Neighbors (Twin Estates #1) (22 page)

She kept herself busy, going back to her strip-aerobics class. They'd served their purpose, but she really did enjoy it. Candi was glad to have her back – the classes were always fluctuating, so it was nice to have a regular.

Sunday was spent with Tori, who'd been given the day off. They went out shopping with her tip money – The Garden was proving to be lucrative. Membership there was not cheap, which meant neither were the clientele. Tori made
excellent
tips, on top of the very impressive wages Liam gave her.

After buying some sexy dresses for Katya, and even sexier outfits for Tori's new job, the girls went into a dive bar on a whim and proceeded to get
hammered
. Completely wasted. Tori was celebrating finally having a job she actually liked. Katya was burying her self-pity under a fifth of tequila. They made a bunch of new friends and were the belles of the bar, till a very nice and polite bouncer kindly asked them to leave.

On the car ride home, Katya called Liam. Tried to tell him how much she appreciated him, all while Tori blew raspberries into the phone. He sounded concerned, but she couldn't really understand what he was saying, so she shrugged and hung up on him. Then she closed one eye to help with her aim and stabbed her finger at a different contact.

He didn't answer.
Of course
he didn't answer. Why would he? Not like she mattered. Not like she was anything important. Not like they hadn't just shared the most intimate moment she'd ever had with anyone
ever
, so
OF COURSE HE DIDN'T FUCKING ANSWER
. After she yelled the last part, Tori took her phone away. Clearly, one of them was slightly drunker than the other.

When they pulled up to their building, Liam was stepping out of a taxi at the same time. Tori had one arm slung around Katya's waist, trying to hold her upright, but she was laughing more than she was helping. Liam simply strode over and scooped Katya up, cradling her in his arms as he carried her through the building.

“You're very strong,” she mumbled, completely limp in his arms, her head hanging upside down. Tori was holding onto her ponytail, as if that helped somehow.

“Not that strong. It's like carrying a dead body. Did you gain weight down in Carmel?”

Both girls burst out laughing, and even through her drunk haze she was able to hear him chuckle. He was fine, she was sure. He was so tall, so strong. Easily as strong as Wulf, and Wulf would never drop her.

Except he did. Like a bad habit, angel cake.

The tears started after they got into the apartment, thank god. Tori fell face first onto the couch and Liam carted Katya into her bedroom. While she hiccuped and sobbed, he peeled her jacket off her. Took off her shoes and socks and skinny jeans. While she laid there, desperately trying to catch her breath, he crawled into bed next to her.

“What's wrong?” he whispered, smoothing his hand down the side of her face. “Do you need to be sick?”

“No,” she wailed.

“Tell me. This is killing me. Let me help you.”

Katya rolled onto her side and pressed her face into his chest.

“I did something awful.”

“What?”

“Awful, awful, awful.”

“Jesus, Katya, did you kill someone? Run over a small child? What?” he demanded.

“I said too much,” she whispered.

“You … what?” he sounded confused.

“I … I … I think I ...”

“For the love of all that is holy,
what!?
”

“I think I do need to be sick.”

She was carried into the bathroom. She tried to push him out the door, but that only made the nausea worse. Besides, he wouldn't allow it. Liam was okay with every single part of her, she knew. The workaholic Katya, the stick-up-her-ass Katya, the sex kitten Katya, the crying Katya, and yes, even the drunk and puking everywhere Katya. As he held her hair away from her face and he rubbed her back and he got her glasses of water, her mind spiraled around one single thought.

You're so stupid for not loving this man.

“
Here.
”

Liam raised his eyebrows. Katya had just burst into his office. She looked very much the worse for wear. Her hair was all scraped up into a messy bun on top of her head. She had dark circles around her eyes, and her normally olive tinted skin was an ashy gray color. Her full lips were thin and pinched, and he really hoped she wasn't going to throw up in his office.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, jumping up and hurrying around the desk. “You should be in bed, I'm surprised you're even up at this hour.”

“It's three in the afternoon, Liam,” she said as he urged her into a seat.

“Yeah, but in hangover time, that's like six in the morning.”

“I wanted to say thank you, for taking care of me,” she started, then made a gagging sound in the back of her throat. She pressed a hand over her mouth and held up a paper bag.

