A Second Chance (20 page)

‘Oh no, not that
.
’ Rocco must have read her mind, for he laughed out loud, his blond hair shining in the light of the lamps overhead. ‘Liam would never let anyone manipulate him into something he doesn’t want
.
Y
ou know that better than
I
, if you
‘ve been
friends as long as he claims.’

She must have looked confused, because he explained, his voice getting slightly rougher as he went on
,
‘No, it
’
s something different. You see
,
Liam went through a lot last year, really bad stuff. I
’
m not in
a
position to talk about his private things, so you would have to ask him if you want to know more, Jade. But let’s just say that it made him feel very guilty
,
and he blamed himself for lots of things that weren’t really his fault. His
ex
-
boss, Melissa’s father
,
had just suffered a second heart attack and was a real mess, almost gone. Mel is his only child, from his third marriage
,
and he loves her like crazy. She… had always had a thing for Liam, but he was with someone else at that time, so she kept it together. After…
’
He
hesitated briefly, as if trying to decide how far could he go with his story without betraying his friend
’
s confidence. ‘
After
… his relationship didn’t work out, Mel was
t
here. Waiting for the right moment, always available. I have a strong suspicion that she got into this whole business of working as an agent with
the
sole purpose
of getting
close to Liam.’

Jade
was doubtful
,
and it must have
show
n
. Rocco grinned at her, his white teeth flashing in the darkness
.

‘Crazy stuff, I know
,
but I
’
ve watched her all this time and am pretty sure that she is hoping to finally get him,
her patience paying off in the end. He hired her as a favor to her father, nothing else.
Th
e
little devil has her dad wrapped around her finger
,
and it didn’t take much for her to convince him it would be a great start for her career. And Liam, being a gentleman as always, felt as if he owed him a lot. Enough to allow Mel to take care of his business, which was a great mistake. She is brilliant as an agent, I will grant her that
,
but as you will soon see, this isn’t exactly the job she had hoped for when Liam took her on. Just a stepping stone to becoming Mrs. Liam Latimer, I would say
.
’

The
music
had
stopped
,
and Jade realized that she had been so engrossed in Rocco’s story she
hadn’t
stop
ped
moving to the
absent
rhythm
.

‘Hey, I didn’t know I
could
be so
spell
-
b
i
nding
,
L
ove
.
’ Rocco laughed at her good naturedly, his wide grin begging to be returned. ‘
If
I had
that
idea, I would get way many more girls
.’

She couldn’t help but laugh along,
her smile
still there as they returned to the table. She felt Rocco’s hand pulling her and didn’t mind one bit, the touch of his fingers nothing more
than
a reassuring gesture. One that she needed, she realized as they approached Liam and Melissa
.
A
pair of large blue eyes
look
ed
at her with such undisguised hostility
,
she was grateful for the warmth of Rocco’s palm.

‘Here you finally are
.
’ Liam was smiling, but she knew him enough to read the signs in his face. There was a certain aloofness around his mouth and in the depth of his dark eyes, his easy
-
going good humor giving way to a more distant person.
He lifted himself from his chair in one fluid movement, visibly relieved with the distraction their return had created.

‘Miss
ed
us?’ Rocco didn’t seem to mind, his blue eyes sparkling challengingly as he nodded to Melissa
.
‘Hi, Mel. Nice to see you. What a coincidence, I’ll say
.
’

It was clear that h
e
was making fun of her and the fact that she had come here because of Liam.
Jade watched with fascination as the other woman smiled back, her lovely face pure winter.

‘
Yes
, I was just telling Liam that it must have been some telepathic connection between us. Like something kept telling me
that
I should
be
here tonight
.
’

She
turned to Jade, her move dazedly swift. It
made
Jade
think of a snake, the less than flattering comparison making her feel guilty. Melissa was certainly nothing short of a beauty, her long blond
hair,
delicate features
,
and slender, long
-
legged body light
years
from anything even remotely reptile
-
like. Still
,
there was something unsettling in her gaze, a kind of a focused and highly charged stillness as she surveyed Jade with
an
icy
expression
that made her think of a creature ready to attack its
pr
e
y
.

‘You
’
re Laura’s
friend,
right?’
An innocent enough
question, something anyone could ask, Jade thought as she struggled to answer. She didn’t want to be considered a
tongue-tied
country
b
umpkin
,
after all. But the tone of Melissa’s voice made her falter momentarily, the barely veiled hostility in the depths of the azure eyes sending shivers down her spine.

