When We Kiss (13 page)

A
UBREY FINISHED HER
third cup of coffee and massaged her forehead as she stared at her computer monitor. What the hell had she been thinking drinking like that when she was this busy at work? And especially when this zoning brief was so important.

The drinking and mild hangover were really the least of her worries, however, when compared to her behavior
after
the drinking. She'd almost slept with Liam. Would have, if not for him being a gentleman.

She groaned as she pushed her chair back from the desk and spun it around—slowly, so her head didn't splinter—to look out the window. It was a gray, soggy day. Perfect for crawling under a rock in abject humiliation. Or regret.

She'd practically thrown herself at him last night. Nope, there was no
practically
about it. From the minute she'd tossed her sweater off, she'd made her objective crystal clear. And he'd tried to politely decline, damn him. It would be easy—and vindicating—to tell herself that she'd been too drunk to realize what she was doing. However, the fact that she remembered everything in such horrifying detail told her she hadn't been nearly that drunk. Not until the tequila had finally caught up with her. She supposed she had to be thankful for that third and final margarita.

Her phone pinged on her desk. She picked it up and saw Chloe's name. She was the last to chime in on the group text that Tori had started that morning to check in on how everyone was.

Chloe:
OMG you guys, what a night! Pounding headache this morning but so fun! Next time we'll drink water and pace ourselves a little better, LOL.

Everyone had reported a similar hangover-ish morning, minus Sara, who'd only said that she'd had a great time and was glad they'd all gotten home safely.

Aubrey couldn't help but fixate on what she'd said last night just before the guys had arrived. A dull, queasy feeling spread in her stomach—the kind of sensation that came when you had to have a difficult conversation or had been caught in a lie or, in her case, had been caught in a damning truth.

Why had she drunk after that stupid question? It's not like any of them would've known she'd been lying if she'd
hadn't
taken a drink. No one knew about her and Liam, for crying out loud.

She only hoped they'd all been too drunk to remember. She didn't think she'd be that lucky, however.

She had to believe in what they'd said at the outset—that whatever happened at the pub stayed at the pub last night. She didn't want to think about the alternative. She also didn't want to think about how awkward it would be next time she saw all of them, regardless of a dumb rule.

Her phone rang in her hand, startling her. She looked down and saw that it was Sara. Apparently there was no time like the present for awkward.

She could ignore the call, but why? She had to face them eventually. She
was
their attorney.

She slid her finger across the screen and forced a smile into her voice. “Hi, Sara!”

“Hi, Aubrey, how are you this morning?”

“Pretty good. Remind me to schedule future girls' nights on a Friday or a Saturday or at least when I'm not working the next day.”

Sara laughed. “Good call. I'm so sorry. I hope we didn't mess up your day.”

“It's fine. I'm a big girl, anyway, so it's definitely not your fault.”

There was a pause in the conversation, just a slight beat, but it was enough to raise Aubrey's guard.

“So, I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the end there last night and let you know that no one's going to ask who you slept with.”

Leave it to Sara to be as blunt as possible. With her sensory-processing disorder, she didn't always have the best filter. It was actually one of the things Aubrey liked most about her. She was incredibly real and as a result, delightful. She was also apparently the designated spokesperson for everyone else.

“Um, okay. Thanks.”
I think.

“I mean, it's clearly Hayden or Liam,” she said. “It can't be Evan, obviously, or Kyle, and like Chloe said, Derek's not an Archer. I'm not even sure you'd met Derek before he got together with Chloe, right?”

Sara was talking pretty fast, and Aubrey wasn't sure she wanted to keep up. “Uh, no.”

“Anyway, it seems like it's maybe Liam, since he walked you home last night, although it could've been Hayden before he left. Except Hayden isn't generally the hook-up type, and Liam definitely is. Oh geez, listen to me. I'm doing exactly what Tori said
not
to do.”

Definitely spokesperson.

Aubrey dredged up another fake smile so she wouldn't sound as annoyed as she felt—not at Sara, but at herself for being such an idiot. “It's okay.”

“Well, I just want to say that it would be cool if it
was
Liam, because he could use a girlfriend like you. We'd love that actually.” She said the last part with such a soft sweetness that Aubrey almost wished she could tell her she'd love it, too.

But they were talking about Liam, and Liam didn't have girlfriends. He had rotating arm candy.

“Uh, that's really nice of you to say,” Aubrey said. She massaged her forehead and decided it was time for another dose of extra-strength Tylenol. “I should get back to work. This zoning brief isn't going to write itself.”

