Mia

Dear Mia Chen,

Thank you for your application but it didn't pass the review. We wish you the best in your search.

I groaned and closed the laptop in anger. Five emails in three weeks. Each one started and ended the same way. My thumb hovered over the delete button.

"Another rejection?" Chloe asked. I didn't respond but she understood anyway.

"It doesn't mean anything," Chloe said from across the couch. She was painting her toenails, one foot tucked under her thigh. "You're gonna find something."

"I've applied to six places." My voice came out flat. "Five rejections. That's not a good average."

"So the sixth one says yes. You don't know yet."

I locked my phone and dropped it on the cushion beside me. The guest room was starting to feel less like a temporary stop and more like a cave I was hiding in. I'd been here for weeks.

Three weeks of waking up in Liam's bed...no, the guest bed... eating Chloe's groceries and using their Wi-Fi and feeling like a barnacle that had attached itself to someone else's life.

"It's not just the money," I said.

Chloe looked up. "Then what is it?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it. The real reason sat heavily in my throat.

I need to stop thinking about Liam. I couldn't say that. Of course.

So I said something else. "I hate feeling useless. I hate sitting here while you go to work and Liam does whatever he does and I just… exist. Taking up space."

"You're not taking up space." She set down the nail polish and scooted closer. Her arms wrapped around me. She smelled like coconut and something floral. "Mia. Look at me."

I looked.

"You can stay as long as you want. Forever, if that's what you need. I'm not keeping score."

My eyes burned. "You should be."

"Why? That's not how friendship works." She squeezed tighter. "You stayed with Derek for three years even though he was garbage. You think I'm gonna kick you out after three weeks? Please."

I laughed.

"Besides," she added, pulling back, "you're helping. You cleaned the whole kitchen yesterday. Liam said it hasn't looked that good since Mom lived here."

The mention of Liam made me feel something in my chest that I didn't want to feel.

Because thinking about Liam was dangerous. It led to other thoughts. The kind I'd been trying to drown in job applications.

Like last Tuesday.

I'd come home early from dropping off resumes. The house was quiet. I assumed everyone was out. I needed a shower. The water pressure in the guest bathroom was weak, so I'd used the main bathroom down the hall.

I didn't knock. Why would I?

The door was cracked open. The light was on. Liam stepped out of the shower. A towel hung low on his hips. Water dripped down his chest...his very bare, very defined chest. His arms. His shoulders.

He looked up. Our eyes met.

I screamed and ran to my room.

I hadn't looked him in the eye for two days after that. And I still couldn't get the image away from my brain. It was there when I closed my eyes. It was there when I woke up.

That was why I needed a job. Not just for money. For distraction. For anything that wasn't him.

I picked up my phone. One new email. My heart dropped. "Oh God."

"What?"

"It's from the bar. The Copper Lantern." I stared at the subject line. Application Status. "I don't want to open it."

"Why not?"

"Because if it's another no, I'm going to cry."

Chloe snatched the phone from my hand. "Coward."

"Hey..."

She tapped the screen. Her face went still. Then her mouth fell open. Then she screamed.

"YOU GOT IT!"

"What?"

"YOU GOT THE JOB, MIA!"

*****

My first week at The Copper Lantern nearly killed me. My back ached. A man named Gary called me sweetheart and pinched my hip. Elena, a redhead with tattooed stars on her collarbones, showed me how to balance four plates on one arm. Rosa, the owner, barked orders and never smiled.

But I was good at it. I learned the menu in three days. By day five, I didn't drop a single glass.

I was wiping down the bar on a Thursday afternoon when the door opened.

My chest tightened as Vanessa walked in. Her black hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail. She scanned the room and then she saw me.

"Oh my God, Mia." She drawled. "I didn't know you worked here."

I shrugged.

"Just started." I set down my rag. "Can I get you something?"

"Just water." She slid onto a stool. "So. How are you settling in? Living with Chloe and Liam must be… cozy."

Something about the way she said cozy made my skin prickle.

"It's fine," I said. "They've been great."

"I'm sure." She accepted the water I poured and drank. "Liam's taking me to this incredible party this weekend. Marcus is hosting. You probably don't know him...he's in a different tax bracket. Invite only."

I kept my face neutral. I had no idea why she was telling me, probably to rub it in my face. But now that she mentioned it to me, I suddenly had the urge to go.

"Sounds fun," I said.

She kept on talking for a while and she left after she finished her water.

That night, I found Liam in the living room. He was watching something on TV, feet up on the coffee table.

"Your girlfriend came to see me today," I said, sitting beside him.

He muted the TV. "Vanessa? Why?"

"To show off, I think." I sat on the arm of the couch. "She mentioned a party. Marcus's party."

He shook his head. "I know where this is going. So, no...not happening."

"Liam..."

"It's not your scene. There are drugs. Fights. Marcus is an asshole who hits on anything."

"I'm a big girl." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "I can't go to the party without you. I wasn't invited and Chloe would also be going with Mark and after Derek..."

His jaw tightened. A smile turned up my face when the guilt tripping worked.

"Come on now, You really want to go?"

I nodded.

