Page 78 of The CEO I Hate

I knew he had to make tough decisions in his position, and that bringing Lyle back had been the toughest of all. I understood we had to work with Lyle for the good of the show, which required compromise, but I still couldn’t help feeling betrayed that Liam hadn’t said a word to support me.

“We should go in,” I said. “They’re waiting for us.”

Liam nodded and turned for the door. I swallowed down my emotions before following, not willing to let him see how foolish I felt for having believed he’d have my back.

26

LIAM

Aroar of laughter ripped through the living room, and I took my eyes off Mia long enough to glance at Jake. He was parked next to the couch, a group of burly off-duty firefighters seated around him. He took a playful swipe at one of them, catching a shoulder with his knuckles.

“Dude, that’s not even true,” he cried, his face creased with more amusement than I’d seen in a while. He shook his head, wearing a massive smile, and my chest clenched.

“You were too drunk to remember!” one of his buddies shot back, snickering into his beer. “You definitely went crying about it to the captain.”

“Lies,” Jake laughed. “You’re all liars.”

Ash barked once, like he was weighing in.

The guys cracked up even harder. One of them leaned over to rub his ears while another tried to balance a pretzel on his nose.

“See?” Jake said, pointing. “Even the dog knows you’re full of shit.”

I hadn’t expected Ash to be a hit at a party full of rowdy firemen, but apparently the mutt had range. Mia had suggested we bring him, and that had turned out to be a good idea.

It had been a long,longtime since I’d seen Jake sound that carefree, without any bitterness. When we’d talked about planning a little birthday party for him—Gabrielle, Mia, and I—we weren’t sure how he’d react. But as I released a pent-up breath, I knew we’d made the right call. The only thing that could possibly make the evening better would be if Mia, over here, was tucked into my arms rather than being frustratingly out of reach. But that was one shock I wasn’t prepared to dump on Jake tonight.

He clinked his beer bottle with his buddy’s before rolling off to chat with some other guests. Gabrielle made her way over to him, wrapping her arms around him from behind, and Jake turned his head to catch her cheek in a kiss.

The “Birthday Boy” badge on his chest, the one Gabrielle insisted he wear, reflected the lights. She’d even bought him a cone-shaped party hat, but Jake had drawn the line there. Thank God, because if he’d given in, she would have made the rest of us wear them too.

I wandered into the kitchen and found that Mia had taken position next to the pretzel bowl, doling out drinks. I stayed at the back of the crowd so that by the time it was my turn, there was no one else near us.

“Top up?” she asked, eyeing the drink in my hand.

I shook my head, using the excuse of snagging a pretzel from the bowl to lean in closer to her. “Has anyone told you that you make quite a sexy little bartender?” I murmured low under my breath.

Mia’s cheeks flushed slightly, her lips twisted in amusement. She kept her face forward as she replied, “My boyfriend wouldn’t like that.”

“Oh, who’s your boyfriend?”

She smirked at me briefly. “Big guy,” she teased. “You don’t know him.”

“But maybe you’d like to knowme?” I growled playfully.

Mia’s breath caught, and her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth.

God, I wanted her. It had taken all I had to keep from staring from the minute I saw her in that dress. It clung to her, the soft, stretchy material hugging each curve, caressing them as she moved. I wanted to know exactlyhowsoft that material was—how it would feel under my hands when I slid it up to get to even more softness beneath.

Thoughts like that were not going to help me keep our relationship under wraps, but even when I tried to keep my distance, I found that my body gravitated toward hers anyway. My hands were desperate to hold her, to curl around her. Not to mention let everyone else who kept staring at her know she wasmine.

But this was Jake’s day, and I wouldn’t ruin it like that.

Someone wandered over for snacks, and I cleared my throat. “I think the party’s going well.”

Mia nodded, back to being all business. “Inviting some of his old crew was the right move. Did you give him your gift yet?”

“I was about to,” I said, passing behind her, lowering my voice again. “Just wanted to see what kinds ofsnackswere available.”

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