Family. Sometimes, it was all you had.
“You ladies done?” Alex asked, throwing Liam a significant look. After all, there was a crisp new fifty riding on her answer.
“Yep! All finished with the shoot. You should see the thumbnails! They’re gorgeous! This ad campaign is going to be—” she stopped when she noticed the two men were laughing.
Alex growled at her. “Woman, damn you and your punctuality. Don’t you know what you just cost me?”
Liam held out a hand. “Told you. Now pay up.”
“I’ll owe you,” Alex suggested.
“Nope. I’m a businessman. I don’t take promises.” He waggled his fingers at his brother, palm up. “I take cash.”
Alex groaned and reached into his wallet, extracting a fifty and dropping it into Liam’s hand. “Don’t you trust me, brother?”
“Should I?”
When Jacyn realized what had just happened, she squealed, punching Alex hard on the shoulder. “You beast! You bet on me? That I’d be late?”
“Apologies,ma puce.I should have known that a demanding businesswoman such as yourself would stick to your schedule.” He enfolded her in his arms and planted a soft kiss on her lips.
Liam looked away, not embarrassed over the display of affection, but shocked by the surge of envy and loneliness he felt whenever he saw how happy his brother was with the love of his life. He’d been trapped in a loveless marriage for ten years, slept alone for five of those, and been cheated on and humiliated. Would he ever be lucky enough to find the kind of love that Alex had found?
No. Never again. He’d sworn it. Marriage had pierced his heart and filled it with poison. There was nothing on earth that would ever convince him to take that chance once more.
“Done for the day, but we have another session to cover next week. We almost didn’t make it on time,” Jacyn was saying. “We had a bit of an equipment failure—”
“Papa!” The sound of running feet interrupted her as Willa dashed out, holding out her arms to him. Her hair was twisted into flat braids, with each end held closed with a little gold clip. She flipped her hair over her shoulders, shyly showing off. Eager for his approval.“Qu’est-ce que t’en pense?”
“I think it’s pretty,” he answered warmly, holding her tight. “You’re beautiful!”
“I found someone, Papa! She’s perfect.”
He frowned, not sure what she was talking about. Kids: they changed the subject so quickly. “Who did you find?”
“She found a candidate for the job of governess,” Jacyn clarified.
“Not acandidate,”Willa cut in stubbornly. “I foundthe one!I want her, and nobody else!”
Liam lifted his brows in inquiry at his sister-in-law.
Jacyn nodded. “Willa’s made a connection with the model I hired—”
He reacted instinctively. “Model? Why would I want a model to teach my child? I’ve known a few in my time, and I rarely ever met one who had anything to talk about other than herself, her looks, her latest fashion spread. And as for the life they live, what with the parties, the heavy drinking and drugs, the fast…” he looked down at his daughter and then covered her ears, “easy sex. What in the name of God would make you think a woman like that would be appropriate to teach my child?”
Jacyn clarified patiently. “Shemodels,yes, but she also has a degree in education and she’s looking for a career change.”
Willa was bouncing on the tips of her toes, her braids bobbing and tinkling as the little metal clasps clacked together.
“We’ve only worked together for the past two weeks, but I can already tell she’s not the kind of woman you describe. Very level-headed. Trustworthy. And besides, you already said you were going to do background checks on the shortlisted candidates. Maybe after you do that and see she has nothing lurking in her past, you will feel more comfortable hiring her. I can feel it in my bones. She’d be perfect for yo—”
“Lim!” The gasp cut all other conversation short as everyone turned to the doorway where the model stood.
The woman was tall, five-foot-ten or so, with skin the color of freshly brewed espresso. Her black hair was braided in a more elaborate version of the style Willa now wore, falling just past her shoulders, framing her perfect features. Her makeup was flawless— camera-ready— with her eyes outlined in dark kohl, their corners rising dramatically. Her complexion was unblemished, her lips painted the color of heart’s blood.
Liam felt his own heart constrict. He had recognized her even before he had turned around. Only one woman had ever called him Lim.
And he had gone and broken her heart.