demanded to be treated with respect. I couldn’t understand why she would demoralize herself to the extent of believing she had conviction in being ‘the other woman’, like it was her right.

I was about to bite back on her last statement when I heard the front door close and Liam came strolling through the bottom entranceway of the living room, into the dining room.
He skimmed over my regard and focused directly on the woman opposite, her tousled brunette hair draped over her shoulders. “Liv,” he spoke her name but made it sound like a question, as though silently asking ‘what the fuck are you doing here’?

“Liam,” she replied
over the brim of her mug when she lifted it to her mouth.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here,”
The black leather and gold trimmed briefcase was set carefully down on the glass surface of the table as he turned to me, practically ignoring our guest. “Hey, baby,” he muttered my greeting and as he pressed his lips to my forehead, I smiled, like it was an honor to have this PDA.

“Liam, how was work?” I asked like any dutiful wife would. My body was left cold when he strolled to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of mineral water.

“It was good. The final plans have been set, what was left of the old Williamson Estate is now knocked to the ground, so I can get the team in ASAP.”

“That’s brilliant news.”

“Yes, it is. Which reminds me,”––my eyes followed him as he took well-measured strides from the corner of the kitchen island, back to my side and set a warm hand on my shoulder––“I think we should go out tonight, go and have a meal somewhere, make the most of things?”

Make the most of things?
I had no indication of what he meant by that. As though he was noting my silent question, he answered, “With all the changes over the last few months, the move, the contract…us.” His gaze drifted from my tightlipped, querying grin, to the woman whose boobs were spilling over the low rectangle-cut of her cream top. “Liv, are you up for it?”

“It’s my night off, sitting home with a tub of ice-cream and shit TV, or going out
with my two favorite people…” she flailed her head and upturned her lips. “No contest. Count me in.”

My shoulder burned with
Liam’s expectant stare. “Well?”

Tipping my head back, I muttered apologetically,
“I told Laurie that I would cal––” only to have my statement cut short.

“Invite her, too.”

“What?”

“Invite her along.”
His gaze diverted from me, back to the brunette opposite cradling a mug of coffee in her hands. He finished with a cocky tip of his lips, “The more the merrier, right?”

As I rose from my seat, t
he legs protested and grated across the tiled flooring, and I hooked my hair back behind my ear. “Okay, well, only if you’re sure though.”

“I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t sure.” He lea
ned in and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. When he pulled back, he mouthed, “You deserve it.”

Oh Liam. You don’t half spoil me, I thought to myself with a smile,
then excused myself to the foyer and dialed Laurie’s number.

After a few annoying drills of the connecting call, I was greeted by her familiar buoyant tone.
Once the brief small talk was over, I reiterated Liam’s decision of going out for a meal, and that he extended an invite to her also, considering Liv was tagging along.

“Kady, I’d love to, but I kind of promised my cousin that he could pop over and order shitty food.”

The small of my back rested against the sideboard against the stairs. “I’m sure Liam wouldn’t mind if you brought him along as well. He did say, ‘the more the merrier’,” I answered while I folded my right arm over my middle.

“Really? Liam said that?” Her questioning tone and fleeting moment of disbelief mirrored my own.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to argue with him, his decisions, or begin an interrogation. It’s those moves which had always landed me in Shit Street.

Once
she finally relented, Liam craned his head around the doorframe. I covered the mouth piece with my right hand. “She asked where and when?” I whispered.

“
Hamersley’s Bistro, 8:00 p.m.”

“Hamersley’s at 8
?” I relayed down the speaker.

“Hamersley’s? Goodness, he is pushing the boat out. I’d be happy with a slice of pizza from Jasper’s.”
our moment of amused snorting came to an abrupt end as I studied Liam and his dubious glare which he was throwing at me.

“We’ll meet
you there, Laurie. See you soon.” With the handset set on its cradle once I ended the call, I turned my focus to the impeccably dressed man in the doorway. You’d never suspect he had just finished nearly twelve hours at work. “She said thank you, and they’ll meet us there.”

His pants pockets were slightly weighed down as his h
ands hung loosely in them. His lower lip was caressed by his tongue as he focused on his feet with each leisurely stride toward me. “They?” he questioned, his feet scuffing the wooden flooring with menacing strides, causing and my heart rate to increase.

Fuck.

