“My dad died. On this day, years ago.” Liam glanced down at the bar. “So, every day, I’m reminded that I was born, but he’s not here.”
Cecily’s face crumpled a bit. “Oh.” She bit her lip. “I’m so very sorry.”
Liam had been barely a teenager when his father passed, when he’d gone from being incredibly wealthy to having next to nothing nearly overnight. His oldest brother, Wilder, took over the company, mostly cut out his mother and his brothers. He’d listened to his mother complain bitterly about this for years, and he knew it wasn’t fair.
“I’m not talking to most of my family.” Liam shrugged. “After my dad died, well, my half brother kind of became a prick. And...” Liam couldn’t believe he was even getting into this. And with a perfect stranger. He never talked about Wilder. Never talked about the Lange dynasty. The millions, no billions, stolen from its rightful heirs. “Well, we disagreed on what should happen with Dad’s...uh...belongings. Wilder thought he should get most of it. I thought Dad would want it split between all four of his sons and his wife.”
Liam remembered trying to argue with his grown brother. He’d been just a kid, really. He never would get any traction. Then, his older full brother, Seth, and Liam’s twin brother, Stuart, they’d all just bought into Wilder’s lies. Took his side. Against him. Just because they were happy to take Wilder’s meager payouts. Liam felt the rest of the family deserved more. Much more. There wasn’t much point in staying in the family after that. As soon as Liam hit eighteen, he was gone. All he’d taken with him was a voting seat on the board of Lange Communications. Wilder had offered him millions for it. Liam had taken great joy in telling him to go to hell.
“Your brother took it all?” Cecily looked aghast.
“He took all that mattered.” Liam stared at the label of his beer bottle. “He took the valuable stuff.” As in, taking over Lange Communications, the cash cow and divvying up the tiniest of cash and stock payouts for the rest of them, which wasn’t nearly enough for his mother to live on or to pay for Liam’s private school tuition. His father never would’ve let that happen. But Wilder was a different story.
Wilder said Dad wanted him to take over the business, but Dad never mentioned that to Liam. Or anybody else. So, as far as Liam was concerned, Wilder could’ve simply made it all up. Liam was the one who’d convinced the board he was the natural choice to lead the company. And knowing his eldest brother, the control freak, the bossiest brother of all time, it was simply a straight-up power grab.
Cecily put her hand on Liam’s. The soft touch startled him.
“I’m sorry,” she said, eyes full of empathy. “That had to be terrible, fighting with your brother, especially after you just lost your dad.”
“Half brother,” he corrected. But Liam couldn’t stop staring at the woman’s delicate hand on his. There seemed to be more than comfort there. Something more like...an invitation. But was he imagining it?
“But grief does terrible things to people. Maybe he didn’t mean to do the things he did.”
Liam studied Cecily. She was a woman, he decided, who just tried to see the best in people. And maybe that was because people always put their best faces on around her.
“You’re being kind to him, but he doesn’t deserve it.” Liam waved a dismissive hand. Some people were just rotten. There was no helping them.
“Well, we can all use a little kindness, right?” She beamed at him, undeterred. “So, what can we do to cheer you up today? Nobody should be sad on their birthday.” She flashed another brilliant smile at him. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was have her naked in his bed. That would set things right. Maybe for all time.
He took a swig of beer to distract himself from those thoughts. She was too good for him. Too pretty. Too sweet. He hadn’t even showered from his day of sweaty outdoor work, and he was thinking of taking this lovely princess to his bed? His cramped Hoboken apartment with a stunning view of the brick building next door would not impress.
“It’s okay. Besides. I’m not the only person who’s had a bad day. Didn’t you say you were having a rough one? How come?”
Unease flickered across her face. “Yeah. I had a pretty rough day.” She bit her pink lip, as if trying to decide how much to share. He almost worried she’d blurt out something about a powerful rich husband. But, glancing at her left hand, he saw no ring. Nor, even, a white imprint of one she used to wear. “I got some bad news.”
“What kind?”
She studied him for a second, her resolve wavering. “I...uh. Lost my job. And my health insurance.”
“Seriously?” What crazy person would fire this gorgeous, sweet woman? A fool. That’s who. “Who would fire you? You’re...you’re...so...” Perfect. “Nice.”
“Aw, thanks, Liam.” An appreciative smile tugged at her mouth. “It was just layoffs. Nothing personal. It’s just about the corporation’s bottom line. I worked in HR for Yancy’s. The big department store chain?” Liam nodded. He knew it. Everybody knew it. They had a store at every mall, and in every downtown in America. But retail had taken a hit lately, especially with the economic downturn.
“Or, I guess I should say, worked.” She stared at her own beer bottle then, as if it were a crystal ball. “I can find another job—probably. It’s losing the health insurance...” She trailed off, as if the words had become lodged in her throat.
“Oh, you’ll be fine,” he told her. “Bet you get a new job and new insurance in just a month or two.”
She sent him a brave smile. “Yeah. Probably.”
Liam didn’t know what he’d said, but now she seemed sad. Despondent, even. Great job, man. You’ve brought her down somehow. But didn’t he always bring the
