Page 10 of The Mood Board

I had to bite my lip to keep from shaking my head, trying to shake away the thoughts. Since I had received the blackmail letter, it had thrown me off balance. Along with everything else, I’d had to contend with old patterns popping up, throwing me into downward spirals of self-conscious panic.

It hadn’t made for a wonderful few weeks, mentally.

“Bailey.”

Liam’s shout from his office caught both of our attention. I looked to find him in the doorway of his office, an enormous grin on his face, waving me over.

Jordan chuckled and shook her head. “See you later, Bailey.”

“Bye, Jordan,” I replied as she moved toward her office while I crossed toward Liam’s. Most employees had already left for the day, but a few in the open office setup waved as I passed. I waved back, but my eyes were only for Liam.

Whatever we had been going through the past weeks, my heart still skipped a beat whenever I saw him after an absence, whether at work or simply in his home office for a few hours.

I still wasn’t sure how I had gotten the attention of someone like Liam—tall, ridiculously good-looking with his height, swimmer’s body, tousled hair, and boyish grin. But what I loved most was how his personality, bright, sunny positivity, and joy for life radiated from him.

Owning and running a business in the world he did, working as much as he did, with the tragedies he had faced, Liam could have been an entirely different person. He could have been anxious, angry, demanding, arrogant. Instead, he had chosen kindness and optimism.

He was the sunshine I had needed in my life, the joy, positivity, and love. The endless, radiant love. I still felt terrible for having doubted him, for letting my shadows wrap me up again until I had suspected the person I could believe in more than anyone else in my life. Seeing him look so bleak, first from the letter and then from my lack of trust, had nearly shattered my heart. I rarely saw such a look of misery on his face.

But in true Liam fashion, he had forgiven me. And despite a lack of resolution to the issue within the letter, he was back to his bright, cheerful self.

He greeted me with an enormous hug and kiss on the lips—PDA never affected him where I was concerned.

“Hi,” Liam said, smiling down at me, still holding me close. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” I replied, feeling goofy with my love for him.

Before I could say more, he released me from his arms only to take my hand and pull me into his office. He stopped, and I skittered to a halt, my gaze on the woman standing in the center of the room.

She was tall, elegant, and willowy, her expensive suit as perfectly pressed and presented as if it was on a model in a magazine shoot. The woman had slicked back her thick, red hair into a long ponytail, and she watched me with green eyes and an impassive expression. She oozed sophistication and authority in a way I could never hope to get close to.

Under that cool gaze, I suddenly felt two feet tall and like a frumpy troll.

Liam didn’t notice my discomfort and indicated the woman with a wave. “I know I’ve been talking about her at home, but Bailey, this is Janelle Moynihan, our new chief information officer. Janelle, this is my fiancée, Bailey Page.”

She reached out a long-fingered hand to me, which I took after a hard swallow, and we shook. The smile she offered me was warm, but I couldn’t help but notice that the emotion didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Bailey. Liam talks about you all the time.”

Again, the woman’s words were warm and friendly, but there was something brittle about her tone and her smile. Then again, it was subtle enough that I wasn’t even sure I was seeing it, which meant it was probably my own reaction—I was imagining things because I wanted to find something wrong with her.

Because I couldn’t believe this was the woman Liam had been coming home and talking about. It had been one thing when she kept coming up in conversation, but to see her in person in all her beautiful, sophisticated glory was entirely another.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, too, Janelle,” I replied, putting on a smile I didn’t feel. “From what everyone has said, you seem like a wonderful addition to the team.”

“We’re working things out around here” was the cool reply, her perfect, red lips curling up into a smile that, again, my imagination turned into something less friendly and more sinister.

That letter really was affecting me—I had to get it out of my head. If everyone else liked her, I could, too. I refused to be the jealous, petty girlfriend. That had never been me, and I wouldn’t start now.

Liam looked at his watch and then back at the two of us. “We’d better get to dinner, Bailey. Sorry to duck out, Janelle, but we can’t miss those reservations. Are you okay to finish our conversation tomorrow?”

We had booked time in our schedule for dinner this week and swore nothing short of a natural disaster could stop us—we both knew we needed the time together. I stepped back toward him and was gratified when, even in front of Janelle, he slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. Then again, Janelle had to have seen his greeting and the kiss that went along with it.

“Of course,” she said graciously. “Can’t be late for reservations at Farmstead. I’ll see you tomorrow, Liam. Bailey, again, it was nice to meet you.”

With that, Janelle strode out, her long strides taking her quickly from our sight. It was terrible the relief I felt not to be standing in the same room with her.

Liam still didn’t seem to notice and chatted all the way to the car—he had taken me to work, and I’d asked Kristen to drop me off on her way home, knowing about dinner tonight.