A Borrowed Life (Carly and Liam #1) by Stephanie Cholette Read Free Book Online

my real life secret. I feel somewhat guilty for lying to him… No, I'm not lying to him, I’m remaining mysterious, that's all. It's simply that there are some parts of my life that I'm not revealing to him, but everything I’m saying is true.
    “What about you? Are you here with friends? Family?”
    “Friends. They thought I needed a vacation, so they forced me.”
    I smile. “Everyone is entitled to a vacation every once in a while.”
    The smile he returns is full of surprise and uncertainty. His eyes try to see through me and uncover my secrets, so I change the subject.
    “And you, Mr. Walker…”
    “You can call me Liam.”
    I smile.
    “What are your hobbies?”
    “I don't really have time for hobbies.”
    “But you must have some passion, a dream, or even a cause you care about?”
    He brings his forefinger to his chin, thinking for a moment.
    “Well, I've always had a fascination for architecture and in that sense, I think my dream has come true.”
    So, he works in architecture… at least I think. Should I ask him? As I'm debating this, he lets out a laugh.
    “Do you know anything about architecture?”
    I shyly shake my head. “No, absolutely nothing.”
    “There are companies that invest in buildings they need developed, entrepreneurs who build their own buildings and then sell them to companies, and then there are companies like mine that are self-sufficient. We create and build, and we're financially independent, so we fund our own projects and we depend on no one.”
    “So you draw houses?”
    He chuckles again. Was my question funny?
    “There aren't many people who can afford our services. We specialize in hotel complexes, ultramodern office towers, etc. Recently, we’ve started a luxury condominium brand. Sometimes we stray from our specialty for a good cause, but rarely.”
    I listen to him talk about his business and I can see he loves what he does. He has a spark of passion in his eyes, and I almost envy him loving his job like this.
    “But I don't think we're supposed to talk about business tonight,” he suddenly pulls himself together.
    I smile, looking down. “It's bad luck, it seems.”
    He laughs. “So I've been told.”
    Now it's me who laughs.
    I still picture Liv warning me against conversation subjects to avoid as if the mere fact of mentioning them would invoke some kind of curse. Anyway, I find the atmosphere has lightened and his smile is so warm! He almost makes me forget how rude he was to the server the other day at the pool.
    The play continues and we whisper between scenes. I suspect he’s deliberately talking with a low voice so that I have lean closer to hear him, and his breath gently touching my cheek makes me shiver every time. We talk and we laugh. He's very cultured and chivalrous. I didn’t follow half of Liv's rules for this date, and the times I felt the best are when I didn't.
    The play ends and Liam gets up to pull my chair and extend his hand to help me up.
    “Thank you for coming,” he says. “Can I walk you to your room?”
    It’s late and Liv is probably already back. I wouldn't want her to begin a thorough investigation on him. She would ask questions that would make him uncomfortable and would try to see through him. So no, I'd rather him not, actually.
    “I'm fine, thank you.”
    “Okay.”
    He looks down, seeming a little disappointed. I stand there, waiting for him to lean in and kiss me, but he doesn't.
    “Good night,” he finally says after a moment of awkward silence.
    “Good night.”
    We go our separate ways. I slowly push the door of my room to find my best friend sitting on the bed, eating a chocolate and watching TV.
    “Is everything okay?” I worry.
    Mouth full, she just nods. She swallows her bite before explaining that the chocolates are a gift from her date, Ian.
    “Ah! So all went well with him?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Nothing more?”
    “He's just like all the others, but more arrogant.”
    “I see. So you aren’t going