“What is this?” he asked, gingerly taking it from her.

“Tacos. God, the smell. I think I'm actually dying.”

Liam laughed and threw the tacos behind his desk before calling upstairs. He had a large ginger ale and a really cold beer brought back for her. He'd been working in the bar industry for a long time, and it was his opinion that hair-of-the-dog was the best hangover cure. Apparently Katya felt the same way, because she immediately grabbed the beer and chugged it down.

“Better?” he asked with a laugh. She burped in response, then slapped both hands over her mouth. He laughed even harder.

She spent the afternoon in his office, talking and laughing with him. She certainly wasn't her usual perky, sassy self, but at least she didn't look like she was gonna throw up, anymore. He offered her a taco, but she waved him away, sticking with her ginger ale and some goldfish crackers he'd managed to scrounge up.

After a while, she became absorbed with something on her phone, so Liam went about his work. Most of the bar's accounting and payroll needed to get done. He would glance up at her every now and then, smiling to himself. He liked having her there, was comforted by her presence.

He frowned at his last thought and stared at her. He had to tell her how he felt. If she hadn't figured it out already – he wasn't exactly being subtle, but fuck it. When he fell, he fell hard. He'd never been afraid to love.

His only fear was that she'd never love him back.

“Katya, I ...”

*

Katya glanced up at the sound of her name, but before Liam could finish the sentence, his office phone rang. He glared down at it for a moment, then looked back up at her.

“Just a sec,” he sighed.

“Want me to wait outside?”

“No. No, not at all. It's just my partner.”

She nodded and was about to go back to the book she was reading, but when he swiveled in his chair, she got a little curious. His back was to her and he was speaking in a low voice. Normally, Katya wasn't much of a snoop, but she couldn't help but lean forward in her seat, trying to hear him better.

“No … no, don't come down here … I know … I'm aware … you think so? … oh, you
know
so, excuse me … fine … fine … why don't you call and check for yourself?”

Katya was surprised to hear that Liam sounded kind of pissed off. Not fully angry, but there was a tightness to his voice, and his tone was snide. She wondered why he hadn't just bought his partner out. The club was thriving, and he had his property. Surely he didn't need Richard Mason's help anymore.

“That's good … real good … how about you handle your business the way you want to, and I'll handle my business the way I want to … sure, sure … I'm hanging up now … goodbye … goodbye … hanging up … wow, I've never heard you this angry before, it's kind of amazing, I'm actually – hello? Hello?
Motherfucker,
” Liam growled, and he slammed the phone down with so much force, he startled her.

“Bad news?” she asked. He glared at her for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“Yeah. Yeah, he's a dick. We have this sort of side investment, and we can't agree on anything.”

“Why would you start a new project with him, when you hate him?”

“What makes you think I hate him?”

Katya shrugged.

“You never have anything nice to say about him. Your whole demeanor changes when you talk about him, or when he's around,” she said, remembering the time she'd interrupted their meeting.

“It does?” Liam sounded surprised.

“Yeah. I always assumed you didn't like him,” she explained.

He was suddenly out of his chair and stalking towards her. She sunk down in her seat, swallowing thickly as he bent over her. She sucked in a breath of air when he reached out his hand. Again, that brief moment of hesitation. His eyes flicking to hers, seeking permission. She didn't know what was going on, so she didn't say anything, didn't move. He went ahead and touched the top of her head, pulling the pins out of her bun. She could only stare up at him as her thick hair fell in waves around her shoulders.

“You should wear it down,” he said in a husky voice.

“You think so?”

“Looks sexier.”

When he kissed her, it was a little bit of a shock. They hadn't kissed in a while. Also, just a couple hours ago, she'd been puking her brains out. She'd brushed her teeth – several times – and had swallowed half a bottle of Listerine, but still. Between the hangover and her conflicting emotions, his tongue was making her want to gag. Not the reaction she usually had to him. She grumbled and pushed at his chest till he backed away.

“What is going on?” she panted for air.

“Nothing. I just haven't kissed you in a long time. Wanted to give you a little reminder,” was all he said. She stared at him like he was crazy.

“Okay, well, maybe while I'm hungover, we should
not
do that,” she said, trying to laugh a little to break the mood. He had one hand in her hair, holding it away from the side of her face, and he stared down into her eyes.

