Wired (Buchanan-Renard #13)(65)

That was as good an excuse as any for her lame behavior, she supposed. “He’s certainly not making my life easier,” she replied.

She walked into the living room, stopped to rave about the new furniture, then turned to go into the dining room, and there, leaning against the new table, was the bane of her existence, Liam “What-a-Hunk” Scott. He wasn’t alone. Alec stood on the other side of the table with a green trash bag in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.

It was almost impossible to stifle her reaction. Liam looked as though he’d been in a fight. There were a couple of bruises on his jaw and cheek and a cut above his right eyebrow. Were they from a rugby game? Or a fistfight? Maybe one of his assignments had turned violent. She told herself she didn’t care enough to find out.

Did he have to look so good? He wore old worn-out jeans that hung low on his hips and a T-shirt that was molded to his chest and upper arms, outlining his muscles. The T-shirt had seen better days. There was a faint logo of a sports team on it, she thought, but she couldn’t make out what it was. Although Liam’s stance was relaxed, his gaze was intense and it locked on her.

She broke the silence. “Hi,” she said, and before he could respond, she smiled at Alec and greeted him. She noticed his eyes kept bouncing back and forth between Liam and her. Great. Now he was suspicious and was going to ask questions.

“Why are you holding a trash bag?” she asked, trying her best to ignore Liam.

Jordan answered, “It’s your graduation present. I know how you love puzzles, so I got you a dozen. One has ten thousand pieces, and there’s even a 3-D one in there. Actually there are only eleven in the bag. I was telling the guys how amazing you are, and I don’t think they believed me.” She pointed to the table, which was covered in tiny jigsaw pieces. “All the pieces are faceup, so it shouldn’t take much time to put it together. It’s a thousand pieces, I think.”

“I’m not going to show off for you,” Allison whispered.

Jordan took pity. “Don’t worry. You can put it together when we get back Sunday. I just thought, knowing how puzzles are a great stress reliever for you, and given the circumstances . . .”

Allison could have sworn she gave an almost imperceptible nod toward Liam. “Given what circumstances?” she asked.

Jordan didn’t answer her. Noah had come up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. Allison envied how affectionate they were with each other. Their love was evident in every look, every action.

“She really is amazing,” Noah said to Alec and Liam.

Noah had firsthand knowledge. He had been at Nathan’s Bay when Jordan’s mother complained to her husband about a puzzle that was spread out on the dining table. According to Mrs. Buchanan, the judge had put it there over a month ago. Believing her husband would never finish it, she ordered that the puzzle be put back in the box. Then Allison happened to walk past. She stopped as soon as she saw the puzzle, stared at it a minute, and then began to put the pieces together at a dazzling speed. Noah stood in the doorway watching her and was soon joined by Jordan and her parents. He was certain Allison set some sort of record. Once she was finished, she sighed, turned around, and walked out into the sunroom, leaving her audience speechless.

Alec set the bag on a chair. “You wrapped her gift in a trash bag?” he asked Jordan. “That’s kind of lazy, isn’t it?”

Jordan laughed as she defended herself. “All the boxes are different sizes. How else do you wrap them?”

The two began a silly debate about gift wrap, but Allison wasn’t paying attention. She had suddenly guessed why Liam and Alec were there. She took a step back and shook her head. “Oh no, you don’t.”

Liam noticed how pale her face had become. “Oh no, what?”

“What’s going on?” Alec asked.

“You want me to do something else illegal for you, don’t you? Did Agent Phillips send you? Does he know about this?”

Jordan was outraged on her behalf. “You are not going to make her do anything more.”

Alec put his hands up. “Hey, we’re on her side.”

“Ha,” Allison scoffed.

“What does ‘ha’ mean?” Liam wanted to know.

She wouldn’t look at him when she said, “It means I’m not so sure you are on my side.”

Liam decided Allison had ignored him long enough. She was obviously in a strange mood, and he couldn’t figure out why. He was contemplating grabbing her and asking her what the hell was wrong with her when she finally turned her attention to him. She walked over to him, poked him in the chest, and said, “I’ve been following the contract, and I’ve been more than compliant, Liam. Way more.”

“Way more, huh?” Liam repeated, and dared to smile.

“I’ve been trying to get along with the man. He wore me down, and I finally agreed to this.” She lifted her arm to show off her new bracelet. “But that’s it. I’m not doing anything more to keep him happy. I’m already working eighty-hour weeks. And I just found out he programmed his phone number in my cell phone. All I have to do is push the number one and he’ll answer. Why he thinks I would want to call him is beyond me,” she added. “I’m trying to get along, and Agent Phillips has absolutely nothing to complain about.”