Full Circle Read Online Free PDF Page A

without liking her too much. On top of the fact that she was his boss’s sister and his coworker, he had traveled that road with her before—and seen its dead-end.
    “Welcome to my humble abode.” Elisa opened the door wider and gestured for him to enter.
    “Thank you.” He nodded. More stilted conversation.
    Liam stepped onto the hardwood floor. The interior of the house matched the outside, old and in need of repairs. A fresh coat of paint would benefit every wall, and the floor needed refinishing. With a few tools, he could do some serious updating in here. But the condition of the house didn’t disturb him as much as the absence of Elisa’s belongings.
    There wasn’t the stash of sentimental knick-knacks he’d known women to display, or any photos of family and friends on the wall—just a few pieces of furniture in the living room, and around the corner, a vintage kitchen table surrounded by four green vinyl chairs. The stuff looked way too old to be hers.
    “Do you own this place?” he couldn’t help asking.
    She strolled into the living room, never meeting his eyes. “No. This is temporary.”
    Temporary. It seemed to be the way she liked things—she had also said she would leave the clinic before long. He fought the urge to ask her why she was determined to leave a town he already knew he was going to enjoy. Dinner conversation had revealed Justin asked her that question often enough, so Liam kept his expression neutral. He’d have a better chance of getting her to talk if she thought he couldn’t care less.
    “The house belongs to my parents,” she explained. “They lived here years ago, and when they moved up to a nicer home, they kept this one and rented it out. They’re letting me use it for free until I finish school.”
    “That’s very generous.”
    “If you want to call it that.” She sighed and stared into space. After a moment, she focused on him, waving her hand toward the kitchen. “Do you want a drink? I’m sure I’ve got a beer or something.”
    He shook his head. These formal niceties were driving him insane. He had seen her in her pajamas at midnight, curled up on the couch watching a movie with Brett, who’d spent most of the time on his laptop checking email. When she had the flu, Liam found her pale, red-eyed and miserable after he skipped class to go to the drugstore and take medicine to her room—because Brett had been busy helping some other girl “study”.
    For God’s sake, they had made love. She didn’t have anything left to hide from him.
    “All I want is for you to stop playing this game.”
    She froze in the doorway to the kitchen then faced him, her expression wary. “What game?”
    “The one where we don’t know each other.”
    “Of course we know each other. I never said we didn’t.”
    “I never got a chance to tell you today, but I’m very sorry about your loss. I didn’t get the news.”
    You never told me.
    “It’s all right. It was a long time ago.”
    She didn’t look all right, and she avoided his eyes. Since her mind was on the past, he might as well pull the trigger.
    “Where did you go, Elisa? And what happened to Brett? Did he finally do something bad enough to make you leave him?”
    “He left me.” Her voice rose, her defenses up. “Trust me, I wish I’d been smart enough to leave him instead.”
    Liam would be first in line to agree with that, but now wasn’t the time to insult her. That deadbeat Brett could go to hell. He hated that he had once considered the guy a friend.
    He stepped closer to her. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Guess I just never understood what you saw in him.”
    She shrugged. “We were young. He was cute, I was naïve…you know the drill. Women have sex to get love, men give love to have—”
    “He hit you. Is that your definition of love?”
    Elisa jolted, as if right then, Liam had done the same thing.
    “He did once,” she admitted then quickly added, “He said he was sorry. It never