Usually, he experienced a sense of triumph at circumnavigating a system’s security protocols; this time he just felt hollow. He had a knack for finding weaknesses, a knack that had made him a millionaire by the time he was twenty-three and a billionaire at twenty-eight. All his money hadn’t been able to save Marcus, so it was useless as far as he was concerned.
Closing his eyes, the image of Lorelei’s face was there again, taunting him. Her full lips slightly open, inviting his kiss, her green eyes clear and bright, laughing at something he said. Long, silky brown hair framed her flawless face. He clenched his jaw.
He thrust his chair back and returned to the living room. A photo of Marcus holding his first published book stood on the mantel. Liam picked it up and stared into his brother’s face. This is for you, brother. I hope you knew what you were asking.
…
Lorelei stared at the cracked plaster ceiling above her bed. If she didn’t have a death grip on her grandmother’s hand-quilted bedspread to anchor her to reality, she’d float up to the overhead light. She’d flopped there after arriving home from her disaster-turned-dream date. She couldn’t believe the evening had turned out so well.
She flipped over and grabbed her laptop from her bag by the bed. She opened it and waited for it to boot up. This time, she was determined to be sensible, not let herself be used just so she wasn’t alone. A friend had once suggested that because she had no relationship with her father, she sought approval from other men. She’d dismissed the accusation at the time, but after the disaster with Barry she had done a lot of thinking. Barry had always made the decisions about where they’d go, what they’d do. At first she’d told herself she liked that he was decisive and manly. Now, she realized he was selfish and conniving. If she wanted a man to respect her, she had to respect herself first.
The familiar sound of Skype loading told her she’d connected to the Internet. She searched the name Liam Mackenzie only to find a couple sparse social media profiles, a few photos of someone riding a dirt bike with a helmet on, which she assumed was him, and a couple of papers he’d written on security programming. Under “employment status” it said contractor for IWC Security. Maybe if she got a chance she could ask him about William Manning, the CEO. There was no indication of a girlfriend, a wife, or any known criminal activity. She searched Mrs. Liam Mackenzie just to be sure, but nothing came up. Liam had a job and a sense of humor, and he’d treated her like a perfect gentleman. Her mom would love him.
Lorelei groaned. For Díos’s sake, she was a twenty-eight-year-old woman, not some flighty teenager. Still, her heart raced when she thought of seeing Liam again tomorrow. She needed someone to talk sense into her. Her three close friends from Buffalo were all on vacation. She was supposed to have gone with them, but it was yet another thing Barry had screwed up. When she’d been offered the lifeline of the job here in San Francisco it hadn’t seemed the time to ask if it could wait until she got back from vacation.
Rolling off her bed, she found her cell phone and sent a text to Mandy to see if she was still awake. Within a minute her friend replied. Rather than have a conversation via smiley faces, she called her number.
“How’d it go with the globe-trotting architect? Are you going to have beautiful babies together?”
“He didn’t show,” Lorelei said. She’d forgotten about Richard.
“Dog. I’m sorry, sweetie. There’ll be another guy. Maybe a trip to Europe will help.”
“No need. I met someone else.” She couldn’t help the triumph in her voice.
“You picked up some guy in the bar?”
“Technically, he picked me up.”
“Is he there now?” Mandy whispered as if afraid to be heard by Lorelei’s date.
“No, of course not. What kind of girl do you think I am?” Actually, since Mandy knew about Barry, she probably thought Lorelei was easy. She wouldn’t be, not this time. Then an image of Liam with a mischievous smile on his face flitted through her mind and her knees went weak.
“Well, I was hoping one of us might see some action this weekend. So, who is he?”
“His name’s Liam.” Lorelei caught herself twirling a lock of hair around her finger. Díos, next thing she’d be writing Mrs. Lorelei Mackenzie in her math book.
“And?”
“And he works for IWC Security. So I may ask him about William Manning, see if I can get some info on him to use for future reference.”
“Forget work. What’s Liam like?”
“He’s gorgeous, and kind and considerate and not married. Definitely not married,” Lorelei said.
“Sounds too good to be true.”
“Yeah, he does, doesn’t he?” Maybe her luck had changed. There was the eternal optimist again.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you had a good time. See you Monday.”
“Then I can tell you about our date tomorrow,” Lorelei said.
“What? You’re seeing him again tomorrow?”
“Yup, he’s taking me on a tour of San Francisco.”
“You go, girl.”
“Do you think I’m being a bit rash?” So much for getting some sense knocked into her. Mandy was no help. Lorelei climbed off the bed and paced the floor from the bedroom to the kitchen. Ten steps. Pacing wasn’t going to ease her restlessness. A two-mile jog wouldn’t ease her restlessness.
“You’re asking the woman who agreed to marry a man she’d only known for two weeks. I don’t think I’m the one to lecture you on taking things slow.”
“So you don’t think I’m being overhasty or appear too eager?”
“How do you feel?”
Lorelei heaved a sigh. “Like I’m walking on clouds.”
“Well, be careful, sweetie. It’s a long fall from the clouds. And to be safe, insist on using public transit and only to places with lots of people. And call me when you get back.”
“Okay. ’Night, Mandy.”
Lorelei hung up and resumed staring at the ceiling. If she closed her eyes she could still see Liam’s face, the dimple that appeared in his left cheek when he smiled and the way his brown eyes melted when he gazed at her. Damn, this wasn’t helping.
She’d just give in to the fantasy. Tonight she was going to dream of a tall, dark, handsome stranger who wined and dined her, then disappeared into the night. Tomorrow, she’d find out more about him and if she could trust him. Díos, she hoped she could trust him.