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Chapter One
Silver
There is a rule when you are single. The one time you go to the grocery store with crazy hair, no make-up and rumpled, old, mismatched sweats, you will see your dream man. Or your Ex. This may or may not be the same man. And with absolute certainty, he will be directly behind you in line. And he will want to strike up an enthusiastic conversation with you the minute he notices you.
Meanwhile, the person in front of you has asked for a price check on twelve different cans of cat food. This happens when you are locked in a line a mile long because everyone else has just got off work. Everyone except you because you are unemployed and therefore no longer have a sense of time. Instead, you have become a couch potato complete with ratty plaid pajamas, which you wear until dinner time when you may or may not shower.
And that’s not all. You have memorized the entire schedule of all daytime soap operas. You know that Brett’s baby isn’t really his and scream at the TV every time his ex-wife Tiffany reminds him of his duties as a father to his beautiful son, who you (and apparently no one else on the show) notice looks nothing like Brett. You hiss every time Tiffany appears on TV while you snack on stale corn chips, no longer worried about crumbs on your sofa since you’ve already spilled chocolate milk, red wine and soda on it, so what are a few more crumbs going to do?
All of this, the man of your dreams, your ex and the crazy cat lady in front of you, will happen on a day so bad that you were praying you would not run into anyone you knew while you picked up the essential bottle of cheap red wine and a frozen pizza. This will only happen when you are single. But it will happen. I guarantee. Every single time.
Today it happened to me. Only he was not my dream man. He was my greatest foe. My staunch enemy. My forever nemesis. My… well, you get the picture. Liam Cameron was the last person on earth I ever wanted to see. Ever. But today, especially.
You see, Liam was also my Ex. My wildly successful Ex with a huge house, a huge bank account and an even bigger… uh, you get the idea. He was well endowed with just about everything you would ever want in life to make you happy.
And I, as fate would have it, was the complete opposite. At least at the moment. The gods of fate and fortune had not been kind to me of late, but that didn’t mean I was going down without a fight. There was no way in hell I was going to talk to Liam, so I ducked down as if I was picking up some loose change I’d dropped. I’d stay down and out of sight until the cat lady was gone and then-
“Hey! Is that you, Silver?”
“Oh God, no. Just no,” I whispered under my breath. This absolutely cannot be happening.
“Silver Warren?”
Please no. Just for once, let me be invisible.
“Silver!”
Damn it. He could still see me? What I wouldn’t give for one of those invisibility cloaks right now. Those were real, right?
Someone stabbed my shoulder with a sharp object. “Ow!”
“Ma’am, someone is calling you.” The clerk had bent down and jabbed me on the shoulder with her three-inch-long fake nails, like a woodpecker on steroids. I was simulating picking up something I’d pretended to drop. And found three quarters and at least a dozen pennies in the process, which I began to pocket. Geez, people really did drop a lot of change at the cash register. Maybe I’d find enough for another bottle of cheap wine. Looked like I was going to need it tonight.
I gave her the universal thumbs up sign and prayed she’d leave me alone.
“Silver?”
That was Liam. Again. He never was very good at giving up. Hence, the success, big bank account and… well, some things you were just born with, right?
I was born with things, too. Mostly not really good things. Like the ability to expand my hips just looking at a piece of chocolate, the ability to pick the absolutely worst guys out of the dating pool, and the ability to speak my mind. At the worst possible moment. Like asking when the baby was due to our biggest account’s CEO when she wasn’t even pregnant. And yeah, that might have been the thing that got me fired.
It wasn’t my fault she wore dresses three sizes too big. And a jacket that could double as a tent. That woman needed a stylist the way I needed a job. Pronto.
Oh, and the ‘picking the worst guy’ talent? Let’s just say Liam didn’t exactly fit that mold. He was gorgeous, successful and wildly good in bed. Like make-you-beg-for more-good. So, why were we not still together, you ask? I dumped him. Yep. Another one of my many talents. I’m impulsive. I make bad decisions. And I hold grudges. Big time. Kind of goes with speaking my mind.
I guess I wasn’t getting rid of him just yet. He wanted to gloat, most likely. I’d heard he’d landed the big account, Magnum Hotels. The account I’d been after. At the same exact time that we were dating. But me? Well, I’d got sacked, as I’d mentioned. Wasn’t that nice? Now I was dead broke and about to be homeless if I didn’t find another job. Problem was, I’d been blacklisted from almost every hotel in Vegas. Seems a bit unfair if you ask me. Damn, that CEO woman really took this revenge crap serious.
I guess I couldn’t hide down here looking for loose change forever. I stood up and straightened my back like a regal queen standing among her loyal citizens. A queen in faded sweats and my favorite flannel shirt. It hadn’t looked that rumpled when I put it on this morning. Or was it last night? What I wouldn’t give for a hoodie right now.
I gave Liam a side-eye and dunked back down into the oblivion of the dirty linoleum floor, not even inclined to look for loose change anymore. I was not prepared to face Liam tonight. Regardless of my casual dress wear, crazy hair and overall broken self, which was really nothing compared to how my heart and body were reacting to his sultry voice, I did not want to talk to Liam right now. I could have faced any other person in the world at that moment. The not-pregnant CEO who got me fired, the world’s worst mustache twirling villain, a hungry pack of hyenas even. Anything, anyone but Liam Cameron.
At least not now. I was not prepared to do battle with the Mr. Armani Suit wearing Liam, who looked delicious by the way, while I was in my grungy sweats. I needed to be decked out to the nines before going head-to-head with my nemesis. But I did not have a choice. Liam was not a man who gave up. Ever. He was driven in that hell-bent, obsessive sort of way. He succeeded in everything he did. And I do mean everything. Oh my, yes. I pushed those dirty thoughts aside. I did not need to be remembering those delectable nights with Liam.
Especially since he’d now managed to cut several people in line until he was behind me. Damn him. He could charm the lives of a thousand souls from the grim reaper.
“Silver!”
Dear Lord, couldn’t that man take a hint? I could see his black dress shoes behind me from my bent over position, shined within an inch of their fashionable life. Why couldn’t I have at least worn jeans? Meanwhile, my derriere was raised in the air like a cat in heat, pointed straight up at his beautiful face. I could imagine the smirk on his face right now.Don’t let your mind wander, Silver.He was the enemy, remember?
