I thought quickly. “Because I hoped if I said I was moving away, you’d step up and make a play for me. But you didn’t.” I stuck my lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. I felt ridiculous, but he seemed to be considering my lie, so I’d take that as a small win. I glanced around the room, hoping to see something I could use against him, but nothing stood out as an obvious choice. “Do you not care about me enough to take a chance?”

He glowered. I might have pushed too far with that comment, but my thinking was sluggish, and I was having a difficult time gaging his mood.

“What do you call this, then?” he demanded.

“Good point,” I said, cringing a little. Despite the screwup, he didn’t come any closer and seemed to have lost some of the tension he’d been carrying a few minutes ago. I needed to keep him talking.

“This whole thing has been so clever of you.” I rubbed my lips together, trying to moisten them.

“How so?” He sounded skeptical but interested.

“I never had any idea who you were.” A complete truth. “How did you make that phone call after the accident without Blair knowing?”

He rolled his eyes. “It was hardly a challenge. All I had to do was prerecord a message and pay someone I found on online to send it through when I gave them the signal.”

Now that he mentioned it, I recalled that the voice on the phone had made a simple statement and then the call had ended. They hadn’t engaged in conversation, nor had they even seemed to react to Liam’s outburst.

“And keying my car?” I asked. “You weren’t even in the country when that happened.”

He shrugged. “I knew that greedy paparazzo was nearby because of the photographs he posted online, so I paid him to do it. He was only too happy to help out. It would have been great publicity for him if your people hadn’t squashed the story. Delivering the Christmas gift was easy too. Everyone wants to make a quick buck these days, especially at that time of year. I hired some clueless idiot and promised a bonus if he made sure no one saw him. I told him it was a surprise for my girlfriend.” He shook his head. “Moron.”

I felt a chill. I’d never guessed that Blair’s sweet friend was so calculating. I bit my lip—hard—and tasted blood. “I had no idea.”

“I know.” His grin froze my insides. “And that brings us to where we are. Unfortunately, I have to decide what to do with you next.”

Chapter Forty-Eight

LIAM

I know you probably won’t see this, but I need you to be okay. – text message from Liam to Kennedy, sent Monday 16 January