“Oh! I'm sorry. I'll stop rambling. You sure you're good?”

“Yep, I'm good.”

“I'm glad. I had such a great time. I'm glad we're friends. Even when the zoning and The Alex is done, we'll still be friends—just so you know.”

Aubrey smiled, and this time it was genuine and heartfelt. “Thanks, Sara. Bye.”

She disconnected the call and set the phone on her desk. She picked up her coffee mug and realized it was empty. That meant hauling her sorry ass out of this chair for a refill.

Ugh, girlfriend? She could barely be Liam's friend. In fact, she'd pretty much failed at that entirely. The very next time she'd seen him, she'd tried to jump his bones.

But they'd stopped themselves. Correction:
He'd
stopped them.

It seemed like he was maybe better at this friend thing than she was. And wasn't that surprising as hell?

She stood from the chair and resolved to stop thinking about last night, about what she'd admitted by drinking in that asinine game, about Liam. She needed to focus on work and get through this zoning business. Then Liam would leave, and she could work on flushing him from her system for good.

L
IAM CHECKED THE
gear that bound him to his brother Kyle as they neared the jumping altitude of thirteen thousand feet. He was certified to jump tandem, and Kyle had drawn the short straw and was flying with Liam. Derek was hooked up to Rylan, and Sean was going with Nate, another of Rylan's employees.

“You ready?” Liam asked.

“You going to drop me?” Kyle retorted.

Liam grinned. “On your head.”

Kyle touched the cap that was sort of a light helmet. “This doesn't seem too sturdy. And why aren't you wearing one?”

“Because I've done this a hundred times. Pull your goggles down. We're nearly there.”

Kyle nodded and tugged his goggles into place. “We're going first?”

“Of course. Would you want it any other way?”

Kyle laughed. “Touché.”

They edged toward the door, which the copilot would open momentarily. He came up from the cockpit and stood in front of the three pairs. “About a minute of free fall. You'll be going over a hundred miles an hour. Then five or so minutes of gentle gliding to earth after your partner springs the parachute.” He smirked at Liam. “Remember to pull the drogue—don't wait too long, or you'll lose your tandem license.”

Liam saluted. “Yes, sir.” He knew the rules. And he wouldn't try any crazy shit with his brother on board.

“You all ready?” the copilot asked. “Give me a thumbs-up.”

Everyone flicked up their thumbs, and Liam patted Kyle's bicep. “Let's do this.”

The door opened, and the whoosh of air and noise overcame him for a second. He loved this feeling—that buzz of adrenaline just before he leapt into the air. Kyle moved forward, and Liam trailed behind him.

Kyle hesitated at the edge, and Liam pushed him out with the force of his body behind him.

“Dick!” Kyle shouted but finished on a laugh. “Holy shit!”

Liam wished he could see Kyle's face, but it was enough to feel the vibration of his joyous laughter.

They sped through the air faster than a car on the freeway. Faster than most roller coasters. But it felt different, at least to Liam. He enjoyed going fast on the ground, but up here it was just your body and gravity. There was something natural, something pure, something he never felt anywhere else. And that was why his first extreme sport was still his favorite. Why he wanted to push that feeling even further and try BASE jumping.

It was time to pull the drogue, but damn he loved this. He saw Derek and Rylan, who'd gone second, to his left. Rylan activated his chute, and Liam knew he was out of time—there was a timer to automatically release the chute if they fell too fast or if they didn't pull by a certain altitude. He tugged the drogue, and they immediately slowed, gently, not jerkily.

“Damn, that was fun!” Kyle roared and pumped his fist. “Again!”

Liam laughed. “Sure. Anytime.”

Kyle looked around, his head angling left, then right, then left again. “It's so beautiful up here.”

Gorgeous. The rain they'd had the last few days had transitioned out last night, and today had dawned bright and beautiful. They'd completely lucked out. Clouds meandered overhead, but there was plenty of blue sky and miles and miles of breathtaking vista below.

“I can see why you're addicted to this,” Kyle shouted.

Addicted. Is that how they saw him? Isn't that how they
should
see him? Scarcely a weekend went by that he didn't do something that would make most people cringe, even if it was just riding one of his motorcycles.

He steered them into the drop zone, and a couple of minutes later, they stepped onto the ground.

“Wow!” Kyle gave a loud whoop and looked around for the others. Rylan and Derek had just landed, and Sean and Nate weren't far behind.

