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“What happened?” Cora asked.
“I caught Jimmy cheating on me with that witch over there.” Suzette tilted her head to the tent. “So I went to confront him, and Liam came to back me up.”
Cora looked shocked. She stood on tiptoe to see the tent through the crowd. “Suze, that’s terrible. I can’t believe Jimmy would do that.”
Suzette let out a derisive snort. “I can. Honestly, I shouldn’t have been surprised he was cheating. Jimmy changes his mind about jobs and friends as often as I change my nail polish. He’s never been steadfast about anything.”
Cora laid her hand gently on Suzette’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Believe it or not, I am,” Suzette said in surprise.
Cora searched her friend’s face with concern. “Should we leave? We can get out of here right now if you—”
“No way.” Suzette gave Cora a quick hug. “I promise, I’m okay. It’s actually nice to be free of him. I feel pretty dang good about it. Liam pretended to be my boyfriend and made Jimmy jealous, which was awesome. Thanks for that.” She smiled at Liam.
He gave a theatrical bow. “Happy to be of service.”
“And then Jimmy’s witchy girlfriend started yelling at him,” Suzette continued. “As far as breakups go, it was extremely satisfying.”
“It seems we missed all the excitement.” Magnus casually wrapped his arm around Cora’s shoulders. Cora did nothing to dissuade him. In fact, she seemed to like it. Liam felt as if a dark cloud suddenly covered the sun.
As they strolled away, a cold desolation overcame him. Any sliver of fun he’d experienced while helping Suzette was now gone, and in its place was the bleak realization that Cora liked the wily, conniving womanizer walking beside her. She didn’t seem to notice the way Magnus’s gaze lingered on her breasts, nor did she witness the hungry, wolf-like glint in the man’s eyes when she bent over to adjust her skirts. Somehow, Liam’s plan to make Magnus look bad had backfired, and Cora seemed to like him more than ever now.
By the end of the day Liam walked stiffly toward the parking lot with Suzette chatting gaily beside him. Ahead of them, Magnus and Cora wereholding hands. Liam wanted to dash back to the fair, snatch one of those battle-axes of valor and send it flying straight at Magnus’s back. That would solve the problem once and for all, though it sure wouldn’t win him any points with Agon and Samael. Or Cora, for that matter. He sighed with frustration.
“Hey,” Cora called, turning back to wave at them. “Magnus and I are going for a drive. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Sounds good,” Suzette said, waving back.
Like hell it did. Liam started forward. “Cora, wait—”
“Shh!” Suzette elbowed him in the ribs. “This was the plan all along. Cora needs to have some fun and she likes him, so just go with it.”
“She doesn’t need a man like him,” Liam grumbled, rubbing his ribs. “He spent the entire day ogling her charms like the lecher that he is.”
“Ogling her charms?” Suzette snorted. “You’ve really embraced the Renaissance lingo.”
“He was,” Liam insisted. “I witnessed it myself.”
“Liam, did you see the costumes in that place? It’s a Renaissance Fair. Corsets and cleavage are practically mandatory. And anyway, Magnus was the pinnacle of chivalry compared to some of those guys I saw in that beer garden back there. Trust me.”
“You’re supposed to be Cora’s friend,” Liam said. “The last thing you should want is for a man like that to sink his hooks into her.”
“I am her friend. The oldest and dearest. And that means I know her better than anyone else. She spends a lot of her life with her head down at work, and it’s been a long time since she’s let loose and had a good time with someone. All I want is for her to be happy.”
“As do I, but a man like Magnus Blackwell is not going to make her happy,” Liam said. “I know the type of person he is, and I’ve seen the way he flirts with other women. He only wants one thing from Cora, and she deserves more than that.”
“Oh, yeah?” Suzette gave him a quizzical look. “Like what?”
“She deserves a man who’s going to treat her with respect and genuine affection. Someone who will appreciate her brilliant mind, her kind heart, her loyal spirit. She’s beautiful, of course, but Magnus only sees what’s on the surface. He has no idea that her true beauty lies within, and he’ll never know because all he wants is a quick tumble in the hay.”
“Oh, my God.” Suzette gaped at him. “You like her.”
“Of course I do.” Liam spotted the car in the distance and began walking briskly toward it. “We work together and live together. I care very much about her well-being.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Suzette grabbed his arm, so he had to stop walking. “Youlikeher.”
Liam shook his head.
