Only A Millionaire

Chapter 12

LIAM

"What in the fuck do you mean . . . she's gone?"

     I  knew  I   was  probably  yelling  at   my   only   sister,  but   she   should

have  never  delivered  the  news  that   Brooke  had  left   for   California   in

the dining room of Sullivan's.

     "Luckily, Tessa had just closed up, so we were alone.

      I'd  arrived  from  my  meeting  in  Boston  just  in  time  to  do   cleanup

so Tessa could head for home.

     It  had  been  a  long  drive.  Maybe  I  should  have  spent  the   night  in

the  city. But I'd been  eager  to  get  home  to  Brooke. It  had  been  a  few

days since she'd spilled her guts about  what  had  happened  to  her,  and

she  seemed  okay,  but  I  wasn't  all  that  comfortable  leaving  her  alone

for   the  day. Unfortunately, I'd  had  a  meeting  with  my   suppliers   that

I  hadn't  been  able  to  cancel, and  I  had  another  personal  reason   for

wanting to be in the city.

     Tessa  stopped  loading  dishes  and   turned   to   face   me. "She  said

that she'd be back. She just needed a couple of days  to  deal  with  some

things  on  the  West  Coast. Honestly, she  did  look  a  little   shaken  up."

        "What  things? " I  asked  suspiciously. Brooke  had   been   nowhere

near packed yesterday, and I'd  planned  to  work  out  the  details  of  her

staying with me tonight or tomorrow.

    Hell, I  had  everything  planned, so  damn  certain   she  was  going  to

be willing to stay.

    And now, she was gone.

   "I don't know," Tessa  explained. "She  didn't  give  me  much   informat-

mation except that she'd be back;. She's not gone forever, Liam."

     "She  didn't  say   anything  else?" Christ!  I  wanted  Tessa  to  tell  me

something more. It made no sense for Brooke to leave.

     My  sister   shook   her   head   regretfully. "Her   shift   was   over   and

Evan was here to pick  her  up. She  left  the  keys  for  your  SUV  in  your

office. She didn't say much. She looked a little. . . overwhelmed."

    Evan? "I'll  kill  the   bastard,"  I  growled. "Why  in   the   hell   was   he

here? What does he have to do with Brooke leaving?"

    "I should have asked me more questions," Tessa said. "But I  had  cus-

tomers. She just asked me to tell you she'd be back."

    "That's  not  all   that   comforting   right   now,"  I   answered   abruptly

"But it's not your fault, Tessa."

     My sister  was  just  the  messenger. If  Brooke  was  gone,  I  had  no