Liam released the clips holding them together. Kyle took a few steps and pulled his goggles and cap off. “Damn, that was awesome!”

Derek strode over. “Dude!” He high-fived Kyle, and they both grinned from ear to ear. “I had no idea the landing would be that easy. It's like we just walked from the plane onto the ground. More or less.”

Liam chuckled. He remembered his first time. He'd practically bounced back up into the air after landing, and he really hadn't come down out of the clouds for weeks. Maybe he never really had.

They turned and walked toward Sean, who was pulling off his goggles and cap.

“What'd you think?” Liam asked.

Sean's face split into a grin. “Brilliant. Next time Tori has to come. She tried to convince me to bring her today, but I told her it was guys' day, just like they had their girls' night.”

Liam, Nate, and Rylan gathered up the chutes, and they headed out of the drop zone back toward the hangar.

Liam wasn't surprised Tori had wanted to come. She'd mentioned going with him a few times in the past, but they hadn't ever found a convenient time, since they'd both been busy growing their careers away from Ribbon Ridge. Then Alex's death had thrown them all into turmoil—her more than anyone, it seemed. But now things were maybe back to normal. Or at least not as turbulent.

His mind turned to the rest of what Sean had said—girls' night. He'd spent the last day and a half reliving everything about Thursday night. Every seductive look Aubrey had given him, every stroke of her fingertips, every body-melting kiss.

He needed to stop thinking about that before he sported wood.

“That was quite a girls' night,” Derek said. “I don't think Chloe ate a thing yesterday until midafternoon.”

Sean chuckled. “Tori wasn't much better.”

“What happened?' Rylan asked.

Kyle glanced over at him. “Our significant others went out for a girls' night at The Arch and Vine and got wasted. We had to go and rescue them.”

Rylan stopped short just outside the hangar. “Wait, Liam has an SO? How'd I miss that? That's major news.”

Kyle and Derek exchanged looks, then busted up laughing. “Yeah. No,” Derek said. “Kyle misspoke. We—” he gestured to himself, Kyle, and Sean, “—have wives and fiancées. Liam has . . . his hand?”

This was met with guffaws by everyone, including the jump crew.

“Very funny.” Liam was willing to bet he'd gotten more action that night than the rest of them. Their SOs had probably passed out on the way home or shortly thereafter. He said none of that, of course.

Liam strode into the building, and the rest followed. Liam, Nate, and Rylan dropped the chutes and packs. Normally Liam would help them repack the chutes, but Rylan had told him that he and Nate would handle it.

“Liam wasn't empty-handed though,” Sean said.

Rylan's mouth curled into a smile, and he shook his head. “He never is.”

This was met with agreement and more low laughter. Liam was glad they were all having fun at his expense. Normally he'd join right in with them. Why wasn't he?

Because maybe you're tired of that MO.

He shushed the violently annoying voice in his head.

“He picked up a girl?” Nate asked. Nate was younger than the rest of them and relatively new to Rylan's operation. Liam didn't know him very well.

“One of the women who went out was a friend of ours. She doesn't have an SO, so Liam took her home.” Derek narrowed his eyes at Liam as they walked into the locker room. “How'd that go?”

The unspoken question—did you hook up?—didn't even need to be asked. Liam understood that's what everyone wanted to know. “She actually
does
have an SO. Or at least she's seeing some accountant.”

Everyone stripped off their tandem rigging, and Nate went around picking it up. Then he disappeared with it.

“Why let that stop you?” Kyle asked. “I seem to recall you stealing at least one girl away from another guy. Remember Tracy in high school?”

Liam stowed his goggles in his locker, where he kept his personal chute. “Kyle, I was a teenager. I don't make a habit of poaching women. Get a life.” He grabbed his wallet and slipped his shades on, then strode from the locker room, having tolerated all he could of their teasing.

Liam stalked outside to where Kyle had parked his car. Rather, Hayden's car. He was driving Hayden's car, living in Hayden's house, and for at least a little while longer, doing Hayden's job. Classic Kyle—riding on someone else's coattails instead of doing something for himself.

Liam blew out a breath. That was incredibly unfair. He was just pissed off. Not at Kyle, but at himself. At whatever the hell had him obsessed with Aubrey Tallinger twenty-four-seven.

He turned and saw Kyle coming toward him. He wore sunglasses, too, but Liam read the scowl on his face even from this far away.

