A Borrowed Life (Carly and Liam #1) (25 page)

“And you must be Carly?”

I nod, forcing myself to smile as naturally as possible, but deep down, my whole body is trembling.

“Pleasure to meet you,” I say, holding out my hand.

“Well, my son certainly has not exaggerated your beauty.”

She smiles proudly towards Liam and I let out a breath of relief. I'm still alive. Well, maybe what people say about Aubelia Walker is a little exaggerated.

“Will your parents be present today?” she asks me.

“My parents?”

I almost choke on my words. Of course my adoptive parents won’t be here, but my father… I don't know. Actually, he probably will. I hadn't really thought about it, but his family is definitely on the guest lis
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everyone is.

“Um, I…”

I turn to Liam. I promised not to lie, but it wouldn't be lying to say that I'm Richard Lexington's daughter, although I swore to myself never to be. It would be incredibly hypocritical of me to say today that I am, only to deny it tomorrow.

“They died, unfortunately,” I tell her. “A car accident.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…”

“It's okay, I was very young.”

“It probably explains why I don't know you.”

I don't dare to answer that. Obviously, she knows everyone that’s upper-class and I’m definitely not apart of that. At that moment, a man in his fifties comes up behind her wearing a tuxedo that suits him perfectly, flashing an honest and warm smile. A loving, but in-charge look on his face, much like Liam's. He's very attractive for his age. His hair hasn’t lost any of its dark color and his eyes are of the same blue as his son’s; Liam definitely looks more like his father than his mother.

The man puts an arm on Aubelia’s lower back.

“Come on, it will start soon. Hello, Liam.”

“I’ll be right there. Stephen, have you met Carly?”

“Oh! No!”

It's not hard at all to smile at him. He looks really nice. I extend my hand to him and his eyes shine with pride.

“So, it is you who makes my son sing?”

I let out a giggle while Liam sighs.

“It only happened once! And I wasn't singing, I was humming.”

I turn to him, laughing. I picture him that cheerful and it makes me happy. I can't help but love him more, knowing the effect I have on him. As we arrive in the section reserved for the family, Ava jumps up to hug me.

“Carly! I'm happy to see you!”

“Me too!”

“You know what, I was wrong. This dress is perfect. You’re just gorgeous!”

“Thank you! But I’m just ordinary next to you!”

For the occasion, she paired a royal blue dress with an azure-colored shawl, accentuating her tanned complexion. A silver necklace plunges into her cleavage adding class to her look. Next to her, a man with blond hair styled to perfection rises to his feet. He has a strong jaw and thin lips that form a single, slim line.

“Carly, let me introduce you Derrick!” she says as she enthusiastically points to her boyfriend.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Me too! You're Liam's new girlfriend?”

I nod and Stephen arrives behind us, gently pushing us in our seats.

“You can discuss that later, kids. The ceremony is beginning.”

We sit down just as the wedding march begins. Already, Karl, Liam's brother, awaits his bride at the altar. I turn to see her appear, but my eyes meet those of Liora a few benches away. She has daggers in her eyes, but I force myself to ignore it because I have no desire to get into a war with her. Obviously, she had her sights set on Liam before I arrived in the picture. No doubt this is why Richard wanted me to stay away from him
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to clear the way for her.

After the ceremony, we all gather in the garden for the reception. I meet many people Liam works with, who are distant family as much as close friends. Mr. and Mrs. Gallaway are also among the guests. I hadn't immediately recognized the couple we ran into during our walk in the jungle of Bora Bora, but Liam reminds me, whispering in my ear in an amused tone. Of course, neither he nor I have forgotten what we had just done seconds before their arrival.

“Oh, oh!” Ava exclaims beside me.

“What?”

“Here's the devil himself.”

My heart stops beating for a second as my father comes to mind. So far, I've been lucky and haven't seen him, but I'm aware that I can't avoid him all evening. But Liam's sister was speaking about a woman.

I think I recognize her; she was with Liam aboard the cruise. Her platinum blonde hair sparkles in the light. Her face is both delicate and dangerous, with a touch of mystery in her charming blue eyes. She really has the whole package.

“Who is she?” I ask.

“Desiree Lauren.”

My ribs seem to close around my hear
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she’s Liam's ex. Liv told me all the newspapers spoke of their break up for weeks. I swallow. Liam is talking with his friend, Jay, a few feet away from us. Desiree immediately notices me and approaches, all smiles.

“If I were you,” Ava advises, “I wouldn't leave her alone with Liam.”

“What? Why?” Liam wouldn't cheat on me? Right? Is he still in love with her?

“Oh, you can trust my brother. It's her you can't trust. She knows what to do to make a man submit, and she knows Liam's weaknesses.”

This does nothing to reassure me, and I definitely don't have what it takes to compete with a woman like her.

“Liam!” she smiles at my man who politely turns and kisses her cheek.

“Hello, Desiree. How are you?”

“Very good and you?”

“Have you met Carly?” he asks, turning to me.

I walk to him with a smile as if nothing had happened.

