“You sure?” he asks. “If there’s something bothering you—”
“Stop worrying about me,” I interject.
He smiles. “Don’t you know I always worry about you?”
“What’s there to worry about?” I grab my brush from my beauty table to coil it through my hair and make some curls. “I’ve got a life of luxury, remember?” I throw him a cheeky smile.
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that—”
“I’m just messing with you,” I interject, winking.
“You’re normally never this distracted … what’s going on?”
“I told you, nothing,” I say.
He gets up and grabs the brush while I’m midway through, and he stares at me through the mirror. “Tell me.”
“I … I …” I stutter.
I don’t want to say it.
Not out loud.
But his hand suddenly touches my waist, his fingers gently pushing into my skin, and my cheeks begin to flush with heat.
It’s impossible to ignore.
“They invited me over to their business meetings,” I say.
Liam’s eyes narrow. “That’s good news, isn’t it?”
I nod, but I’m still sweating.
He raises his brow at me. “Is it?”
I nod again. “I feel like they finally trust me enough.”
“Of course they do,” Liam says. “You’re their daughter.”
“No, but I mean … they never invite Jill to join,” I say.
He frowns. “Well, that’s not very nice of them.”
“Oh, no, but it’s good,” I say, swallowing away the lump in my throat. “It means they’ll pick me.”
“For what?”
“To run the business,” I say, never breaking eye contact, even though I’m so desperately trying to look away. But his penetrative stare makes it impossible, even when it’s through a mirror. “As the next heir.”
“You mean …”
I nod. “At least, I think so. Mom hasn’t said it out loud. But I figured if they were inviting me to join …” My eyes trail off.
His grip on my waist tightens, and he spins me around, forcing me to face him eye-to-eye, and it’s so intimidating I forget to breathe. “Promise me you’ll tell me everything you know.”
I nod. “I can try.”
“I want to know when they decide which one of you is going to marry,” he says, and he tips up my chin. “And promise me you won’t exert yourself.”