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Liam’s jaw clenched. Regret grew in those silver eyes.
Sam obviously felt the tension again. “It’s going to be fine, Liam. He has to be on his best behavior tonight.”
“I still think we are heading into a trap. Just wait and see.”
“If he’s bad tonight, you know it is safer to be at the right hand of the devil than in his path.” Sam picked up her phone again. The topic must’ve been closed. At least for her.
Tanner Macklen brooded from his corner of the limousine. I had been surprised to see him here, the chocolate-brown hair and darker blue eyes were handsome enough, but instantly I picked up on what Liam had mentioned before. Tanner was too polished. It looked physically uncomfortable for him to do anything other than jerk his chin from side to side as his other siblings conversed.
Those eyes may have been a beautiful shade of sapphire velvet, but they were cold, emotionless. I shifted closer to Liam. I would rather have the passionate, grumpy, overly touchy brother than the one who couldn’t display an emotion if the fate of the universe rested on his perfectly coiffed hair.
Neither sibling responded. I slid my hand against Liam’s thigh, feeling the heavy bunching muscle pulsing there.
“It’s going to be alright. It’s just a fundraiser. We can get in, smile for some cameras, steal the best hor-d'oeuvres, and then make a run for it if you’d like.”
Tanner, who had been silent until now, raised his glass, an amber liquor flowing smoothly into his lips. “It’s never just a fundraiser. And I’m with Liam. There’s always a reason for what he does, and requesting we all be here makes me think something is up.”
I swallowed hard, willing the driver to go just a little faster.
Tanner was the odd man out in this trio, but it seemed that he intentionally did this. Even Liam admitted to not knowing his brother well. Years of competing over, well, everything had opened a crack between them. Now it may as well have been the freaking Grand Canyon.
I cleared my throat, slipping my hand over the satiny material of the dress Liam had sent me. “Well, I’m excited to see what it’s all about.”
Liam shifted beside me. “Have you lost your mind? Even after everything I told you?”
“Absolutely not. No matter what kind of monster he is, I need to know, to see with my own two eyes. Sam is right about some things.”
Sam gave me a flutter of fingers from across the seats.
“I want to know what I’m dealing with.”
Liam’s voice dropped. “You won’t like it. Trust me on this one.” But he didn't mean it. He meant I wouldn’t likehim. This side of him. I could practically feel the heaviness of his worry.
My heart clenched. “I’m tougher than you think.”
“That’s why I’m worried. You shouldn’t have to be tough for me.” His fingers slipped between mine, and he tugged our intertwined hands to his lips for a kiss.
The warmth of those lips hit me hard and low. “Maybe I like being tough for you. Maybe it makes me happy to be the muscle behind the man.”
Liam smirked. “Are you saying I need more muscle? Because I can’t afford two Ians.”
I leaned in, letting my breath warm his neck. “I’m sure we can work out another form of payment.”
“Always the negotiator.”
“You love it.”
“I do.”
Silence fell again, but the tension had eased. I snuck another look around the back seat of the plush stretch limo that Daniel had sent to collect his children. I’d only sat in something this fancy one other time. And that was roughly a decade ago. My senior prom. I’d been in a glittering magenta and tulle ball gown that had barely fit through the car door. My date had gone big, renting the limo for just the two of us. No doubt thinking it would get him laid.
He had been wrong. But valiant effort, I supposed.
But even that one, nice as it had been in my seventeen-year-old eyes, was a clown car compared to this grandeur.
I knew that Liam, Tanner, and Sam were all dreading this. I knew that. I wasn’t stupid. I knew that tonight was one of those make it / break it moments for all of us. Including whatever was happening between Liam and me. But at least for a moment, I could savor the moment of peace before the onslaught Liam called Dad came onto the scene.
Maybe I should’ve had that champagne after all.
