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met her new boyfriend.”
    He stilled. Each time she met one of Dina’s boyfriends, Lia was angry but this time she seemed defeated. “And what happened?”
    “It was a nice dinner.”
    “Then why are you upset?”
    She sat up. “I’m not upset.”
    He lifted his brow.
    “Okay, maybe a little,” she conceded. “Henry’s nice.”
    He frowned. “That’s a good thing, right?”
    “He calls her Di. My mother never lets anyone call her Di.” She sniffed. “And he makes Nanna laugh. You should see the way he looks at her. It’s like he… loves her, and my mother feels the same.”
    She leaned into him again. He just hugged her. What else could he do?
    “She’s changing, Max. She even told me she was glad I was home, when she didn’t even blink an eye when I told her I was moving to the city with Steve. I knew if I left, no one would miss me. Maybe Nanna.”
    “ I missed you.” Normally he would have retracted the words, but it was the truth. He had missed her. As ridiculous as it sounded, he was happiest when she was near, even when they were bickering. The past five years had seemed dull without her, and since her return, color had entered his life once again.
    “Are you crazy?”
    Crazy for you. He blinked at her annoyed expression. “Why?”
    She waved her hand between them. “ This. We hate each other and now you’re here listening to me pour out my problems. Why are you doing this?”
    The note of hysteria in her voice alarmed him. He stood and pulled her into his arms. She trembled as a sob slipped past her lips. “If you weren’t so busy trying to push me off a cliff, or throw me over a ship, or burn me alive in some cabin, you’d know that there’s always been something between us.”
    Lia let out a rusty laugh. “It’s not my fault you’re clumsy. Besides, you’re the one always trying to one-up me on everything.”
    He didn’t want to play games anymore. This was his chance to show her she wanted him, cared for him as much as he did her. Before she decided to run again. “All right. Let’s call a truce.”
    “Deal.” She took a step back, and her lips quivered. Vulnerability shadowed her features. “I do have a tendency to make a scene, don’t I? Mother hates it when I embarrass her in front of her boyfriends, Nanna and Carol always worry about us, and somehow I always get you in trouble. Is that why everyone leaves me?”
    Damn it. His chest tightened. Lia prided herself on being strong, and seeing her this way tore at him. With a groan, he embraced her and spoke from his heart. “You don’t give yourself any credit, sweetheart. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”
    She stared up at him through wet lashes. Without another word, she rose on tiptoes and kissed him. Warmth fluttered through him, and his heart clenched.
    He never wanted to let her go again.
    …
    Lia looked across the conference room. The social was a hit. Forty clients mingling and talking on the floor should have made her happy…except irritation had worked her over the moment Max stepped into the room and started flirting with Trina.
    “Lia, you okay?”
    She glanced at Karen. “Yeah, why?”
    “You’re making a mess.”
    Lia looked down at her hands. The paper napkin she’d held was now dusting the floor like snow. “Sorry.” Bending down, she picked up the mess and balled it before setting it on the table behind her.
    “I’ve never seen you this disturbed. Something happen?” Karen asked.
    “No. Just worried.” Worried last night meant nothing. After she’d kissed him, they’d ended up on the couch. He’d teased her, charmed her with his touch, but never pushed her into anything she wasn’t ready for. Giddiness and excitement fueled her day until she’d arrived at the social and remembered her job to find Max a date.
    And the pact if she didn’t.
    “The party is going great. Everyone is getting to know each other. The live band sounds awesome. You should join in the fun.”
    Lia only nodded.