Ryan and I made ourselves comfortable on the Adirondack chairs on the porch. It was cold out, but the sky was clear and the cigars were good.
Jack, Max, and Callie came out and said their goodbyes quickly. Each one of them giving me suspicious looks, like I knew what the fuck was going on and just wasn’t letting them in on it. Ridiculous. They all pissed me off.
Ryan and I watched them drive away, taillights fading into the distance.
“You really don’t know what was going on with him, do you?” Ryan asked, taking a deep pull from his cigar. The tip burned cherry red and smoke drifted up around his head.
“No, and honestly, I’m not sure I want to know,” I grumbled over my cigar.
“Nah, man. If it were me—I’d want to clear my friend’s name. Prove everyone wrong,” he shrugged, leaning his head back against the chair. “You believe in him so much? You know he was a good cop? Put your money where your mouth is.”
Shiiit. The asshole was right.
So was Liv.
I wanted to find out anything I could. I had to call that Katherine Meyers and ask questions. Thomas wasn’t bad. He was a good cop with a big heart, and I’d clear his name to anyone that thought differently.
I hoped.
“Whoa,” Max said, as someone walked out of the front door. I was so lost in my own mind that I had no idea who it could be.
“Hey, we called an Uber,” Brooke said, “It’ll be here in two minutes, and then, we’ll be out of your way.”
Liv stood behind Brooke, her eyes locked on mine, an angry scowl across her face. Even though she offered a sullen frown, she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She was always beautiful, even when she was an awkward gangly preteen with two crooked pigtails bursting out of the sides of her head.
But she wasn’t a kid anymore.
Long, dark hair cascaded in wavy strands around her shoulders. Her skin glowed in the moonlight, silky and smooth. She’d lost all her freckles somewhere along the path of adulthood, and gained curves of perfect flesh in all the right places.
Where did she get that dress?Where did she get those legs?
“Liv,” I said, nodding a hello. My voice was quiet and even, though it felt the contrary. “You look beautiful.”
She sighed and blinked her eyes slowly, “Thank you.” I had to look away, fighting the sudden urge to make her stay.
Headlights turned down the block and a horn beeped. I was still speechless. Afraid of opening my mouth. Nothing good would come out of it. Nothing.
Brooke flew down the stairs toward the car as Liv sashayed behind.
“Shit, your sister is—”
“I will poke your eyes out,” I growled at him.
“Hot as fuck. Your sister is hot as fuck. Poke my eyes out, bro. It’s worth it if she’s the last thing I see.”
“Shut up,” I rumbled. The scent of her perfume whirled around me, lingering and teasing.
“No way, man,” he said, nudging my arm, “And her friend just looked at you like she knew what you’d be making her for breakfast tomorrow.Lookat the girl’s legs, Dean.”
I didn’t need him to point them out. I’d been thinking about them all day, wrapped around me. Liv looked back toward the house, right at me. I knew it was too dark for her to see that I was looking right back at her. “Yeah, I know. She’s…she’s perfect.”
“Is that the girl who is staying here?”
“Yeah,” I sighed, watching her walk quickly down the front walkway toward the waiting car. Were they going out dancing? Would one of those legs be hooked around some other guy’s waist later? Would she go home with someone? The thoughts had me sitting up, almost propelling me off of my chair.
“Hey!” the loud mouth next to me called, “Where you two going?”
Brooke opened the door, tilted her head back and smiled. “Boozers,” she yelled out and slid into the car. Liv’s long legs climbed in next, and Ryan shot up next to me.
