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He blinked at her, then nodded and climbed out, shutting the passenger door without a word. She bit her bottom lip as she watched him stride away, his usually smooth, predatory steps looking stiff and wooden.
She resisted jumping out of the car and running after him, resisted trying to support him when he was so clearly vulnerable. But what was she to him, really? She’d been his lover for exactly two nights. They might not be strangers physically, but they very much were in every other way.
He had his brothers there to console him.
So why was her heart so heavy when she pulled back out onto the road and drove back to the building where he lived? Damn it, she’d been second-guessing everything since Liam had come into her life, and her feelings—and his—were at the top of that heap.
She was blessedly numb by the time she turned into the underground parking lot. A minute later she stepped into the elevator, gripping her clutch bag as she ascended smoothly to the top of the building.
She stepped into the sitting room that Liam shared with his brothers, then threw herself onto one of its buttery lounges. Who had she been kidding? She couldn’t possibly go into Liam’s penthouse alone. If she couldn’t support him by visiting his sister in the hospital with him, she most certainly didn’t deserve to enter his home.
She didn’t belong here.
She ran trembling fingers up and down her legs, wishing then she’d thrown on one of her everyday pair of jeans. Instead she’d chosen a white mini-skirt, a pink button-up blouse and white boots.
The longer she sat the more she berated herself, her eyes becoming gritty from forcing back tears. Liam deserved better. She was no good for him, now or in the future.
She pushed to her feet. She needed something strong to drink, but she’d settle for a coffee. It was something of a relief to find a seat in the open air Garden Café Restaurant, where a balding man brought her the coffee she’d requested and put it down in front of her along with a muffin.
He smiled at her, his bushy, silver eyebrows drawn together. “I brought you one of my famous choc-chip muffins—on the house,” he added. “You looked like you might need some comfort food.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him, his kind gesture undoing some of the tight knots inside.
He took a step back and beamed. “You’re welcome, young lady.”
“Please, call me Harper.”
“Ah.” He nodded sagely. “You’re the woman Liam bid on.”
“How did you know?”
He chuckled. “You mean besides hearing your name just now? Your hair was a bit of a giveaway. There aren’t too many strawberry blondes around here.”
She touched some of the loose ends. She should have worn her hair up, but she’d barely had time to get dressed and organize for her neighbor to feed Tibbles once again. “I guess you’d hear a lot of gossip.”
He nodded. “Folks like to talk, especially the staff. If they can’t find anything inflammatory about one other, they like nothing better than to gossip about their notorious bosses.” He pushed a hand over his bald head. “Most of the women who work here have had a crush on at least one of the brothers. Being that Liam was the last bachelor...well, let’s just say there were a lot of disappointed sighs.”
She shook her head. “Liam is a free agent.”
“Is he?”
She took a sip of her coffee. Damn, there was nothing like specially blended and freshly ground coffee beans to lift her spirits. She put her cup back down, then looked at the man who appeared to have doubts about Liam’s bachelor status. “I’m nothing more to him than a passing interest.”
“Then I guess that makes you a free agent, too?”
She jerked her head around, her eyes widening at seeing the suave man behind her. “Sheikh Korian! I-I didn’t realize you were here.”
He smiled. “It wasn’t my intention to scare you.” He nodded at the seat opposite her. “Do you mind?”
“No. No, of course not. Please, take a seat.”
“You’re too kind,” Korian said with an even wider smile. He nodded at the bald man who appeared frozen in place. “Hi Ned, I’ll have what she’s having.”
“Of course,” the other man—Ned—said, bowing a little before he turned and hurried back to the café hut.
Korian turned his attention back to her. “I hope I’m not being presumptuous here, but if I’d won that bid I would never have let you out of my sight.”
“The bid was only for one night,” she reminded him.