“Who?”

She turns to me, gauging me contemptuously.

“Oh! No. You're Liam's girlfriend, right?”

“Yes.”

My tone is firmer than I would have liked it to be, and I see in her eyes that she doesn’t appreciate it. She acknowledges me and returns her gaze to Liam. He continues to talk to his friend, while she prides herself at his side. I see a table with champagne flutes a little further away, so I move away to pick one of them up.

Suddenly, Liam grabs my arm to bring me closer to him, and I can sense control in this gesture, as if he were scolding me.

“Where are you going?” he roars in my ear.

“Elsewhere. Looks like you're doing just fine without me.”

I'm not the sarcastic type, but I can't help it; Desiree is provoking me. He looks up at his friends.

“Will you please excuse us for a moment.”

Jay raises his glass in his direction, indicating that it's fine. Liam leads me to the dance floor.

He begins to dance and I try to follow.

“What did that mean exactly?” he asks on a disapproving tone.

“That you and Desiree seemed very close, and I literally ceased to exist.”

“She's a former friend. Her family and my family have been friends for decades. I'm being polite with her, that's all. Since when are you jealous?”

“She's obviously still in love with you. And I'm not jealous!”

“So what if she is? It’s you that I love.”

“What happened between you two?”

“It's none of your business.”

“Excuse me?”

“You wouldn't like me to tell everyone how our relationship is, and I have the same respect for her.”

“I see. I thought you’ve never had a girlfriend?”

He takes a deep breath, seeming to turn his tongue into his mouth.

“It's true. We didn't have exactly have that kind of relationship. It's complicated.”

“I can understand you know, if you try to explain to me.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to, that's all.”

I really don't like his answer, and I would just like him to confirm to me that he doesn't have feelings for her.

“Carly, don't you see?”

“What?”

“People have eyes for only you tonight. You have no reason to be threatened by Desire.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look around. Women are jealous of you and every man I’ve met wishes they were with you. Even Desiree can't ignore that.”

“Women are jealous because I'm with you. And the only opinion that matters to me is yours.”

“My opinion? I couldn't be happier. The most beautiful woman in this place is in my arms.”

His fingers line my neck and I lean my head on his solid chest. I close my eyes for a second and lose myself in this moment, feeling like we're alone in the world. His grip closes around me and I feel so good that I forget all my problems. I would stay like this forever if I could.

Suddenly, a hand lands on my shoulder, and I straighten up to see Richard Lexington smiling at me. I jump and my whole body tenses up.

“Mind if I borrow your date, Mr. Walker?”

Liam gives me a questioning look. I almost want to signal him no with my hea
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No, don't let him come near me, don't let him dance with me
. But I don't do it. And without giving me a chance to answer, the man takes my hand to drag me away with him.

My breathing abruptly stops, and immediately Liam closes his fingers on Richard's shoulder and glares at him. Oh, this is not good! Richard will assume that I told him everything, and Liam will also be in danger. So I interject, playing it off as best as I can.

“It's fine! You can give us two minutes, I promise, Liam.”

“Actually, I was in the middle of a conversation with Carly,” Liam insists. “She'll come find you later.”

Inwardly, I sigh with relief, but that fades when I see my father boiling with rage as he walks away.

“You haven’t told me everything, Carly.”

“Trust me, I can’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because I promised.”

This is not entirely true, but I fear his reaction if I explained to him that Richard threatened to attack him. As the waltz ends, the guests stop and applaud the orchestra.

“And now, may the bride and her father step on the dance floor, please,” announces the singer, pointing out both of them with his right hand.

All smiles, Karl's wife advances in the center of the dance floor to dance with her father.

“Excuse me,” a woman calls next to me.

“Yes?”

“Can I?” She shows me her camera. “It's for the Sunlight Star,” she adds.

My expression darkens. My heart is pounding and I gulp, turning to Liam. He smiles at me, assuring me that everything will be fine. Behind him, I see Richard Lexington’s sharp look as if he was serving me a warning. I turn to the woman, nodding and smiling.

Liam moves his arm around my waist to affectionately hold me against him, and the journalist takes a picture.

“Thank you! And you are?”

“Carly. Just Carly.”

“Is it you who was aboard the cruise?”

“Um… Yes. I was.”

The woman grins. Aubelia and Desiree join us, greeting the woman as if they knew her personally.

“How was the decorator I recommended to you?” asks the journalist.

“Oh! She did wonders with my living room! Thank you for sending her my way!”

I see the confident look and the mean smile Desiree shows as she takes a sip of champagne from her flute.

“You know,” she says hypocritically to the journalist, “I think I have a restaurant to recommend to you because I know you love seafood so much. I heard the Wever in Jersey City is a must! It's the new ‘it’ place.”

I'm both angry and taken by surprise. I would jump at her throat if I could.

“Oh yeah? Really?”

“Of course, Carly can confirm, since she works there.”

All turn to me and I don't know how to react.

“Oh, I didn't know you owned a restaurant, dear?” Aubelia notices.