Page 17 of Karma

“Yeah, silly you,” Dare said in an odd tone.

“Well, since it is like a zoo, there’s no way I can concentrate on little details,” Faith said. “I think we should enjoy the night here and meet up another time to do fundraiser business.”

“I’m all for enjoying girls’ night,” Kelly said, raising her beer bottle. “That okay with you?” she asked Liza.

As if she had a choice now? Liza nodded. “That’s fine.” She’d drink and be merry with the cop who made her think of nothing but sex whenever he was around.

“Can I get anyone another drink? I was going to get up and go to the ladies’ room anyway,” Kelly said.

Everyone murmured no-thank-yous since they’d just had their drinks refilled.

“Liza?” Kelly asked her.

Still feeling the heat of Dare’s stare, Liza managed a nod. “I’ll have a glass of white wine. And thank you.”

“No problem. Next round’s on you.” Kelly grinned and rose from her seat, winding her way through people more easily than Liza had.

“So, Liza, are you going to sit down and join us?” Dare asked, forcing her to look directly at him again. He leaned back in his chair, muscular arms folded across his chest, a pleased smile on his lips.

“Where are my manners?” Faith asked, laughing. “Yes, Liza, please sit.” She patted the empty chair beside her that Kelly had just left behind.

Which just happened to be next to Dare. “I couldn’t take Kelly’s seat.”

“Sure you can. I’ll just head to the back room and take one of Joe’s spares,” Sam assured her.

Amazed that the cop who’d arrested Brian was being so nice to her, Liza smiled. “Thank you.” Out of options, she walked over and lowered herself into the seat, only to find herself squeezed between Faith and Dare.

Faith she could handle, Liza thought, suppressing a nervous laugh. Dare, on the other hand, was way too close, his body heat radiating off him in enticing waves. He smelled like Ralph Lauren’s Polo. She’d sniffed the woodsy fragrance in Neiman Marcus with her teenage girlfriends, and Liza had been a sucker for the masculine scent ever since. Now she had a man to associate with the heady cologne, and her body throbbed in response.

“That’s better,” Faith said, oblivious to Liza’s runaway hormones. “Now, just in case not everyone knows names, Liza, this is Dr. Alexa Collins.” Faith pointed at the auburn-haired woman. “And these are Officers Sam Marsden, Cara Hartley, and Dare Barron. Who also happens to be my brother-in-law. Everyone meet Liza.”

“Nice to meet you all,” she said politely.

“Likewise,” Cara said, watching Liza intently over the rim of her drink.

“Happy to have another woman among these Neanderthals,” Alexa added with a welcoming smile.

Thankfully neither Sam nor Dare mentioned how they knew her. And nobody mentioned Brian.

“Now that that’s over with, what were we talking about?” Faith asked.

The topic turned from one subject to another, and Dare leaned in close to Liza, but he didn’t say a word, as if waiting for her to talk first.

“We really have to stop meeting like this,” she blurted out.

Dare, his head close to hers, merely grinned. “Really? Why is that? I kind of like seeing you outside the station.” His warm breath fanned her ear, and Liza’s stomach churned with unsettling emotion.

“Dare, did you hear Tess has been asking for a puppy?” Kelly asked, obviously unaware she was interrupting a moment.

“I’m glad it’s their problem,” Dare said. Soon, they’d launched into a discussion of a rambunctious destructive puppy in the huge mansion.

Liza didn’t know how Dare held on to the thread of conversation. Time passed in a haze for her because he sat so close his hard thigh kept brushing hers. If she shifted away, somehow he’d move and end up touching her again.

Not that he seemed affected by her closeness in the least. He carried on a conversation with his friends and family, never losing his train of thought, never uncomfortable or at a loss for words.

They all seemed happy enough to have Liza there, but she wasn’t really a part of their world, and she envied their easy banter and closeness. And though she appreciated the fact that they’d included her, she knew she’d never really belong.

She never had.