A few curious glances drifted in our direction.
“Brody, will you just stop.” My voice turned pleading. “You’re making a scene. Let’s just go,” I said as a half-dozen wide-eyed faces continued to stare. “Take me home now. Please.”
Brody studied me in silence for a long, hard moment, then seemed to make a decision. Reluctantly, he backed away from me and unlocked his car.
I opened the door and got in without another word.
Brody slid behind the wheel, switched on the ignition and floored it, leaving skid marks all over the road.
The tension in the car coiled within me like a living thing.
Meanwhile, Brody did over a hundred miles per hour on an open stretch of highway, keeping his foot heavy on the accelerator.
“Brody!” I gripped the sides. “Slow down.”
“I told you not to wear that dress.” He slammed the stick shift and pressed the pedal farther to the floorboard. “I told you it’s too short. Makes you look like a fuckin’ slut.”
“Brody, please.” A tight knot formed in my chest. “Don’t start this again.”
But he wouldn’t stop. His rage rolled off him in waves, and he carried on ranting even as he pulled his car into my driveway. “Who were you trying to impress with that dress anyway, huh? Him?” He slammed on the brakes, jerking the wheels. “If you didn’t dress like a fuckin’ slut, none of this would have happened.”
I turned to glare at him as I inched out of the passenger seat. “Don’t you turn around and blame this on me.”
“I can blame whoever the fuck I want and—”
I didn’t want to hear any more. Tuning him out, I got out of the car, slammed the door behind me with deliberate force, and flew down the flagstone path.
Brody caught up to me as I was wrestling with the lock. “Good-bye, Brody.” I pushed open the front door and threw a pointed look over my shoulder. “You’re not coming in tonight.”
“The hell I am.” He jammed his fist against the door and leaned a shoulder against the doorpost. “I’m not letting you spend the night alone with lover boy.”
“Please,” I shushed. “Will you lower your voice?”
“I don’t trust him!” Brody continued yelling in a breaking voice. “And I don’t care if he’s your brother’s friend.”
“I’ve known Liam for years.” I kept my voice calm even though I was slowly unraveling on the inside. “He’s practically family to me.”
Brody raised one sardonic brow at me. “How well can you actually know him? Huh? I’ve never seen him around and out of the blue, he shows up on your front doorstep and you take him in like some stray cat.”
“It wasn’t out of the blue. I knew he’d be staying here. Julian told me about it.”
“Julian’s not even here,” he shot back. “Why the hell do you have to babysit his friend?”
“Will you stop making this about Liam and my brother? This is about us.”
“You always do this.” Brody’s voice was now magnified. “It’s always my fault.”
“Please, Brody. Please, stop doing this. Just do yourself a favor and go home.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not leaving without you.”
Squaring my shoulders, I stood my ground. “And I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Why do you have to be so difficult?” His anger spiked and he turned even more spiteful. “That’s why your ex left you. And that’s why your parents left you.”
His words caught me sharply in the chest, driving a wedge between my ribs. I knew he’d be spiteful, but I hadn’t expected him to go this far. “Don’t you … don’t you dare bring my parents into this.”
“It was just a joke.” He laughed—a harsh, humorless sound. “God, you can be so sensitive at times.”
A lump rose in my throat and I swallowed hard around it. “It wasn’t funny, Brody. It was cruel.”
“Aw, c’mon, Viv.” He skewed me a glance that was both mocking and defiant. “You know I was just joking. Lighten up a little. You take things way too seriously.”
“I do not.” My words came out in a whisper.
“You do!” He pushed an envelope of air through his teeth, a sharp, disgusted sound. “All you want to do is argue with me.”
“I ... I’m not trying to.” I paused to gain control of my faltering voice. “I’m just trying to explain—”
“You are! You’re always making a big fucking deal out of nothing.”
At this point I was so exhausted that I could hardly think. And I most certainly didn’t have the energy to fight the fight Brody clearly wanted to have right now.
“Brody, please go home. We’ll talk tomorrow, all right? I’ll call you in the morning,” I said in an attempt to placate him.
“No! We are going to talk now.”
Blood rushed through my veins, and every muscle in my body was taut with nerves.
“Is everything okay, Vivian?” The voice came from behind, rapid and insistent.
I pivoted. Liam cut purposefully across the living room, advancing on us like a sheriff with guns blazing. The rumpled state of his dark hair gave the impression that he’d just climbed out of bed. Even so, he had an air about him that showed he clearly meant business.
In several long strides, Liam covered the distance between us. “You okay, Viv?” he asked again.
“Yes.” I tried to keep my voice calm and steady. “Everything’s fine.”
Liam looked from me to Brody. Then his gaze lingered on me for a moment. “You sure?” he asked, and I didn’t miss the deep concern in his voice.
“Yes,” I assured him again. “I know we were being loud and I’m so sorry we woke you up. You can go back to bed now, everything’s all right.”
“Yeah,” Brody added insidiously. “Go back to bed, this doesn’t concern you. At all.”
Liam drew to his full height, and he stood nearly a head taller than Brody. “If it concerns Vivian, then it concerns me.”
The two men continued staring at each other as if neither was particularly impressed with what they saw.
I watched the exchange with nervous eyes, noticing the steely line of Brody’s jaw as he held his anger in check.
Light years later, Brody’s sharp gaze landed on me and I winced slightly. The look he gave me had all the force of a physical blow. “Viv, we’ll talk tomorrow.” Then he fixed Liam with a cold and slashing look before storming off.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Liam called after his retreating back. “On second thought,” he added, almost as an afterthought, “let it hit you.”
Brody slammed the door shut so violently it almost came off its hinges.
Seconds later, I heard the sound of an engine starting up, followed by tires screeching on tar. Then there was nothing but silence.
Too disoriented, I stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the front door, wondering, What the hell had just happened?
I really didn’t know how to feel. Didn’t really know what to think.
I guess you could say I was in shock.
My head throbbed as I tried to process it all, to make some sense out of it, replaying in my mind what Brody had said, and what I had said to make him so mad.
Maybe Brody was right. If only I hadn’t worn this stupid dress then none of this would have happened. We would have had a perfectly lovely evening.
No drama. No outbursts. No fights.
This dress … I sighed again, then glanced down, smoothing out the creases and wrinkles.
Perhaps it was a little on the short side, but it was tasteful. Despite what Brody had said, I still thought it was a pretty dress… light, airy, ethereal.
In time, I felt rather than heard Liam come up behind me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked gently. I felt the warm weight of his hand on my shoulder. It felt safe. Comforting. More than ever, it made me realize how much I’d missed his presence.
“I’m fine,”
I said softly, feeling tears prick my eyes. “I’m fine,” I repeated to reinforce the notion, angling my head to the left so he couldn’t see the dark mascara tears that streaked down the length of my face like black rain.
**End of excerpt. To purchase a copy of Vivian’s List, please visit Amazon US or Amazon UK or the other Amazon online stores.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is dedicated to my mom, and to all the single moms out there pulling double duty.
Special thanks also goes to:
D. Grasnick
H. Moody
and the fabulous Nicola Rhead at http://nicolarheadediting.com
Julian's Pursuit Page 25
