Page 51 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“I didn’t know you guys were close.”
“Aren’t we jealous?” He bumped his shoulder against mine. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind being shared.”
“Oh, shut up.” I laughed. “Stop deflecting.”
“We’re friends.” He sighed. “We text. Sometimes. Often.”
“You like her.” It wasn’t a question. I knew Liam well enough by now to read him, he was as transparent as they got, and that was one of the things I liked about him the most.
Liam parted his lips to speak, to most likely agree with me, but the elevator reached the lobby, and the doors opened, so he remained silent. Naomi was arguing and pointing at Aaron with her finger while he stared down at her. The height difference was almost comical.
“To be continued,” I said to Liam, stepping out of the elevator. He followed me. “Naomi! Hi!”
Naomi shook her head twice, fast, and took a step back from where she stood. As if suddenly realizing she was standing too close to Aaron.
“Miss Murphy,” Aaron said in a calm tone. “Miss Lieberman is not yet authorized to come up.”
“Check your inbox, please. William emailed you the form.” Aaron pulled out his phone and tapped the keys. “I’m so sorry, Naomi. I didn’t know you were coming, or I would’ve let Aaron know. I promise this won’t happen again.”
“Oh, you’re fine,” she said sweetly. “I need to head back to L.A. in a few days anyway. I’m sure Agent …” She looked at me for an answer.
“Hirsch,” I chimed in.
“I’m sure Agent Hirsch will be thrilled to know I won’t be visiting anytime soon after tonight.” She glared at Aaron from the corner of her eyes and clicked her tongue.
Aaron groaned.
“This is Liam,” I said. “Liam, this is Naomi Lieberman, William’s publicist.”
“Liam Kelly, right?” She narrowed her eyes at him with curiosity, offering her hand to him.
“That’s right. Nice to meet you, Naomi.” They shook hands.
“You’re with BME agency, correct?” she asked Liam.
“Yes, I am.” He smiled. “With Laurel Hayes and Alex Parker.”
“Yeah, I know Alex,” Naomi said. “He’s a good friend.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but you’re now on Mr. Sjöberg’s permanent guest list, Miss Lieberman,” Aaron said, and she crossed her arms at her chest with a smirk. “I’ll walk you up, Miss Murphy.”
“Oh, that’s fine, Aaron,” I shot back. “There’s no need. You can take the rest of the evening off. We’ll be at Nathalie’s apartment.”
“I’ll walk you up to her apartment,” he insisted, his tone unyielding.
I sighed. “Okay, let’s go.” Arguing with Aaron when he was in one of his moods was a waste of time. I was beginning to worry about him. His father wasn’t doing well, health-wise, and I wondered if that was triggering his ill temper. I made a mental note to ask him some other time.
We stepped inside the elevator, and Aaron was about to put his phone inside his jacket pocket when Naomi said, “Wait, is that … a BlackBerry?” She snorted a laugh, and he looked down at her with hooded eyes like he couldn’t give two shits about her remark. “I didn’t know people were still using those. Can I take a look at it?”
Aaron’s hand froze as his phone was half inside his pocket. “Sure.” He pulled it back out and handed it to Naomi.
“I loved my BlackBerry,” Liam said. “But everyone switched to iPhone, so …”
“Right?” she agreed. “I had such a hard time getting used to the iPhone’s keyboard at first.”
Aaron grew visibly impatient and began tapping his foot as he waited to get his phone back.
The elevator slid open on the 14th floor, and Naomi returned Aaron his phone before stepping out. “Miss Lieberman,” Aaron said as he held the elevator doors open with his arm. “Why is my phone unresponsive?”
