Natalie closed her eyes briefly when she heard his bitterness.
“Where’s that video now? Does it still exist?” she asked breathlessly.
“It exists. I just found out for sure this morning. I have a couple of friends who work for the Michigan State Police. The videotape is still catalogued in evidence storage.”
“Can we see it?” Natalie asked incredu
lously.
“I can.”
She started slightly when she again recognized his volatility. It once again struck her—this time like a stinging slap—just what it was she was asking this man to do.
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“If you decide you don’t want to watch that tape, I’ll completely understand.”
“Would you?” he asked woodenly, still staring at the lake.
“Yes. I would.”
His eyes were narrowed into slits when he turned toward her. “I said I’d take this case. This is a viable piece of evidence, and I wouldn’t even consider overlooking it.”
Natalie opened her mouth to protest, but something in his expression made her pull up short. She inhaled slowly and stared down at the damp stones of the terrace. This is what she’d hired him for, after all. It was ridiculous to feel regret that he was doing his job.
“All right. Please let me know if you find anything important,” she said.
“I’ll do that.”
She gave him a shaky smile, not making eye contact, and waved toward the path at the side of the cottage. “I’ve stayed much longer than I planned. I really should be going. Thank you so much for dinner.”
“You’re welcome,” he said.
Natalie closed her eyes briefly in defeat. She really had irreparably insulted him by asking him to take this job.
Why had he accepted it, then?
“Well, I’ll see you,” she said awkwardly.
“Have a good night.”
Liam’s deep, rumbling voice seemed to vibrate in her mind as she hurried around the corner of the house. She felt such a bewildering mixture of emotion that her chest ached with it. Was she really surprised he’d turned distant? She was the one who had hired him to relive old, painful memories. Surely she couldn’t expect him to adore her for that.
Still, it hurt, his abrupt coldness there at the end. Her heart leaped, making her catch her breath when she heard Liam call out to her.
“Yes?” she asked, turning around.
She stood next to her car, the tension in her building by the second as she watched Liam walk toward her. It was a little like watching that storm rush the beach a while ago. His face was impassive but his eyes looked every bit as wild as a summer tempest.
He reached for her.
“Liam?” she asked, bewilderment and wonder mixing in equal measure in her query. He leaned down over her so close that she inhaled the intoxicating scent of clean male skin and spicy aftershave. How could his lips look so hard and determined and yet so sensual at once?
“Just one more thing before you go,” he said, his voice husky.
He leaned down and seized her mouth in a kiss. Natalie swayed on her feet, knocked off guard by the heat and power of Liam Kavanaugh striking her in a flood of sensation.
After a few seconds, desire burned away Natalie’s shock. He caught her against his body.