It Started With A House: Lizzie. Book 1 (The Westport Mysteries) (31 page)

Taking the time
to crowd watch—one of my favourite pastimes—I saw Danny and Drew
grind their stuff with the best of them, both of them laughing and enjoying
each other’s company. I loved them both with all my heart but a spike of
jealousy for what they had threatened to spoil my alcohol induced happiness. Thoughts
of Riley and what he was doing right now flitted through my mind.

“You’re not
allowed any sad thoughts, tonight, Lizzie,” said Molly, reading my mind.

“That’s easier
said than done.” Looking down at my drink, I swirled it around in my hand and
tried to think of something other than those sky blue eyes.

“Hello,
Elizabeth,” I heard a very familiar voice say.

Looking up, any
thoughts of Riley completely forgotten, I came face to face with Scott. This
was the first time he’d spoken to me since I’d walked in on him and Brenda. It
took me a moment to gather my thoughts and get over the shock.

“What are you
doing here?” I asked, my voice several octaves higher than I’d hoped for.

“Brenda and I
are having an evening out,” he nodded in the direction of Brenda, who seeing
Molly, had sensibly kept her distance. “I saw you standing here on your own and
Brenda convinced me to come and talk to you.”

“What could you
possibly have to say to me now, Scott?” I asked. Anger and bitterness dripped from
my every word.

Molly stepped
up behind me, ready to do battle if I needed it. Feeling her there gave me the
courage to ask what I’d always wanted to know.

“All I want to
hear from you, Scott, is why. Why did you do it?”

“Can we go
somewhere and talk? It’s very noisy in here,” he asked, nervously glancing
around the room. Danny and Drew had also stopped dancing and come to offer their
support.

“Why don’t we
go outside?” suggested Drew, probably trying to avoid a situation that could
erupt in here. Nodding his head in agreement, we all followed Scott out the
front door, to the footpath.

The lineup of
people waiting to get in snaked its way down the side of the building, as
everyone eyeing the door, waiting for their chance to get inside, turned our
way. Scott was obviously extremely nervous as he kept glancing back at Danny
and Molly, his only back up Brenda. I’m not sure if that would help or hinder
him.

“Do you have to
have the cavalry with you?” he asked.

“Yes. You’ve
left it this long to talk to me, so you don’t get to set the terms,” I snapped,
stopping and turning to look at him. Standing there, shoulders hunched, he looked
small and insignificant.

“What did you
ever want from me?” I watched him take a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“I needed a
cover. I knew Brenda was special long before anything ever happened between us
but our boss is very religious, as you know. He wouldn’t have given me the
promotion I desired if he didn’t think my personal life was up to his standard.
As much as Brenda is a magnificent woman, she is divorced and quite a bit older
than me. I’m sure you could see my predicament.”

“No, but keep
going.”

“When you
started at the office, all the men were talking about you. You caused quite a
stir you know,” he smiled at the memory. “I noticed you straight away and you
seemed to have the qualities I was looking for. I thought I could help you
transform yourself into the beautiful person you’re capable of being. With some
guidance from me, you could have had it all.”

“I never wanted
it all, Scott. You would know that if you ever listened.”

“Oh, I
listened, Elizabeth. And watched. The problem with you is you’re lazy. You
could have been my perfect partner if you’d just put in some effort.” His
annoyance was starting to show, as his breathing became more rapid and his
speech faster.

“What do you
mean by that?”

“I mean, I may
never have continued a relationship with Brenda if you had improved yourself.”

“What’s wrong
with me?” I yelled, hurt.

“Well, look at
you now for instance. You are the most frustrating woman I have ever met,
Elizabeth. You are quite pretty but you refuse to make the most of yourself. Firstly,
you could actually go to the gym. Secondly, your brother, the gay freak that he
is, is a goddamn hairdresser. There is no excuse for the way you look.”

Holding my chin
high, I said, “Any man here would be happy to have me.” Looking around I could
see several heads nodding in agreement.

“Just say the
word,” yelled one man. I smiled at Scott.

“See?”

“That’s because
he doesn’t know you,” said Scott, getting right up in my face.

Wow that hurt. Not
that I was going to let him see that. “So I wasted two years of my life on
you!” I yelled.

“No. I wasted
two years of my life on you.” Scott stopped, took a deep breath and looked at
Brenda. She’d been pretty quiet throughout this whole thing.

“You’re just
not enough, Elizabeth. You’re not smart enough, you’re not pretty enough,
you’re definitely not sexy enough. The sex was ordinary and I’m sorry, I can’t
pretend anymore.”

I felt my
cheeks burning as I looked around at our audience, everyone within earshot had
gone quiet, listening to the drama unfolding in front of them. Suddenly the
footpath didn’t feel like the best place to be having this conversation.

“You had the
chance to be with me and you weren’t interested in trying to be what I wanted. Brenda
does try. She is everything I ever want in a woman.” Scott stopped for a
breath, “You’re just not in the same class.”

I could feel
the tension in the air build around me the more Scott spoke and I felt, more
than saw, Danny move towards him. He was pretty angry, but before he had time
to do anything, Riley stepped up, placing his hand on Danny’s shoulder, holding
him back.

I’d been so
consumed with what Scott was saying I hadn’t even notice him join us. I watched
as Riley moved past Danny and stepped up in front of Scott. Scott flinched as
Riley stood over him by a good six inches. I saw the look of satisfaction on
Riley’s face as he swung his arm and punched Scott on the nose.

Scott fell to
the floor, blood gushing everywhere. Riley turned his back on him and walked
towards me. Shocked, I looked up into his eyes as he gently took my face in his
hands. The only thing I could see was his face as he gently pulled me towards
him.

“He’s right. You’re
not in the same class. You are way above anyone else,” Riley said, his lips so
close I could almost taste his breath. He just needed to move a little bit
closer and he’d be kissing me. And that’s exactly what he did.

I had so many
emotions running through me, I didn’t know what to feel, but the roughness of
his jaw and the softness of his lips were pulling desire to the top of the
list.

Dropping his
hands to my waist, he pulled me hard against him, holding me up. His kiss was
soft and lingering, a taste of what was to come. I heard someone give a deep
blissful sigh and realized it was me. Pulling back, Riley looked at me with those
gorgeous blue eyes and smiled.

“I’ve
wanted to do that for a very long time,” he said.

“Hit Scott or
kiss me?” I asked.

He gave a small
chuckle. “Both,” he said, dipping his head to kiss me again as I heard the
crowd erupt in a loud cheer.

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