“What gives, asshole?” Kyle stopped in front of him and crossed his arms over his chest.

Liam shrugged. “I was just tired of the needling.”

“Seriously? You're the chief needler. You can dish it out, but you can't take it?”

Liam put his hands on his hips. “You know that isn't true.”

“Not usually.” Kyle dropped his arms. “Look, we give each other shit. That's what we do—you and I more than the rest of them. And giving you shit about your romantic life is about the only thing we
can
do. You're Mr. Perfect everywhere else.”

Liam arched a brow as his anger faded. “You used to think I was Mr. Perfect in that department, too.”

Kyle laughed. “Then we all fell head over ass in love. Now you're the aberration. Sorry, man.”

He was right. Maybe that was his problem. He was just feeling left out. Or something. Whatever. He was tired of analyzing his stupid obsession with Aubrey. “I'm glad you came out today. It's about time you all did this with me.”

“It was a blast. Maybe we can try windsurfing next. Since you're home for a while. Just think, if you moved back, we could have a regular thrill-seeking crew.”

Liam doubted they'd want to keep up with him. It was one thing to skydive once in a while, but Liam was always on the hunt for the next rush. Plus, he wasn't moving back home. “I'm just here temporarily.”

Kyle nodded and stuck his hands on his hips, tucking his fingers into the pockets of his jeans. “I get it. What's your next conquest?”

Had he been reading Liam's mind? He didn't want to tell Kyle about his plans to try BASE jumping. He might think it was cool, and hell, he might even support him, but if Kyle let it slip to Mom . . . Liam didn't want to deal with her worrying.

“Just the usual. I'm looking at buying a plane.” Rylan was helping him out.

Kyle angled his head. “Really? That's cool. What kind?”

“Haven't decided yet. Looking at Cessnas and some others.”

“New or used?”

Liam laughed. “Aren't you full of questions?”

“As much as you're full of secrets.” Kyle took a step toward him. “Why do you do this? The skydiving, the rock climbing, the cliff diving, all of it?”

“Because it's fun. You just jumped out of a plane, and it was awesome, right?”

“Completely, but it doesn't make me want to go climb Mt. Everest.”

That was actually one of the few things Liam didn't want to do. At least not yet. Who knew if he might change his mind? “I'm not doing that.”

“Okay, not that, but you get me. You're always upping the ante, always going big. But maybe it's time you go home.”

Liam laughed. “I see what you did there. Go big, or go home. You're a riot.”

Kyle took off his glasses. “I'm being serious for once. And feel free to crack all the jokes that statement requires.”

“I'll contain myself.” But damn it was hard.

“Why do you do this?” Kyle asked. “Is it really just about the adrenaline?”

“Yep.”

“But you're so . . . driven about it.”

Liam tipped his head down and looked at Kyle over the top of his shades. “I'm driven about everything.”

“True. But this is different. It's one thing to have professional ambition. These hobbies of yours actually carry a decent amount of risk.”

“So does driving to work every day or eating a sandwich.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and put his glasses back on. “You're being a dick again.”

“I don't know how to be anything else around you.” Again, that was their brotherly thing, but Liam didn't want to be a dick. Neither did he want to explain the reasons for his extreme sports. Those reasons were too wrapped up in Alex, in
their
brotherly—twin—thing.

Liam stepped toward Kyle and clapped him on the bicep. “I hear what you're saying. I've tried to . . . lay off a bit, especially while I'm home. Don't want Mom having a breakdown or something.”

“I would laugh at that, except she nearly did have one last year after Alex died.”

Liam knew that as well as any of them, even if he hadn't been home dealing with it. He'd talked to Mom on the phone plenty, and that entire mess was one of the reasons he couldn't forgive Alex for what he'd done.

“I know, and I don't want to add to her stress, especially when she's doing better.” Liam dropped his hand from Kyle's arm. “She and Dad seem great now.”

Kyle nodded. “Totally. They've been looking at beach property.”

More and more it sounded like Dad was prepping for at least semi-retirement. “Really? I'll have to talk to him about that. I'd love to invest in some stuff on the coast.”

Kyle grinned. “I bet you would.”

Liam looked toward the hangar. “Here they come finally. What took them so long?”

“I might've asked them to give us a few minutes.”

Liam grunted but was actually glad Kyle had done that.

“So tomorrow I'm making a special dinner to welcome Evan and Alaina back home.”

“Right, they're due back late tonight.”