“There’s nothing to be gained by this. Nothing,” he said bleakly.
“You’re wrong. I’ve already learned so much more about Derry Kavanaugh. He already seems more real to me, more human.”
“He killed our mother and nearly killed you. You spent a good portion of time in a hospital, thanks to him. You endured constant pain, and countless surgeries and grueling rehabilitation. How much more real can the man be to you?” he asked.
“That was my reality,” Natalie said shakily. “That was ours. I want to know what drove him to do what he did. I have to know.”
“Why can’t you let it rest?” Eric roared.
“Because I’m not resting,” Natalie shot back. “If you’ve found peace by envisioning Derry Kavanaugh as the devil incarnate, then more power to you. I’m not trying to change your mind. Don’t try to change mine.”
Her brother just stood there, looking shocked by her heated outburst. Natalie felt bad for that—how well she knew that Eric wanted her to be happy—but she didn’t feel bad enough to apologize for telling the truth.
She turned and switched on the coffeepot. “What did happen that night our lives changed forever? The question haunts me. Maybe it’s an unhealthy obsession, but I’m not going to stop trying to get all the answers I can find,” she said in a quieter voice.
Eric sighed heavily. “And is it absolutely necessary for you to go on this quest with Liam Kavanaugh?”
Natalie met her brother’s stare slowly. She sensed the double meaning to his question.
“It’s my business, Eric. The only thing I can tell you is that I’m trying to be reasonable. I’ll do my best not to get hurt.”
The hard tilt to Eric’s mouth told her loud and clear he didn’t find her promise very reassuring.
“I haven’t even fully gotten used to Mari being with a Kavanaugh, and she’s just a friend. How do you expect me to react to my only sister seeing one?”
She gave her brother a wry glance before she reached for some coffee mugs.
“Don’t jump to any conclusions about what you saw in the car,” Natalie stated more firmly than she felt. “I’d hardly compare Liam and me to Marc and Mari Kavanaugh. I’m just getting to know him.”
“Right.”
She threw him a quelling glance before she poured him a cup of coffee. “I told you I can take care of myself. Give it a rest, Eric.”
“That’ll be about as easy as you putting this crash-quest thing to rest.”
“I didn’t say it’d be easy,” Natalie told him as she handed him his cup. She sighed in relief when he accepted it.
No sooner had Liam parked his bike in the Harbor County Library parking lot the next morning than he saw Natalie walking toward him. He paused, appreciating the sight. It felt good, seeing her so unexpectedly. He’d wanted to check up on her since last night, but he didn’t want to seem as territorial and rude as her brother, so he’d refrained.
Barely.
She was dressed casually despite the fact that it was a weekday. She wore a pair of jean shorts that showed off her long legs and a tangerine T-shirt that enhanced her tan—not to mention the shape of her breasts. He was glad to see she wore her hair down. Most of it anyway. She’d pulled the front out of her delicate face, but the back hung around her shoulders.
He’d never seen such a sexy tumble of curls in his life. Most women would be flaunting that hair as a prime asset. Not Natalie, though. She never flaunted much of anything.
Natalie gave him a quizzical look as she approached. He blinked when he realized he was just sitting on his bike and staring at her like a drooling idiot.
He dismounted. Before she could say something that would stop him, he tangled his fingers in her hair and palmed her jaw. His mouth lowered. He’d meant it to be a casual kiss of greeting, but even more significantly, a reminder of last night. He wasn’t going backward, despite Eric’s irritating interference. He’d told her his intentions, and they hadn’t changed.
That’s what he’d meant the kiss to be. But when he felt her slight gasp of surprise tickle his mouth, when her lips softened against his and he registered her sweet taste, he lingered longer than he’d intended.
“Are you playing hooky, Natalie Reyes?” he asked her against her lips a moment later.
“What?”
She looked up at him. She looked gorgeous, lips parted, cheeks flushed, a dazed expression on her face.
He glanced down at her casual clothing teasingly. “It’s Friday—isn’t that an official CPA workday?”