Predator by Janice Gable Bashman

where everyone would be making out, and not when her heart ached so badly for Liam. She wanted Liam’s hands inching up her body. His fingers caressing her skin. His lips on hers. Not Miguel’s.
    Bree shook Miguel’s hand free, all too aware she had held onto it a lot longer than she had intended.
    “Who’s that hottie that just walked in?” Sara said with her eyes fixed past Bree. “I’m going to say hi.”
    Thankful for something else to focus on, Bree turned around. When she saw Liam she raced across the pool deck, threw her arms around him, and mashed her lips against his. Her breath quickened as he dug his fingers into her hair and poured his longing for her into the kiss. It was better than she had ever dreamed it would be.
    When he pulled away out of breath, he whispered in her ear. “I’m so glad to see you.”
    “Me too,” she said, although she could hardly speak. Had the kiss lasted seconds? Minutes? She didn’t care. All she knew was that it wasn’t enough—not after she hadn’t seen him for weeks, after she’d thought she’d never see him again, and especially not when he was here, right in front of her.
    “Your da dropped me off after I showed up at your house.”
    “Why are you here?” She stepped back so she could see his face, his eyes, his nose, everything about him.
    “My ma changed her mind about coming. Well, she didn’t really change her mind. She’s at home with Finn, but my da and I are here until I start at university in October. Your da got him a post at the Center for Archeological Studies. We’ll be out in the field a lot, could be for a few weeks at a time. It depends on who needs us where to examine remains. But at least we’ll be able to see each other in between.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?” Bree was so glad she’d dropped Miguel’s hand when she did.
    “I didn’t know anything about it before you left Ireland. I thought I’d never see you again. When I found out I wanted it to be a surprise.”
    Bree pulled him closer. “It is, and I’m so happy you’re here. Wait a minute,” she said as realization set in. “My dad knew you were coming all along? I can’t believe he did that. When I told him I wanted to go back to Ireland, he didn’t say a word.”
    “He promised me he wouldn’t tell you.”
    She nodded. “I want to hear about everything that’s happened to you since I saw you last.”
    “I’ve been busy with cricket and making plans to come here. And I tried to find out more about Kelsi and what she might have wanted with the hand.”
    “Really?” Bree said. “You did that for me?”
    “Don’t sound so surprised. I knew it meant a lot to you. And if it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t have had to leave Ireland so early, and we would have had a lot more time together.”
    “So what’d you find out?”
    “The morning you left for the airport, I got her address from the records at the Institute when my da wasn’t looking. Then I told him I wasn’t feeling great and needed to go home. Instead I went over to Kelsi’s flat. I don’t know what I thought I’d find, but I figured it was worth a shot.” He paused to catch his breath. “Anyway, when I got there, the door was open—someone had broken the lock—and no one was around. I was just about to sneak inside when the landlady came round.”
    “Oh no. What did you do?”
    “I told her I was looking for Kelsi and asked if she’d seen her. The landlady said no, pointed at the door, and told me that she found it that way when she came home late the night before. She was waiting for the locksmith.”
    “Maybe it was Kelsi. She could have lost her key when she was arrested.”
    Liam shook his head. “I thought that too, but my da’s friend who’s a garda told me she wouldn’t have been granted bail until she appeared in front of the magistrate the next morning. I must have beat her there.”
    “At least you tried,” Bree said as she masked her disappointment.
    Liam smiled.