He sighed, rubbing his face with both hands.

"Fine," he said. "But you stay with Chloe the whole night and you don't drink anything Marcus hands you."

Mia

"Are you two ready or do I need to send a search party?" Liam's voice echoed up the stairs, impatient.

He had been waiting in the foyer for five minutes. Chloe was still curling her eyelashes in the bathroom.

"READY!" I screamed back.

I grabbed my purse and almost tripped over the hem of my dress.

It was the only nice thing I owned that wasn't stained or ripped, a black wrap dress I'd bought two years ago for a wedding. It fits differently now. Looser in some places. Tighter in others.

Chloe burst out of the bathroom. "Go, go, go!"

We rushed down the stairs together, laughing. My heels hit the hardwood. I grabbed the railing to keep from falling.

Liam stood at the bottom. His eyes swept over me once. Twice. I saw him take in a breath as his eyes roamed my body but in the next second he looked indifferent.

Then he looked at Chloe. "Took you long enough."

"We're women," Chloe said, kissing his cheek. "We have standards."

He rolled his eyes. I laughed. Then I saw her. Vanessa stood by the front door, her hand already on the knob.

She wore a silver dress, her hair was down with heels that were so higher than mine and she still walked perfectly.

"Ready?" she asked.

Something cold settled in my stomach. What had I expected? That Liam would escort me and Chloe like we were his dates? He had a girlfriend. A real girlfriend.

Vanessa's eyes landed on my dress. Traveled down. Then up.

"That's what you're wearing?" She asked, her eyebrows narrowing.

My stomach turned. My head lowered.

"It's what I have."

"It's beautiful," Liam said, looking at me. "You look nice, Mia."

Did he just compliment me? My head is going to burst.

Vanessa's smile tightened. She didn't look at him. She opened the door and walked out.

Liam's SUV was parked in the driveway. The passenger seat was empty. I reached for the handle.

"I'll sit up front," Vanessa said quickly, slipping past me and climbed in, pulling the door shut behind her.

I stood there with my hand still extended. The interior light clicked off. I couldn't see Liam's face through the windshield.

I climbed into the backseat. Chloe slid in beside me, already texting someone.

I remembered being twelve.

Chloe's family had taken me to the beach for a weekend. Liam was sixteen. He had a learner's permit. We'd fought over the front seat the whole drive down.

He'd called me a gremlin. I'd called him a toe. Finally, his mother had yelled at both of us, and Liam had grumbled but let me have it.

"You owe me," he'd said.

"I'll pay you back," I'd promised.

"You can't afford me."

I'd punched his arm. He'd laughed.

That was before Vanessa. Before Derek. Before I became a woman who watched the man she loved ignore her from the passenger seat.

*****

Oh God. The mansion was so big. I wasn't prepared. People spilled out onto a terrace that overlooked a pool glowing electric blue. Everyone was beautiful. Everyone was drunk. Everyone belonged here except me.

Liam parked. We walked in together, him with his hand on Vanessa's lower back, Chloe already scanning the crowd for her boyfriend Mark, and I just stood at the back alone and feeling awkward.

I shouldn't have come.

"There he is!" Chloe spotted Mark across the room and took off. "I'll find you later!"

And then she was gone.

I stood alone in a sea of strangers. A waiter passed with a tray of champagne flutes. I took one. I drank it in three swallows. I took another.

My throat tightened.

"New face?" A deep voice called from behind.

I turned. A man stood there. Tall. Muscular. Shaved head that gleamed under the lights. A gold chain rested against his chest. His eyes were dark and hungry and they were fixed on me.

"Marcus," he said, extending a hand. "I own the place."

I shook. His grip was too firm. He didn't let go right away.

"Mia," I said. "I'm here with..."

"Liam's crew? I know." His other hand found my waist. I sucked in a breath. "Liam didn't mention he was hiding someone like you."

I let out a shaky laugh. "I'm just..."

He pulled me closer. His thumb traced a circle on my hip. "You're just what?"

My heart hammered. I tried to step back. His grip tightened.

"Marcus." Liam said, voice strained

I'd never been so relieved to hear it.

Liam was suddenly there. His hand closed around Marcus's wrist.

"She's not interested," Liam said, stepping between us. His body blocked Marcus entirely. His back was to me. "Get away from her. Now."

Marcus held up both hands, smiling. "Didn't know she was yours."

"She's not anyone's." Liam muttered. "But she's under my protection. You touch her again, we have a problem."

Marcus laughed and backed away. "Enjoy the party, little bird," he called to me over Liam's shoulder. Then he disappeared into the crowd.

I exhaled. My hands were shaking. Liam turned. His face was tight, filled with rage.

I swallowed.

"Where's Vanessa?" I asked.

"Doesn't matter." He looked at my face. The empty glass in my hand. "How many of those have you had?"

"Two. Maybe three." I set the glass on a passing tray. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine." He grabbed my elbow. "Come on. We're leaving."

"What? No. Chloe's still..."

"Chloe can get a ride with Mark." He pulled me toward the door. "You're done here."

I let him pull me. Because I didn't want to stay. Because I wanted him to keep holding my arm. Because I was a liar and a fool and I didn't care anymore.

