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“Nice to meet you.” He extracted his hand from her grip, trying to compose himself enough to look pleasant.
“You guys are the bomb for coming! Get ready to yell your heads off when they announce Carly’s name. Liam’s on stage, so there are only the four of us out here. And I swore to Carly we would be the loudest ones in the auditorium.”
Bran tried not to grimace, Nora’s description of her expectations lining up closely with the worst nightmare he could imagine. He could feel Steph shaking with laughter at his elbow.
As she guided them into their seats, Steph leaned toward him, humor dancing in her tone. “Don’t worry... I’ll be the cheer squad for the three of us. I know you’re not going to yell. And if Fordham started hollering, I might wet my pants.”
A smile fought its way onto Bran’s face.
“For that, I might offer Fordham a bribe.”
Steph laughed, and her hand left his arm. Already missing her touch, his lungs contracted painfully.
It’s not that I’m attracted to her in any way. I’ve simply grown accustomed to using her presence as a calming tactic.
Bran knew that he would never develop a relationship like the one Liam and Carly had together. Liam had informed Bran that he and Carly were in love, a phenomenon that had no part in Bran’s future.
And that’s fine with me. I have my work and my well-ordered life. I don’t need anything else.
* * *
Carly
* * *
“Carlotta May Simpson.”
With a bounce in her step, Carly climbed the stairs onto the stage amidst mostly polite applause, with one notable exception. Nora made enough noise for twenty people—screams, whistles, and cat-calls—more than compensating for the fact that Carly had few guests at the graduation ceremony.
“Woo-hoo! You go, girl! Shake that hair!”
Carly laughed, obligingly flicking her iridescent blue locks with her hand.
With a job waiting for her at the Limitless Laboratories in Seattle, she was excited to get her doctorate and start work. Even the fact that her father wasn’t in attendance didn’t dampen her enthusiasm.
As Carly reached the top step and pivoted toward center stage, she locked eyes with the hottest guy she’d ever seen, sporting an ear-to-ear grin aimed only at her. Standing in all his doctoral regalia, some people might not even notice the wheelchair keeping Liam’s legs straight and upright. But Carly didn’t care what other people thought about him. Just like she didn’t care what they thought about her hair, which was why she’d agreed to wear the shoulder-length, shimmery blue wig that Liam had chosen for the event.
“It suits your personality,” he’d said. “It’s cute and fun and memorable.”
She didn’t complain. She knew it was his way of proving he loved her as she was.
Of course, the red Faye Fortune wig was still his favorite. The original had been ruined in the accident, a fact which had initially sent Carly into mourning because it had cost so much. However, Liam had not only replaced it with an identical one, but had also become addicted to shopping for new ones. And he had expensive taste, Diamond being his favorite brand, with wigs that cost upwards of ten thousand each.
In the beginning, Carly had objected to his purchases because he was spending way too much money on her. But about six weeks into their relationship, Liam had finally revealed his net worth... more than a billion dollars!
“I can afford to buy you a new wig every day for the rest of our lives,” he’d said.
The part of his claim that had intrigued her most was the fact that he’d saidour lives, hinting at their future together. She’d simply gulped and smiled, still somewhat afraid to say anything that might rock their happy little boat.
Though his explanation had ended her complaining about the cost of his purchases, even the expensive Diamond wigs, she eventually objected at the sheer number. “I’m going to have to get an apartment with a second bedroom, just for my wigs!”
That was before she discovered she could donate extra wigs to Limitless, who provided free wigs to people in need. Now she could continue to let Liam indulge her, but without her former guilt.
As Carly approached Liam, he raised her doctoral hood in the air. She bent her head and allowed him to drape it over her shoulders, tucking it into place.
“Congratulations, Dr. Simpson.”
His eyes had that dark, drugged look they got when he was thinking about kissing her. He slid his hands to the sides of her face and tilted it upward.
