"Yeah, okay. You're right. I'll see you guys at the game tomorrow." He smiled tightly and walked away. Jenny trotted after him trying to keep up.
Our group was stunned into silence at first, but then Becca spoke. "I realize that he is beyond, beyond foolish, but we'll eventually have to be able to have a conversation with him since he's Liam's and Penn's teammates."
I scoffed. "Yes, I completely agree, but I'm not about to let him introduce me to the girl I found him in bed with when we were dating."
Becca gasped. "That was her? He had the freaking gall to bring her as his date and introduce her to you?!" She was fuming and I couldn't blame her. If I wasn't standing next to Liam, I would have been much angrier about the situation myself. But the moment Josh was out of my sight, Liam’s cologne wafted around me and I remembered the guy I was actually here with. Liam trumped all.
I glanced up, making eye contact, and rested my hand on his forearm. "I hardly care. I'm here with you and there's no one else I'd rather be with. I just would love to not have to pretend to like her if I don't have to."
His sharp features started to relax as my words washed over him. He took a deep breath and leaned in. "If I didn't have to keep up appearances at this event, he wouldn’t be standing right now."
I shivered at his words. "Don't. Please. He doesn't mean enough to me for you to waste your energy. I don't even want to be his friend. I'll be polite to him whenever we're forced to be near him, but please don't let him ruin our night."
Liam kissed me square on the mouth, stealing my breath and replacing it with all of his feelings for me. When he pulled back I knew he was in control of his anger. My lips had replaced the need to beat up Josh. Kinsley’s lips: 1, Josh: 0.
I glanced over to see Penn wrapping his arm around Becca and tugging her in close. She was smiling at him, and for a moment, everything felt at peace.
"I still have to say hi to a few people. Do you guys want to meet us on the dance floor in a little bit?" Liam asked Penn.
They agreed and soon he was whisking me through the party, never letting his hand stray from my back. He introduced me to his agent, the sweet woman who gave us a moment to talk the week before. She smiled knowingly when she shook my hand and I knew she'd been rooting for me all along. I realized then that she looked to be in her mid-thirties and was wearing quite a beautiful wedding ring.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Kinsley. You seem to be a good influence on Liam," she gushed, eyeing him like an old friend.
I grinned. "Oh really?" I wanted more details.
"He's been more focused on the important things lately. It's making my job quite a bit easier."
Liam chuckled. "Maybe I should make you work harder for that cut."
She gasped jokingly. "Don't even think about it."
We chatted a bit more and then he led me toward another group.
"I promise this won't last much longer. I just have to get it over with in the beginning, and then it'll just be you and me for the rest of the night," he promised. He took me in from head to heels and I swatted him playfully with my hand.
"I'm not sure that look you're giving me is appropriate for public," I warned with a teasing smile.
He smirked before pulling me in for a kiss. "Oh, it wasn't. You don't want to know the thoughts that have been playing in loop through my mind since I saw you in that dress."
"It’s the back, isn't it?" I joked, trying to quell the heat between us.
His hand traced down my spine, landing just above my ass. "I've never considered myself a back-man until I saw you wearing this."
I laughed and he kissed me one more time before tugging me into another group. At least this time I saw a familiar face standing next to me. Albeit, not a truly welcome one. Brian King, El Reporter McLiarpants.
"Oh, hello Brian." I offered him a terse smile as Liam struck up a conversation with another person in the group. Brian turned to me and I could tell he was a bit shocked to find me standing next to him.
"Kinsley!” his eyes lit up with shock. “I didn't know you'd be here. I've been meaning to get in touch with you since the article went live, but I've been so busy."
"Ah, I'd imagine so," I said, taking a sip of my champagne.
“How are you doing?” he asked, scanning briefly down the front of my outfit before meeting my eyes.
“I’ve been okay,” I answered honestly.
"I’m actually glad to get to talk to you in person,” he said, angling toward me. “I wanted to apologize. When I first asked you to do that article my intention was for it to be about soccer. My editor pushed for that romance nonsense because we needed ratings. He ended up spinning the story and I had to fight him tooth-and-nail. Obviously, he had the last word." His apology seemed so earnest, and my gut told me that he wasn't a bad guy. I knew he was probably under a lot of pressure to deliver certain kinds of stories to the magazine.