Page 38 of Karma
Her car was in the driveway, and his gut told him she was home, but when he rang the doorbell, nobody answered. He called her from his cell, and when she still didn’t pick up, he began banging on the door.
Finally, Liza answered. “Dare!” She looked surprised but not unhappy to see him and stepped back, motioning for him to enter.
“Are you okay?”
“I am. Really.”
He scanned his gaze over her from head to toe, and though she looked like she’d just woken up, she seemed okay.
“Did Faith send you because I was late for dinner?”
He wasn’t about to admit he’d been pacing for the last forty minutes. “She was worried.”
Liza nodded. “Well, I was just about to call her. I came home from work and took half a pain pill and fell asleep. I set the alarm, but I swear I must’ve hit snooze, and I don’t remember.” She blushed. “I’m never late, and I feel awful that they waited for me.”
He waved away her concern. “Don’t worry about it. Faith’s the most understanding person I know. It’s Tess and her stomach you have to worry about,” he said, only partially joking.
“I just need a few minutes to pull myself together.”
She was wearing her clothes from work, which were now wrinkled. Obviously, she’d come home and crawled right back into bed. Too much too soon, something he’d already figured out.
“Look, I’ll just be a few minutes, and I’ll meet you back over at Faith’s, okay?”
He shook his head, knowing he wasn’t about to walk away. “I don’t mind waiting and driving you over. No sense getting behind the wheel if your head is still bothering you and you’ve taken pain meds.”
She paused, obviously unsure, but he couldn’t be sure whether it was of him or ofthem. Dare only knew that despite whatever reservations she had or barriers she wanted to erect, he intended to get past them.
Whatever it took.
“I’ll bring you home whenever you’re ready,” he promised. “Even if it’s in the middle of a killer dessert.” He raised his eyebrows and waited for her to reply.
Her sudden smile took him by surprise and lit up her face. “Well, if you put it like that, then you must really not mind.”
Did she really trust him so little? “I wouldn’t have offered if I did.”
While waiting in her family room, he made a quick call to Faith to let her know they’d be there soon. A few minutes later, Liza walked back into the room, wearing a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt. She’d washed her face, which was now makeup free, and had pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. The casual look worked for her. In fact, he’d never seen any woman so effortlessly sexy in his entire life.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Just let me grab a bottle of wine. I can’t drink, but at least I won’t walk in empty-handed.”
He smiled at her thoughtfulness, knowing Faith and Ethan expected nothing more than her company, but she didn’t understand that yet.
They drove to the house on the hill in comfortable silence. He’d just pulled into the driveway when Liza turned to him. “Before we go in, I meant to thank you earlier.”
“Didn’t we go over this before I left last night? No thanks are necessary. I wanted to be there for you.” He’d wanted to spend the weekend with her.
He shut off the engine and turned to find confusion in her expression.
“I meant thank you for the flowers.”
“I didn’t send flowers.” Though now he wished he had.
“Oh!” Her eyes opened wide, a flush staining her cheeks. “I just thought…”
“You received flowers today?”
She nodded.