“She was supposed to be spending time with her cousin, I’m sorry Liam. You said the more the merrier, so I just assumed that it would be okay to invite him along.” Eyes screwed, I felt the wrinkles span across my forehead while my neck and shoulders gave into the weight bored upon it. My head began to fall forward and shoulders began to slouch. “God, I am so stupid, what was I thinking? I’m sorry––”

“Hey,”
my face was coated by his minty breath, while his hand rose to cradle my cheek. I suppressed the urge to flinch. When my head was coaxed upward to meet his scrutiny, I was chanced by soft, forgiving eyes looking back at me. “Please stop worrying. It is okay, I did say that, and I meant it––”

“But I had no right to assume it in the first place. Liam, please forgive me.
I’m so, so sorry.” His handsome, benevolent face was beginning to swim and distort as tears assembled and glazed over my pale blue eyes.

“I forgive you, Kady.” As the words
were freed from his lips, I felt myself physically lax, and when his mouth slanted over mine and his tongue dipped into my mouth as I gave him an opening, my tears dissolved. “Now go upstairs and get yourself ready,” he breathed against my mouth when he pulled away. His warm, gentle hand lingered on my face, his thumb caressing the arch of my cheekbone. “Maybe wear that mint green blouse with those dark jeans. You know how much I love it on you.”

“Okay,” I nodded
and stepped out of his clutch, his hand dropping from my face. I was rewarded with a small smack on the ass, when I turned on my heel to head for the stairs, and he went back to into the dining room to keep Liv company.

Li
am and Liv filed into the BMW while I rummaged through my purse for my keys and locked the front door. Their hushed conversation was brought to an abrupt end when I slipped into the front passenger seat, and concluded with Liv playfully swatting his left shoulder from the back seat. “Okay, children, less of that, let’s get going because I am starving,” I teased lightly drawing the belt across my body.

Liam was just about to pull out of the driveway when his hand came down on my thigh. “You look gorgeous.”

My heart melted. I took his advice and opted for my dark, skinny jeans and pale mint, silk blouse with gold buttons and matching green heels. My hair was twisted and clipped into place, giving me nothing to hide behind, just how Liam liked it. Gazing into his eyes for an eternity, my lips tipped into a content smile. “Thank you.”

“Okay, come on, enough with the mushy talk,” t
he voice from the back seat griped, and I couldn’t help but snigger. If only she knew how much I appreciated this degree of, ‘mushy talk’.

“Why,
Liv, making you jealous?” Liam teased, staring intently in the rearview mirror as he began pulling out of the driveway.

“Nauseous, more like.”

I shook my head to myself, thinking that when she finds the man of her dreams, she will be the first to revel in ‘mushy talk’.

It was
7:55 p.m. when we pulled up outside the restaurant and Liam handed the keys, along with a substantial tip, to the valet parking before linking out fingers together and leading us to the olive green entrance.

I scanned the area and peeked back at the man beside me. “What about Laurie? She’s not here yet.”

His warm, soft fingers had already begun to come loose around my own as Liv muttered, “We can go in and get a table, and you can wait for Laurie, right Liam?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Will you be okay with that, baby?”

Liv was already holding the door open when I smiled and nodded my acquiescence. I watched as they stepped inside, Liam’s hand resting on the small of her back as he steered her into the warmth of the bistro, as I waited alone in the chilly breeze.

A
stone rolled under my foot, as I sluggishly perused the area decorated with two green metal benches, potted ferns and the large green awning over the door. Lots of green, I thought to myself, and idly contemplated the chance of the interior matching the pallet of the exterior, when a bubbly, high voice shrieked, “Hey, girlie.”

By the time I lifted my head, Laurie was bouncing her way toward me, her black hair was loose, tumbling past her shoulders, while the splash of cosmic blue dye spruced her bangs.

Cosmic blue…

M
emories of my sister and her beauty mishap refused to stay dormant. As I strived to shake the thought out of my head, where it should no longer dwell, arms of the petite, pale woman, had by now encompassed me and were ruthlessly squeezing me like a ragdoll.

“L
aurie, you made it,” I strained returning her embrace.

“Yeah, sorry I’
m late,” she nudged her head into the direction she just surfaced from while holding me at arm’s length. “You can blame him.”

“’Blame me’ says the woman who spent fifteen minutes admiring herself. That’s love for you right there.”

Showered by familiarity, I peeked up and watched as the man strolled toward the entrance. His brown hair was longer on the top and left slightly disheveled as he raked his hand through prior to letting it go limp at his side. The white T-shirt beneath his navy and caramel plaid shirt was exposed as his left hand sat peacefully in his beige denim pants pocket, trapping the one-side of the shirt behind his forearm.

“Hey, Kady,
nice to see you again.”

My
eyes bulged out of their sockets, and my mouth went dry. I turned my attention back to the secretive woman beside me. “Walker is your cousin?”

“What?
” her shoulders practically touched her ears. “You never asked.”

“But, you’re not Irish.”

“Technically, it’s only by marriage. My uncle married her aunt,” Walker clarified.