AUDREY
“Samuel is really something, huh?” Liam said when we arrived at Clifton Hotel at the Maricopa.
“Why? Oh, you can come in,” I invited.
“Really?” He grinned.
“Yeah, sure.” I blushed. “I’ve never invited a boy to my room before… um, but… we’re not in the mansion, so—”
“Thanks.” Liam stepped into my suite and paced straight to the windows where he could get a view of the Sky Harbor International Airport. “I’ve never been in this kind of place. My room is as big as yours and is three times our house in Glendale.” He glanced at me with a smile. “It’s only probably the size of this suite’s bathroom,” he joked.
“I have tea,” I said. “Would you like a cup?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
“What would you like? Earl Grey or English Breakfast?” I asked as I grabbed the jar from my suitcase.
He shrugged. “What’s the difference? Isn’t it… tea?”
“Um, Earl Grey is lighter and slightly citrusy. It’s my favorite. And um, English breakfast is stronger—” I chuckled “—but it can be blended with a latte.”
“Earl Grey, it is. Thanks,” he replied simply.
I nodded, but the redness of my face was irrepressible. How stupid of me to start the conversation with tea? I mean, of course, I wasn’t trying to tell him that I had more knowledge of tea. I should be more embarrassed since, yes, it’s only tea, but… Ugh! I was insensitive. I could just choose it for him.
I poured the hot water into the cup and then put the teabag in it. I picked up the saucer and walked over to him.
“Here.”
“Thank you.” He took the plate and sniffed the tea a little before taking a sip. “Hmm. It tastes like tea,” he said, chuckling.
“Um, why don’t we sit?” I offered. “We have the whole day before the flight tomorrow.”
“Right.” He took another soundly sip of his tea and headed to the couch. He sat on the cushion and placed the cup on the table. “I guess we’re going to be each other’s company in the next couple of days.”
“Just a couple of days?”
“I think so. I have to accompany you to Brooklyn for a week before Sam arrives, and I’ll be starting to work the following week, and I’ll be staying at my father’s friend’s house.”
“And we aren’t going to see each other again?” I asked, wondering.
He stared up at me, and his eyes lingered with mine for a moment. I wasn’t sure if he was stunned or amused.
“If you want to.” He shrugged. “Do you want to, Audrey?” There’s a gleam in his eyes.
I bit my bottom lip, smiling. “Sure. You’re, like… the only person I know from home, aside from Sam. Of course, I want to see you again.”
He let out a chuckle, and it was rich and breathy and sounded like a relief. “Yeah, sure. I guess we have to get to know each other then.”
I couldn’t look into his beautiful eyes. It’s like I was going to melt looking at it for a long time. “Um, how?”
He picked up his tea again and took a gulp. “I’m not a very complicated person, but I’d really much like to know how you would end up being engaged to a father with a son of your age. By the way, I don’t like the Scotts, and I don’t like you to marry the old fat Benjamin, not even to Charles, for example, but running away like this is also dangerous.”
I blinked. “You don’t like me to marry—why?”
His face grew red. “I didn’t mean to say that, for me… I mean, of course not for me,” he stuttered nervously. “What I mean theoretically, why would a sixteen-year-old marry someone she doesn’t like?”
I froze, but I couldn’t contain my amusement. I burst out a laugh.
“Is something funny?”
“I’m sorry.” I giggled. “I didn’t expect that you’d be so approachable.”
His smile reached his eyes. “Why do you think so?”
“I mean, we never really spoke before. I see you almost every day. I’m just wondering why you haven’t.”
His eyebrows met. “Approached you?”
I hummed. “Yes. We could’ve been friends a long time ago.”
He smirked. “Nah.” He shook his head. “As if I could do that. Samuel is a good friend, and he’s very close to Dad, but Anton might try to murder me before I even try to say ‘hello’—not to mention you might have a lot of suitors around…”
“There’s nothing like that because you’re right. Anton can be like that. He’s very violent. I don’t know why.”
He nodded. “I know because he’s been hanging up with the wrong friends. So, okay… tell me what happened?”
Oh, so we’re back to the main subject. I cleared my throat. “Well, my father had been indulging in some vices. He’s already losing a huge deal of money. He already sold half of our vineyard, your dad might have heard of that, and some of our workers have already lost their jobs. We were near bankruptcy, Liam, so he kind of made a deal with the Scotts, including selling me to them. I’m a payment for my father’s debts…”