“Come on.” He winked. “I guarantee you’ll have a good time.”
Tanya stood, the effort to keep her smile in place making her cheeks ache. “I’m sure I would, but I make it a rule to never mix business with pleasure.”
He inched farther back in his seat. “And does that apply to your assistant, too?”
Tanya stared. Was this guy serious? “I can’t speak for my assistant. She’s free to date whomever she wants...but if whoever he is gives her any trouble, he’ll have me to answer to.” She flashed him a smile. “Okay?”
He grinned and pushed to his feet. “Got it.”
Once he was out the door and Tanya had firmly closed it behind him, she released her held breath. The sooner she got to the Seascape and warned Lucy about Mike Ellison’s intentions to ask her out, the better. The guy was way too creepy.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE RINGING OF Liam’s cell on his desk at home blasted through his concentration like a jet plane passing through the countryside. He flinched and glanced at his watch. Seven-thirty. Where had the day gone? He picked up the phone, whipped off his glasses and tossed them on the desk, pressing his fingers into his tired eyes. “Hello?”
“Liam? It’s Lucy.”
He opened his eyes, the urgency in her voice stiffening his shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Tanya. I’m worried she’s attracting some unwanted attention. You have to do something.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Mike Ellison is what I’m talking about.”
“Mike...” Liam frowned. “Do I know him? Whoever he is, what does he have to do with Tanya?”
“Well, if you don’t sort yourself out and realize just how perfect you and Tanya are together, this Mike Ellison...” She spat his name. “Could mean trouble for Tanya. Is that what you want?”
Liam froze. “What?”
“Look, I know what you and Tanya do is none of my business, but I really like her, Liam. I don’t want to see her having to deal with the likes of Mike Ellison.”
Liam clenched the phone. “Can you back up and tell me just who this guy is?”
“He came into the office this afternoon on some pretense of wanting to arrange a Halloween party at his club. He barely listened to a word Tanya said. It was so obvious he was there to ask her out. She’s a beautiful woman, Liam. Surely you know the men in the Cove will be asking her out sooner or later.”
Damn right I do. Jealousy rippled through him just as it had when Jay had said the same thing. “That doesn’t make things any clearer who this Mike Ellison is. I’ve never heard of him.”
“Apparently, Nick Carson gave him Tanya’s name.”
“Nick?”
“Yep. I left Ellison at the office with Tanya and she met me later at the Seascape, telling me he might well ask me out. Now I’m on high alert straightaway. What guy would choose me over Tanya, given the chance?”
“Hey, you’re beautiful, too, Luce. Don’t you go thinking anyone is better than you.”
“You know what I’m saying, Liam. Tanya told me she knocked him back. Now that either makes me second choice, or he has no intention of asking me out at all and said that to Tanya to throw her off his scent...which stinks to high heaven from where I’m standing.”
Liam frowned. “I don’t understand. If she’s already knocked him back, what’s the problem?”
“He didn’t look the type to take rejection easily.”
Protectiveness rose and burned through Liam’s chest. Tanya had told him enough about her life to worry him whether or not she could handle the likes of a guy refusing to take no for answer. Years ago, she would’ve chewed him up and spat him out without as much as a delicate belch. However, after her run-in with Russ Harwell, one more guy getting heavy-handed could be the excuse to send her running from the Cove again.
“Liam? Are you listening to me? We have to do something.”
Liam swiveled in his chair to stare out the window toward the darkened fields beyond. He gripped the phone. “What else did this guy have to say?”
“It wasn’t what he said that has me worried.”
“Then what?”
“I had a chill the minute he walked in, but I didn’t want him to know I was onto him, so I flashed him a smile, gave him the googly eyes men like that seem to like.”
Liam squeezed his eyes shut, his impatience wavering on a knife edge. “And?”
“And what I was really doing was watching his every move. Tanya took a phone call and the entire time she was speaking, he didn’t take his eyes off her. The look on his face was not the look of a man fancying someone, believe me.”
He opened his eyes, concern knotting in his chest as thoughts of Tanya’s anxiety, her pills and guilt over her mistakes whirled inside him. “What look?”
“Like he hated her.”
Liam stilled. “Hated her?”
“Yep.”
He clenched his jaw. “What did Mike Ellison look like, Luce?” The image of the man he and Tanya hoped was Davidson appeared in his mind’s eye. “Did he look anything like the man with Sasha in the photograph Scott gave you?”
“What?”
Liam gripped the phone tighter. “Did you look at Scott’s pictures?”
“Yes, but—”
“Did the one of a man with Sasha look anything like Ellison?”
“No. At least, I don’t think so.”
Unease continued to ripple through him, and Liam blew out a breath. “Okay, just leave it with me.”
“What are you going to do? Because whatever DI Garrett told Tanya this afternoon—”
“DI Garrett called Tanya?” Liam stilled.
“That’s who she was talking with on the phone when Mike Ellison was in the office flashing his eyes and pecs like an orangutan in heat.”
“What did Cat say to Tanya? Do you know?”
