And he was looking right at me, his eyes taking in every bit of my body, and I was not impervious to his attention. Did it make me feel the tingles like Killian’s intense stare? No. But it was still nice. He wasJoel Kline, for Christ’s sake.
“Who might you be?” His bright white, lady-killer smile appeared. It made me want to giggle like a teenager.
“Livia Jones. I’m tagging along with Killian for the month.” I reached my hand out to shake his. He shook it, but then looked at Killian with eyebrows raised. Yeah, I bet it would be hard to believe if you knew the caveman, that he would willingly agree to do something like this.
Chapter Nine
Killian
Joel had been looking at me curiously ever since Livia told him she was tagging along with me for the month. I started unloading the cars after that to avoid any awkward questions. She was paying me fifteen thousand dollars to do it, end of story. Livia enjoyed looking at the cars, and I saw her eyes widen upon seeing my bike, but she didn’t say anything. Once the cars were in their garage, and Joel was finished greeting us, I stashed my bike in the garage with them, and then parked my truck in the spot made for it, and we went inside, my small bag in my hand and Livia toting hers along.
“Thanks for letting me stay; I know you were just expecting Killian, so it’s nice of you to accept me, too.” She was being her normal, bubbly self, and I could tell Joel was attracted to that. He was staying close to her, and paying lots of attention, listening to what she was saying. I shook my head at him. He was a ladies’ man, through and through. One day a woman was going to tell him no, and he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.
When his hand touched her lower back to lead her toward her bedroom, I felt a little knot form in my stomach. I did not like seeing his hand there. Not one bit. She laughed at his teasing comments about being stuck in a truck with me. And for the first time in a while, I wanted to punch him. Would she tell him no if he tried to make his way into her bed? They were smiling together and talking about his choice of decorations in the house. She didn’t get smiles from me. I bet she wouldn’t turn him down. The thought made me feel angry, so I just sidestepped them and went to the room I always stayed in. I didn’t want to see her interact with someone like him. I wasn’t like him. Even though I had decided I shouldn’t sleep with her, it didn’t mean I wanted to see her agree to sleep with someone else.
I showered and my thoughts inevitably went to Livia. Was she with Joel right now? Had he tried to kiss her? Did she want him?
These feelings weren’t something I was used to, and I didn’t like them one bit. Once I dried off and dressed in sweats and a shirt, I went in search of the two, to ease my mind.
She was sitting on a bar stool in the kitchen while Joel leaned against the island, talking to her.
“We have to go surfing tomorrow!” Livia’s bright smile was aimed at me as soon as I entered the kitchen. I usually went surfing with Joel when I was here, so this was not difficult to agree to. I nodded my agreement and grabbed a beer from the fridge. I was at Joel’s place about once a month. He was my best friend, the only person I talked to on a regular basis.
“Sweet, this is going to be so much fun!” she beamed and hopped off her stool.
“I’m going to go shower, then you guys wanna hang or something?” She looked at us, and Joel spoke first.
“Yeah, I’ll get a fire going outside. We can sit by the pit and chill.” She agreed, and then scampered off towards her room.
Joel was quiet while she left the room, and I knew I was going to have to face his questions. It was only a matter of time. Still, I waited for him to make the first move.
“Might as well come out with it, you know I’m not going to let it go.” I sighed, knowing his words were true. He and Livia were two peas in a pod with the questions and talking thing. He was perfect for the big screen. He tried to get me to do it with him, but I didn’t want that life. Not at all.
“She offered me money to tag along for a month. She’s got some shit going on. I don’t know what, don’t care.” Lie. I was starting to wonder what would make a woman like her do something so nuts. Something life-changing. “And?” I looked into his eyes and saw he was concerned for me.
“I saw the desperation in her eyes to get away and couldn’t say no. Don’t need the money, though it doesn’t hurt.” He nodded and looked off towards where she went.
“She’s got personality,” he commented, and I rolled my eyes, letting out a small laugh.
“That she does, in spades.”
“She’s pretty, too.” My body froze from his comment. He was going to go after her. I schooled my features so he wouldn’t see that it bothered me, but I was too late.
“Killian Lemarque, interested in a girl, and after only three days. I’m surprised.” He was half teasing me. The other half, he was genuinely serious.
“Don’t matter; I don’t need that drama in my truck. Got jobs to do.” I shrugged, it was true. I had timelines to follow and focus on. Women mucked things up. He studied me, and then let it go. For now.
We moved outside to start a fire in his big fire pit that faced the ocean, chatting about his upcoming film, a big fantasy-action flick. Sounded interesting. I liked movies, and even though I gave him shit sometimes, he was really good at acting.
Livia opened the sliding glass door and joined us by the pit, dressed in a pair of sweats and a large shirt. A man’s shirt, to be exact. Another thing I found I didn’t like. Was it her ex’s shirt? I wanted to throw it in the fire pit and watch it burn.
“Want a beer?” Joel asked and she took it. Watching her lift the bottle to her lips made my dick start to swell. Fuck, this was getting complicated.
“I love this view.” She looked at the water as the small waves lapped against the sand peacefully.
“Thanks, the place called to me. Can’t beat being by the water twenty-four seven.” He smiled, but I could tell he was holding back his full force smile on her. Odd.
“So, how you hanging in there, riding around with Stoic over there?” He winked at me, and I just drank my beer in silence. He loved giving me shit for it, but he knew why, and still was my friend despite not having deep heart-to-heart talks all the time. Livia giggled, and then answered him with that smile on her face. A beautiful fucking smile.