‘Not only Laura’s
,’
Liam intercepted, his arm sneaking around Jade’s shoulders as he pulled her to him with an almost possessive gesture. ‘
We
’
ve been friends for as long as I can remember.’

A dangerous statement, Jade thought as she felt his warmth penetrating her skin, all her pores taking it in like parched land soaking up drops of rain after a long draught. He was close enough for her head to
nestle
against his shoulder, fitting perfectly into his tall frame. She could have sworn that she could feel his heart beating against her
shoulder blades
, a steady, calm thud that resonated in her whole being.
It felt right, she thought suddenly, aware of the futility to pursue
th
at
thought. She knew exactly what had propelled
his
sudden need for physical touch, the reality of the purpose of his arm around her tainting the sheer pleasure of being close.

It
had
worked
;
she could tell by the way the other woman glared at her, her lips tightening into a line
,
turning her lovely face almost ugly. There was some truth in saying that
a
smile could open any door and frowns closed many, Jade thought
,
amused.
Liam’s proximity made her braver, the
warmth of his firm body
against her skin calming any
concern
s
she had experienced just seconds before.

‘Yes, I am
,
’ she answered calmly, smiling and offering her hand in a friendly gesture. ‘
I’
m Jade, nice to meet you.’

Slim, red tipped fingers brushed against her skin, barely touching her before dropping
away
as if she
w
ere
something to be absolutely avoided. Assessing eyes went over her hair, face
,
and figure
—
checking out the competition, Jade thought
,
t
ryi
ng very hard not to do the same.

Instead
,
she
turned to Rocco
,
who was watching the scene with
the
expression of a man
who enjoyed
seeing
someone he detested
being put
into
her
place.
‘
If
you need any stories from Liam’s childhood
,
let me know
,’ she said
.
‘
Not that I
’m
as great
a storyteller as you
are,
but
I remember a few things he did that
you can use to keep him grounded
,
if needed.’

Both men laughed,
and she felt
the vibrations in Liam’s chest as he chuckled and shook his head in playful desperation
.
‘No way, that would go against every rule of loyalty, Jade.
Whatever happened has to stay hidden, just between you and me
.
’

He
was still holding her, his nearness playing havoc with her senses. She wondered how much longer
he planned
on putting on this show
for
Melissa’s benefit. Because she knew it was exactly that, Liam’s gesture meant to annoy the other woman and maybe send her home
, his behavior
made her angry, furious even. She knew that Liam wouldn’t do it if he had
any
inkling
how incredibly ironic his embrace really was. He
had never been
th
at
type of a person. Still, he was using her as a pawn in his game with Melissa, and she rebelled, her chin going up.

‘
Really
?’ she asked, her sweet smile not quite reaching her eyes as she looked up into his
dark
gaze
.
‘
E
verything
? ‘

‘Especially…
everything
.
’
H
is
eyes locked with hers for a second or two, and suddenly the whole club disappeared, as
a
loud rush of blood
pound
ed
in her temples. Deep in his gaze was something familiar and strange at the same time, something she had remembered from twelve years ago and had
never
quite forgotten. Like a spark of fire under
the
ashes
of
a sleeping volcano,
something dark and mysterious flickered in his eyes, bringing back the memories of his mouth on hers, hard and demanding, hotter than
the
midday sun. It disappeared almost instantly, but she was certain
she had
seen it, her knees suddenly weak and body shaking. Which wasn’t so great
,
because he was still holding her and
,
as such
,
was aware of her sudden weakness, impossible to disguise.

‘Well, I had no idea you had such great friends back home, Liam
,
’ Melissa pouted, her voice carrying just the right amount of
dis
dain
to make
it clear
she didn’t consider
J
ade anything even remotely worth the title. But her inspection
of Jade
must have satisfied her
,
as well
—
Jade’s lack of glamour smoothing out her feathers
—
because she grinned and offered
,
‘
Why
don’t we
do some
club hopping tonight? Liam and
I
and Rocco and Jade?’
B
atting
her impossibly long lashes innocently, she looked at Liam, her face a perfect mix of hope and
promise. She
was making sure that there was a clear division between the two couples,
she
and Liam safely apart from Rocco and Jade.