“No, but whatever it was, it was enough to make her mad. She got this look on her face like she couldn’t have cared less what anyone said or did, she was going to bust someone’s balls. I know she’s a determined lady, but—”
“Okay, leave it with me, Luce.” Liam pushed to his feet. “You were right to call me. I’ll speak to her.”
She exhaled. “Good, I don’t want this Ellison idiot hurting her. And, Liam?”
“Uh-huh.” He paced the space behind his desk, impatient to get off the phone and call Tanya. “What?”
“You won’t tell Tanya I called, will you? She won’t like me snitching on her...even if I am doing it for her own good.”
Liam smiled, despite the tension in his shoulders. “Don’t worry, I won’t breathe a word.”
“Thanks. You’re the best.”
The line went dead.
He immediately dialed Tanya’s number. It rang and rang, stretching his nerves tighter and tighter. At last, she picked up. “Liam.”
“Hi. How are you?” Slow and steady wins the race... He gripped the phone. “Sorry I haven’t been in touch, but you asked for some space and I wanted to resp—”
“So why are you calling now?” Her voice was colder than ice. “Please don’t tell me this has anything to do with Mike Ellison asking me out today.”
He grimaced. “Who’s Mike Ellison?”
She huffed out a laugh. “Don’t act the innocent, Liam Browne. You’re more stubborn than me. You would only call if something, like me dating someone, provoked you to do so. A little thing like Matt Davidson doesn’t seem that much of a concern to you, after all.”
Her accusation was like a flint to a flame and Liam glared. “Don’t say that. I’ve thought of little else all week. Did it ever occur to you that I stayed away to protect myself?”
“From what?”
“From you, Tanya.” But now, hearing her voice, her anger...and goddamn it, her pain, he had to go to her. Tonight. “I want to see you.”
“No.”
“Tanya—”
“DI Garrett called me today. Apparently, Davidson might be linked to another fair. I’m scared they’re going to miss something. Something crucial, that only I would know because of all Sasha told me about those three days she spent with Davidson. I shouldn’t have involved the police, Liam. I should’ve carried on looking for Davidson myself. Now that Cat Garrett’s involved, it makes me going after him ten times harder.”
His heart lurched at the pain in her voice, the desperation and heavy sense of disappointment. He pushed his hand into his hair as his gaze fell to his car keys. He swiped them from the desk. “Are you at Sasha’s?”
“Yes.”
“Stay there. I’m coming over.”
“Liam—”
He ended the call, halting her protestations, and strode from the room. Urging the dogs out into the garden, Liam bounced from one foot to the other as they did their business, his mind racing. One way or another, he would make sure Tanya suffered no more, that her fight for a better life didn’t end before it had even begun. He would help her find Davidson...and make sure Mike Ellison, and any other vulture, stayed the hell away from her.
He loved her, had always loved her—it was time he stepped up to the plate and bloody well owned it. Whether she ended up breaking his heart a second time, love meant taking risks, and to be with her, to have a chance of them being happy together, meant he had to put himself out there...had to make sure she knew he accepted her choice to leave years before. It was time they moved on. Time they did whatever it took to be happy.
* * *
TANYA PUT THE phone down and strode toward Sasha’s bedroom, mumbling and cursing. Having Liam at the apartment would only distract her, and she could not afford any more mistakes or waste any more time. Mike Ellison’s attention and abrupt switch to pursuing Lucy had veered Tanya’s annoyance off the scale. Did he really think she would stand by and not tell Lucy what kind of guy he was?
Thankfully, Lucy had been equally as wary of Ellison. Tanya smiled as pride for her young assistant bloomed. Who was to say she and Lucy hadn’t found a friend in each other? One they could trust and confide in for the coming months and years.
As for men? Tanya was done with all of them. Liam included. She had done everything she could think of to prove herself trustworthy, that she could put others above herself, yet still he chose to distrust her. She was proud of the changes she’d made. Proud of the realizations and lessons she’d learned. If Liam couldn’t support her, then she would continue to build relationships and trust in the Cove alone.
She whipped off her pajamas and changed into jeans and a tank top. She tugged down the top’s hem before marching to her dresser and snatching up a hairbrush. She yanked out her hair band and roughly drew the brush through her long hair, relishing each painful stroke.
Frustration tore through her. No more waiting. No more standing back. It was time Matt Davidson was found. Whatever Liam had to say, his words wouldn’t stop her from heading straight out the door once he’d left.
She would go to Funland and if she found nothing there, she would drive to Latchford and then on to Parmouth.
The buzzing of the apartment intercom shook Tanya from her thoughts and, inhaling a deep breath, she left the bedroom. She pulled open the front door.
She tried and failed not to be shaken by the expression of cool determination on Liam’s face. The fiery glint in his eyes brooked no argument and her renewed strength wavered.
She couldn’t let him see how much he unnerved her. He couldn’t suspect how many times she yearned to have him look at her with the same tenderness he had the last time he was in the apartment...with her lying beneath him.
Clearing her throat, she waved her hand to the side. “You’d better come in.”
