“It doesn’t matter, Brand and I are done. It was fun, but it’s over now. I thought I’d start dating again and spend more time on my studies. I have to hand in a couple of assignments when the semester begins again.”
“And you’re okay?” Lia considered the question. Was she okay? Yes, she was. In fact, her fling with Brand had been less stressful and humiliating than her foray back into the dating pool. Okay, so getting sexually involved with a man on a casual basis was very far away from normal for her, but she found Sam Brand incredibly attractive. And more than that, she liked him. And maybe she should stop trying to overanalyze every aspect of that attraction and just enjoy it.
“I’m fine,” she said in response to Daff’s concerned question, while her eyes sought Brand out again. She considered his dishonesty about his relationship with Laura Prentiss and her visceral reaction to him lying about it. She had been angry, but that anger had been out of proportion to the nature of their relationship. She was the one who had put a moratorium on conversations of a personal nature, and, whatever his relationship with the pop star, it was personal. And when he’d tried to tell her it was none of her business, she’d taken offense. Taken offense when he’d chosen to implement one of her own rules.
Her mind switched to thoughts of his concern for her over the last few days, his phone calls and texts, his genuine supportiveness last night, and the interest he still had in her. And she concluded that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to grab this non-relationship with Brand with both hands and just run with it.
“Hey! Lia! You still with us?”
“What?” Lia shook her head and looked at Daff, who was snapping her fingers in front of Lia’s face. “Oh, sorry. I was thinking.”
“About?”
“I have plenty of free time for studying. And I can always go back to dating later.”
“What do you . . .” Daff began, then tracked Lia’s line of sight to Brand, who was laughing at something Charlie had said. “Crap. Seriously? Lia, don’t let him break your heart, okay?”
“Don’t worry, sissy. This thing between Brand and me has a very limited time line. I’m well aware of that. My heart’s under lock and key. But . . . I enjoy him. I don’t see why I can’t continue to enjoy him until he leaves.”
“Oh man,” she heard Daff breathe.
Lia smiled widely. Gosh, she felt light as a feather.
She was watching him again. Brand wasn’t sure what to make of that. Lia had been staring at him all evening. She’d been generous with her smiles, too. Those beautiful, genuine smiles that he so enjoyed. When they finally sat down around the small, crowded dinner table, he found himself sitting between Lia and Charlie. He felt like he was sitting way, way too close to Lia. Her arm brushed against his every time she moved, and when she spoke with him, which was often, she leaned in close enough for him to breathe in her tantalizing scent and trapped his eyes with her beguiling gray stare. It was driving him insane. He was uncomfortably erect and trying very hard to keep his reaction hidden from the rest of the group.
When she touched his arm with her fingertips and he nearly jumped out of his skin, his reaction drew every eye at the table and Sam mumbled an apology, feeling his cheeks heat in the process.
“I just wanted you to pass the salt,” Lia murmured into his ear, her voice husky with amusement. Her mouth was so close, he could feel her warm breath wash over his temple, and he swallowed down a groan.
She was fucking killing him.
She excused herself and sauntered off to the bathroom, and Sam bit back another groan as he watched the seductive sway of her hips. He felt a kick on his shins and identified the assailant as Daff. He glared at her and she glared back, raising her eyebrows meaningfully at the same time. He knew she was trying to warn him not to stare so blatantly at Lia.
His phone buzzed; he lifted it to glance down at the screen and nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw the message.
I miss your €====3!!
He blinked. Then gaped at the message for a long moment.
“Bad news, bru?” Mason asked in concern, and Sam immediately switched off the screen and dropped the phone facedown on the table.
“Uh, no. Just unexpected.” His phone buzzed again, and he fumbled for it. He couldn’t resist a quick glance and felt his face redden.
Do you miss my (|)?
What in God’s name was she trying to do to him?
“Brand? What the fuck is going on with you?”
“Mason, language,” Daisy reprimanded in a long-suffering voice, obviously knowing it wouldn’t make a difference.