Beautiful Distraction by Jess Michaels Page B

inappropriately, they were showing their desires. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life.
    “How long have you worked for Liam?” Violet asked.
    Olivia jolted at the sound her friend’s voice. Violet’s brow was arched and she did not look as though she approved of the obvious connection Olivia had formed so swiftly with Mal. Olivia’s cheeks flooded with heat, so she returned her gaze to her plate.
    Mal straightened up as well, the spell between them temporarily broken.
    “Windbury and I have been friends since…” he shook his head and cast a quick glance toward Liam, “…school, I suppose. I began managing his estates when—”
    He cut himself off and Olivia jerked her gaze to him. There was a certain hesitation to his tone…a sadness that drew her as close as her physical attraction did. What had he gone through in the tumultuous years since the accident that had scarred Windbury and killed the sister of the current Duke of Rothcastle? What had he seen while the rest of the world whispered about the state of the earl?
    She reached a shaking hand out to squeeze Malcolm’s arm, needing to touch him, to comfort him as she pondered those questions.
    “Violet and I have also been friends for an age,” she said softly, then looked at her friend. “Haven’t we?”
    Violet cleared her throat and glanced at Liam. “We have,” she responded. “I think it is lucky that both I, and Lord Windbury, have had such good friends.”
    “Foolish as they may be,” Liam grumbled.
    Olivia’s nostrils flared. Was the arrogant earl speaking of her or of Malcolm, a man who had stood by him no matter what? Either way, she refused to rise to his disgruntled bait.
    “And now we’ve all met thanks to those friendships,” she said, keeping her attention on Mal. “We’re lucky indeed.”
    Malcolm hesitated and Olivia saw his eyes flicker toward Liam. Then he slowly let them turn back to her. Only her.
    “Very lucky,” he agreed, and her body tensed at the focused stare Mal gifted her.
    The moment was broken, though, when Liam pushed his chair back. Mal stared at him as the earl clenched his napkin and stared at the group. Then he threw his napkin across his plate and left the room without so much as a glance behind him.
    Olivia stared as Liam disappeared from the room. Was this what Malcolm had endured for the past two years? Was this the man he called friend?
    She leaned back in her chair, hoping to appear nonchalant. “His ill humor is impressive. I didn’t mean to bother him with my silly chatter.”
    Mal shook his head, staring at the door where his friend had departed. Olivia watched him. He was worried about Liam—the lines of concern were deep in his handsome face.
    “I apologize, ladies,” Malcolm finally managed. “My friend has been a little… rough since his accident. And he doesn’t keep company often, probably because his emotions can overtake him when he isn’t expecting it. I think the reality of being around others remains troublesome to him.”
    Olivia covered Mal’s hand with her own, hoping again to offer him comfort. “He was hard on you.”
    He shrugged, but his frown deepened. “Sometimes he lashes out. I can ignore it most times, though we do occasionally have words if he takes things too far. I have been through the worst with him and seen him when I thought he might—”
    Malcolm cut himself off and his face twisted with pain and worry and deep sadness. He took a breath before he continued, “I understand Windbury’s motives for lashing out. Though I admit, he can be harsh.”
    Violet tilted her head. “And yet you stay with him.”
    Olivia jolted. She’d been so focused on Mal she’d almost forgotten Violet was there. Her friend was drinking everything in, using the intimate moment between Olivia and Malcolm to gather information for her own quest. Olivia wasn’t certain she liked that thought.
    Mal looked at Violet and shook his head. “He needs me.”
    He