She did a mental eye roll when she realized she was feeling sorry for herself. It was a new thing for her, to mope about her single status or about the fact that she occasionally experienced feelings of acute loneliness. She’d had the recurrent feeling since her mother had died. Natalie didn’t like to consider that this mood had settled much more since last Sunday.
Since Liam’s kiss.
It was a beautiful August night. The sun had set, but its dusky pink afterglow lingered in the sky over Lake Michigan. Instead of walking to her car, Natalie strolled down Main Street toward the harbor, removing her suit jacket in order to better appreciate the mild breeze coming off the lake.
She had to admit the truth—that kiss had rattled her comfortable world. Natalie wasn’t too pleased about that. She’d obviously underestimated her ability to invite Liam Kavanaugh into her organized life and not be shaken up by his dynamic, volatile presence.
Somehow, the memories of how she’d felt under the influence of Liam’s coaxing mouth and knowing hands had crowded everything else out of her mind…including the reason she’d hired him. Her obsession to know more about the reasons for Derry Kavanaugh’s actions on the night of the crash had faded to the background during the past few days.
The realization made her want to call Liam. Why shouldn’t she check in for an update on his investigation? The longer she avoided him, the more it would seem obvious that his kiss had actually been significant.
She was digging in her briefcase for her cell phone when someone shouted her name. She looked across the street, her hand still jammed in her bag. Liam stood in the parking lot of Jake’s Place, a popular local restaurant and bar. He waved his hand in a beckoning gesture as she just stared at him for a moment, frozen in surprise at suddenly seeing the object of her chaotic thoughts.
“Hey,” he said pleasantly when she crossed the street and approached him. He wore a pair of jeans and an open-collared dark gray shirt. He stood next to a sleek, silver and black motorcycle. Natalie had no doubt it was his. Marc and Liam had both ridden bikes during their high school years; she’d seen Liam countless times ripping down a Harbor Town street with some girl who looked thrilled to be clutching onto him.
“Hi,” Natalie replied, hoping that she sounded completely at ease with this unexpected meeting. In truth, her heart had started to beat an erratic tempo against her breastbone.
“I was just going to walk over and see if you were still in your office.”
“Were you?”
The lights in the parking lot were dim, but she still saw something indefinable flicker across his face. “What…you don’t believe me?”
“Why wouldn’t I believe you?” she asked, glad to hear her voice sounded calm.
He gave her a level look. “Mainly because you sounded like I was full of crap for saying it,” she thought she heard him say under his breath. A car door slammed in the distance. Liam glanced past her shoulder and waved at a man who was walking toward them. He continued quietly. “I really was about to walk over to your office, whether you believe me or not. I saw your car parked on Ontario Avenue and figured you were still there. Do you make it a habit to work until almost nine o’clock?”
“Why were you trying to find me?”
Liam scowled when she ignored his question. “I thought you might want to sit in on this conversation. I did a little digging and rumor has it that this guy—” he nodded toward the man he’d just waved at who was approaching where they stood “—saw my father on Silver Dunes Beach on the night of the crash. Not sure yet if it would have been before or after the time period he was at the club. I thought you might be interested,” he finished in a low murmur.
“Of course I’m interested, but…” Liam looked up as the man’s footsteps grew closer.
“Roger Dayson?” Liam asked.
“That’s right.” Although Roger’s gruff voice was amiable enough, he gave Liam a cautious glance. He was in his late forties and had the weathered complexion of an outdoorsman. He stuck out his hand and Liam shook it. “You must be Liam Kavanaugh.”
“As charged. Thanks for stopping by. Like I said on the phone, I got your name and number from Joe Brown. He seemed to think you might have some information about my father’s actions on the night of the crash sixteen years ago.”
“Not a problem. I usually swing by Jake’s on Tuesday nights, so it wasn’t out of my way. As for what I saw on the night of the crash, it doesn’t amount to much.”
“Anything you can tell us will be useful. This is Natalie Reyes. She’ll be joining us.”
Natalie opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by Roger.
“Ma’am,” Roger said cordially, extending his hand to her as well.
“Shall we go inside?” Liam suggested.
The two men started toward the door of Jake’s Place, but Natalie wavered in her planted heels. As if he’d sensed Natalie hadn’t followed, Liam turned around and paused.
“What’s wrong?”
She watched as Roger approached the entrance of Jake’s Place. Someone exited before he got to the door. Live music and the sound of people having a good time leaked out into the still night air. Jake’s was hopping.
“Natalie?” Liam asked, looking puzzled by her hesitancy. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course,” she lied. She’d never admit to Liam Kavanaugh, of all people, that she’d never set foot in the popular hangout. Everyone in Harbor Town went to Jake’s, whether to enjoy the live music on Tuesday nights, to hang out with friends or to celebrate with family on special occasions.