We burst out into the cool night air. The music faded behind us. The door swung shut.

Liam stopped, turning to face me. "You shouldn't have come."

"Maybe." I looked up at him. The moonlight caught his jaw. His mouth. So beautiful. So soft. "But you brought me anyway."

His jaw tightened. My heart raced in my chest. Before I could talk myself out of it, I leaned up and kissed him.

Mia

Liam goes still

Almost deathly still, and for a moment, I think he's going to push me away.

For god's sake, he had a girlfriend. Who was currently at the same party right now?

Liam pulls away slowly and brings his fingers to his lips. Like he doesn't understand what just happened.

That makes the two of us.

He stares at me for a moment, and I will him to just say something.

Anything.

He turns around.

"Liam, wait," I call out, but before any more words leave my mouth, he darts off, walking straight into the party.

So much for taking me home.

I walk in the same direction as him, trying to gain his attention.

To do what though?

Apologize?

Beg him not to tell his girlfriend?

Gosh, I really fucked up this time, didn't I?

I crane my neck, trying to see past the sea of people in a futile attempt to find him.

All I find is Marcus leering at me from the corner of the room.

I quickly rush out to the balcony before he can find me.

I should have listened to Liam and just stayed home.

As I step onto the balcony, there's only a single love seat in the corner, and it's completely empty.

I look down at all the partygoers still pouring into the gates. Most of them with a date on their arm or a group of friends.

I can't help but think of how I have neither of those. No boyfriend. And my only friend abandoned me for hers.

My thoughts trail back to Liam.

God, what was I thinking? Kissing him at the party that he came to with his girlfriend.

He's definitely going to tell her.

Great. Like Vanessa didn't already hate me enough.

From the balcony, a bit of movement catches my eye, and when I look closer, I catch the sight of Vanessa in a man's arms. A man that definitely isn't Liam.

I guess I wasn't the only one doing what I shouldn't tonight.

She giggles so loudly that I can hear her from here.

I see her smacking a huge kiss on the guy's face the exact same moment Liam walks in on them.

This can't be good.

Moments later, there's a screaming contest down there, and Liam storms back into the party, leaving Vanessa downstairs.

The moment he leaves, her eyes snap up to where I stood, watching them. I immediately ducked behind the love seat, but I have no idea whether or not she saw me.

“What're you doing down there?" I hear an all too familiar masculine voice ask firmly behind me.

Shit.

I squeeze my eyes shut.

Maybe if I stayed down here long enough, he would disappear.

"You know, just because you can't see me doesn't mean I can't see you," Liam's mocking voice comes from behind. He sounds closer this time.

"I would think you already knew that since we aren't kids anymore."

There's nowhere to run anymore.

I open my eyes and slowly stand from where I'm squatted behind the love seat.

I hadn't anticipated how close Liam would be standing to me. When i turn around, his face is only a few inches away from mine.

I don't move back and neither does he.

"Mind telling me what you were doing hiding behind a chair?" he says, smirking.

I catch the delicious scent of his woodsy cologne, and in that moment, my words get lodged in my throat.

I can't tell him that I was spying on him and his girlfriend. I would just seem like a creep.

“I…um…”

He chuckles at my stuttering, and heat instantly rises to my cheeks. Of course he would find the most embarrassing moment of my life amusing.

After all, he always treated me like his sister.

"My phone fell”, I lie through my teeth.

"I was just looking for it."

"Is that so?" he asks, raising an unimpressed brow.

He wasn't buying it, but I didn't care.

It's either that or confess that I'd been watching him.

"Why do I feel like you're lying, Mimi?" he taunts, using that infuriating nickname I had detested since we were kids.

"Don't call me that," I grumble.

"Or what?” He takes a step closer.

Firm here, I can see the little flecks of gold in his green eyes. The way the moonlight somehow glows on the tip of his jet-black hair.

His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows, and I notice something heated in his gaze.

His eyes travel to my lips, and I catch myself remembering what they tasted like just a few moments ago.

His tongue darts out of his mouth, and my eyes trace the languid movement.

I wonder how that tongue would feel on my skin.

A flush creeps over my face, and I blink out of my daze.

I can't do this. Not when he has a girlfriend. And definitely not when he's my best friend's brother.

"Look, Liam… about what happened earlier."

I avert my gaze, the hurt of rejection still stinging fresh inside me.

I had kissed him, but he hadn't kissed me back.

I had kissed him, and he had a girlfriend.

Fresh mortification washed over me, and I felt myself turning even redder.

Liam raises his fingers to my jaw, raising my eyes to meet his.

“What about what happened earlier?" he asks, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I didn't mean to… I mean, I did but… I can't… You have a…",

Liam chuckles again, and he's standing so close that I feel the throaty vibrations in my core.

I try to step away; the embarrassment of the situation is already eating me alive, but I wobble out of balance, and Liam's hand reaches out to steady me.

He doesn't move his hand from my waist and I make no effort to stop him as his other hand finds my hip and pulls me flush against his hard chest

“Liam, what are you…”

The words don't get the chance to leave my lips before his lips are on mine