“I think I have something that could make you feel better,” he whispered, leaning close enough that his lips brushed against hers.

Katya was a red blooded heterosexual female – of course she was turned on, a sexy man was trying to kiss her. One whom she knew for a fact could make her hear colors and taste sound. It was very tempting. But as good as all those things were, they wouldn't banish a different man from her mind, and Liam deserved better than that.

“I can't,” she whispered back, pressing her hand to his chest.

He stared at her for a long time and Katya felt like she was falling into a black hole. She'd already been knocked down by Wulf. If Liam turned his back on her, she wasn't sure what she'd do. Two support systems, gone in two days. She felt sick again.

“Maybe when you're feeling better,” he suddenly said, then he kissed her on the nose before walking away. She suddenly became aware that she was holding her breath, and with a gasp of air she sat upright.

“Liam, maybe we should -” she started to confront the situation, but he held up his hand as he sat down.

“I have to call him back,” he interrupted. “Do you mind if it's in private this time? Sorry, I have a full schedule today.”

“Oh. I'm really sorry, I had no idea. Yeah, totally, I'll get out of here,” she said quickly, standing up and gathering her things.

“No, don't be sorry. I'll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure. Okay.”

“Angel cake.”

She finally looked at him, just as she was about to leave.

“Yeah, Liam?”

“Thanks for the tacos.”

Then he winked at her, and she felt a little better about the situation. She closed the door behind her as he picked up the phone and started dialing.

Katya went home and spent the rest of the day feeling weird. Confused. Her phone was glued to her hand. She could remember calling Wulf during her drunk fest, and her phone's log said the call had been several minutes long, but she couldn't quite remember
what
she'd said. While Tori moaned and hobbled around the kitchen, Katya bit the bullet and called Wulf.

“
You've reached Stone.
”

She almost burst out laughing at his voice mail message. How appropriate, “
you've reached stone”
– because that's literally what a person was doing when they called Wulfric Stone. Reaching a man made out of cold hard rock. Carved out of marble. She didn't leave a message and let her phone fall beneath the couch.

The girls huddled together on the sofa and shared a pizza. Tori finally got the whole story out of Katya – everything that had happened in Carmel. Around two in the morning, someone knocked softly on the front door. It could only be Liam, but neither of them said anything. Just waited in silence till he went away.

“What are you going to do?” Tori whispered, after they'd moved into Katya's room and stretched out on her bed.

“I don't know.”

“You can't just keep … existing like this.”

“That's a little dramatic, it's only been a couple days since we've talked.”

“Show up at his work.”

“I am
not
doing that.”

“You have to do
something
, Katya. What happened to the girl from the profile, who walked into a sex club and took it up the back door?”

“Jesus. If I'd known everyone would be so obsessed with my anal sex shenanigans, I wouldn't have done it at all.”

“See! That's the kind of spunk I love seeing – this new, aggressive you! You like this guy. Really like him. So
fight for him
. Sounds like no one else in his life ever has, which really sucks. Maybe that's all he needs, to know that someone else will step up to bat for him,” Tori offered.

Katya frowned. It was kind of true, Wulf had only ever had himself to depend on, and it was a very sweet sentiment. Which killed the whole idea before it could even get off the ground. Sweet and Wulf didn't mix. Orange juice and toothpaste were a better combination.

“I don't really know how to be this way. I mean, it was always an act,” Katya tried to explain.

“Bullshit. An act doesn't get two gorgeous guys falling all over themselves for you.”

“Ummm, there's a lot of gold diggers out there who would beg the differ.”

“That's my point – these guys don't want gold diggers, they would spot a faker a mile away. They reacted to
you
,
this
is the real you.
The Evolution of Katya Tocci
. Enjoy it. Embrace it. And then go get this guy, before you lose him for good.”

Sage words from a hungover bartender. Tori fell asleep soon after her grand speech, but Katya stayed awake for a while. Staring at the ceiling and still trying to figure out what the fuck she was going to do. She had one day before she had to go back to work, and she had a big week – she had to be on her A-game. She may have been taking steps towards realizing her entire life didn't need to revolve around her career, but she was also proud of what she did and she wanted to put out good work. People had booked her in good faith, she would not let them down.

I will not let these boys ruin me.