“Thanks.” He strode past her into the apartment.
She closed the door. Her fragile pride was barely there, her heart a mess...and Liam held the power to make or break her. No amount of self-forgiveness could heal the fact his complete rejection of her would obliterate all hope that she could gain forgiveness, rebuild broken friendships and start over.
Taking a strengthening breath, she turned.
He had his hands stuffed into his pockets, his gaze steadfastly focused on her mantel and a framed photograph of her and Sasha standing with their arms around each other on Cowden Beach. They must have been eleven and thirteen at the time. Probably one of the last times she remembered her sister being truly happy; the last time, for a long time, that Tanya had cared that she was.
“Liam? Are you okay?” Shame at her previous self-involvement and the pain it had caused those she loved brought the threat of tears. She quickly blinked them away.
He stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable, before he turned and lifted the photograph from the fireplace. Tanya’s heart picked up speed. What was it about that photograph drawing his attention?
He traced his finger first over her face and then Sasha’s. He exhaled. “Are you ready to go?”
She stiffened. “What?”
He flicked his gaze to hers. “Do you really think I’m going to leave here and have you go to Latchford or anywhere else alone?”
She crossed her arms to hide her trembling and to give the impression of authority. “Yes, because that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
“No, it’s not. You know it, and so do I.”
Damn it. She walked across the room and picked up her purse, hitching the strap onto her shoulder with trembling hands. She grabbed her keys from the counter and clutched them so tightly the metal dug into her palm. Now Liam was there, she didn’t want to go to Funland without him. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go anywhere without him ever again.
She could keep telling herself she didn’t want Liam, but she did. So much. Whenever he was with her, he made her stronger, happier; made her feel she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. His kindness, integrity, wisdom and innate fight for justice—both in and out of the courtroom—forced Tanya to accept she kept everything that could make her happy at arm’s length.
Her heart thundered. “You’re not being fair to me.”
“What?”
She swallowed against the dryness in her throat. “I’m trying to wait for your trust, but it’s too damn hard. I haven’t the right to demand it so quickly. Two weeks is all the time we’ve had together.”
“True, but anything could happen between us in two months or two years.”
The softness in his tone, the confidence, yanked at her stomach. “I need your forgiveness, Liam. I’m sorry, but I do. I told Lucy her father should wait until it was given, yet I’m impatient for yours.” Her voice cracked. “Maybe I haven’t changed so much, after all.”
“You’ve changed plenty.”
He stepped toward her and she raised her hand. “The only thing I really have to fear is hurting you again. You’re worth so much more than my hope of continuing on a better path for the rest of my life. What if I never get off my pills? What if I do and my anxiety comes back worse than before? Would I stay or flee Templeton again? I don’t have the answers to any of this stuff.”
“Neither do I.”
His careful, beautiful, knowledgeable eyes locked on hers and Tanya cursed the longing to kiss him, hold him and love him as it rose up to cruelly pinch her heart.
She cleared her throat, desperately pulling up her defenses rather than falling into the love she so desperately wanted. “Did you have something to tell me?”
Hating the coldness in her voice, but knowing enforcing distance was paramount to the safety of both their hearts, Tanya forced her shoulders back. “Or are y
ou here with an explanation of why you needed to see me despite it having nothing to do with Mike Ellison’s timely proposal of a date?”
He smiled that half smile that never failed to curl her toes. She looked to the fireplace. “If that’s all you came over to say, you need to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She snapped her head around and he grinned at her.
Goddamn it.
She tilted her chin and fought her smile, pathetically unable to quash the happiness that squeezed around her heart because he was here when she needed him most—again. “Davidson could be in Parmouth.”
The shine in his eyes dimmed. “Did Cat tell you that?”
“Yes.”
He returned the photograph to the mantel. “Then we’ll go to Funland and pay another visit to my friend. I’m pretty sure he knows more than he’s saying. I’ll put a pound to a penny that if the police already know another possible hole where Davidson could be hiding, so does Abe Hall.”
Gratitude that the no-nonsense facet of Liam’s personality was 100 percent at the forefront swept over her and Tanya slumped. She really didn’t possess the strength—or inclination—to argue. “Okay.”
His smile was slow—and incredibly sexy—as he came toward her, his eyebrows raised. “Okay? No arguments?”
Her gaze fell to his mouth. “The plan was to argue, but now that you’re here...”
He stepped closer. “Now that I’m here what?”
She lifted her gaze to his. “Now that you’re here I’m tired of fighting you. I want you there with me.”
“In Funland...or everywhere?”
Her heart turned over. “What happened to giving each other space? One step at a time?”
“I’m tired of one step at a time, aren’t you?”
He leaned in and covered her mouth with his before she could respond. Nerves and tension, love and fear flowed through her body, yet she lifted her hands and gripped his biceps. She held him and kissed him as though she never wanted to let him go.
The surrender when it came was in its entirety.
They parted and he slipped his hands from her waist and took her hand in his. “You got everything you need?”
Her Hometown Redemption Page 23
