Still, Violet hadn’t arrived yet. He’d been keeping an eye out for her all night, waiting for her to pass through those front doors. It was only a matter of time until she arrived, but it felt as though she wouldn’t show up at all. It seemed strange to him that the Hamiltons wouldn’t force her to go. Robert Hamilton had shown too much interest in seeing Liam’s father again. Despite that, it had been two hours since the party had started. It was already eight thirty.
The sun was beginning to set, illuminating the mansion in a golden-red hue. He knew he was pacing through the party, barely speaking to anyone, but he couldn’t help it. There was a nagging at the back of his mind, continuously reminding him that she wasn’t there yet.
He grabbed a glass of wine from a passing tray and brought the glass to his lips. He took a long sip of the white wine, feeling its bitterness pass down his throat. It would take much more than one glass to reduce the edginess he was feeling. Having to wait for her to arrive was only making it worse. Liam wasn’t really known for having great patience. He’d fired more than his share of personal assistants because of tardiness.
After smiling at a family he’d known since he was a child, he took a step back and breathed in deeply. He couldn't help but wonder if she’d appear looking how she did when he’d seen her for the first time in Greece, or when she’d bombarded her way into the house to complain about the noise. He smiled at the thought and kept his eyes peeled towards the front doors, waiting impatiently, like a lion stalking its prey.
He made his way towards his mother, who finally had a moment to spare. Liam had made sure to invite people that his parents knew, all to make them feel more comfortable when they first arrived. It was important, since it had been one of the first housewarming parties he’d thrown that included his family. They needed to see that he was doing well for himself.
“Hello, Mother,” he said, placing his hand on her shoulder gently and leaning in to kiss her cheek. “How are you finding everything so far?”
She brought her eyes to his, and he found he couldn't look into them for too long. The plastic surgery she’d gotten had completely changed the shape of her eyes, making her appear as though she was always surprised by what was happening around her. It was off-putting and always caused him to look away.
“Wonderful food, great company, and a beautiful home. It’s actually more modest than I was expecting of you,” she told him, watching his father speak to an old acquaintance that had played golf with him when Liam was younger. “I definitely thought you would invest in a much larger property. Something ostentatious, like the Playboy mansion.”
“Oh, come on, I’m not that gaudy.”
“Well, from what I hear, you are. Your father will be wanting to have a word with you privately tonight,” she said, lowering her voice so that only he could hear. “He’s a little upset with you right now, and I can’t really blame him.”
“Really? But tonight was supposed to be a work-free zone. You promised that neither of you would make this about the company.”
Liam peered over at his father, who was busy laughing. He wanted to walk right up to him and ask him to leave. His parents always made it about work, as though visiting with Liam was never their actual priority. It was always the business. There were times when he wanted to ask them if they had kids so that they’d have someone to take over the company for them, or because they actually wanted to raise children. To Liam it seemed as though his very reason for being on the planet was because his parents wanted an eldest son to take over the company. They’d essentially groomed him to be the sole heir since he was young.
“You know how your father is, Liam. It can’t be helped. Besides, at least hear him out. He wanted to talk to you about this face to face.”
Liam suppressed a scathing retort, as if his father talking to him face to face would make him feel any better. His father always spoke to him as though he was a puppy who’d just done something wrong. There was never any respect or regard towards how he was feeling. In fact, Liam couldn’t remember his father ever actually caring whether or not he’d wanted to take over the company. At the end of the day, the dollar was the bottom line, and it was the only thing that drove his father and his grandfather. But, Liam’s mother stood before him and he couldn’t throw such things in her face. So, Liam replied, “Fine. I’ll hear him out, but only for a little bit.”
“That’s good. I’m glad. Oh,” she said, pausing to wave to an older couple that had just walked through the door. “You didn’t tell me you’d invited Charlotte and Gerry. I’m going to say hi to them.”
His mother left without another word, adjusting her blond hair before making her way through the crowd to greet Charlotte and Gerry. It was as he was staring at the door that he saw Violet walk in. There was no doubt in his mind in that moment that she was the same girl he’d met in Greece. She wore a beautiful red dress that showed every curve of her petite body. He felt his heart skip a beat as he strode towards the entrance.
The Hamiltons were with her, and he was surprised to see that Robert’s wife was not what he’d expected. She reminded him of a nanny he had when she was younger, and she held a plate in her hands, having brought food of her own. That was definitely not the woman he was expecting to have raised a firecracker like Donovan. From what he’d seen, Donovan was the exact opposite of her mother.
Robert Hamilton beamed the moment he saw Liam. Liam wasn’t expecting such a warm arrival, but it was likely Mr. Hamilton was just glad to be involved with Liam’s father again. Liam knew how businessmen were - it was never about true friendship. It was difficult for Liam to even take his eyes off Violet, whose eyes were darting all over the house, as though taking it all in. People rarely reacted in such an innocent way to his houses. It was sweet to see.
“Hello, Mr. Hamilton. Thanks for coming,” Liam said, looking away from Violet only long enough to shake the man’s hand. “Violet, Donovan. Good to see you both.”
“Thanks for having us, Liam. My wife baked you some housewarming brownies.”
Liam smiled at Mrs. Hamilton, who held out the tray. “Thank you so much. Let’s give these to the caterers and I’ll have them distribute them when it’s time for desserts. I’m sure everyone will love them.”
Mrs. Hamilton seemed pleased with his remark and began searching around for the nearest caterer, even narrowing her eyes as she scoured the crowd. Liam brought his eyes back to Violet, who had her hands together in front of her, clearly a little uncomfortable.
Liam held out his hand to her. “I’m Liam. It’s nice to officially meet you.”
He thought it was cute that she blushed. She was gorgeous - there was no way she wasn’t accustomed to people hitting on her. She seemed the opposite of the girl he’d met in Greece, but there was no denying that she was the same one that had racked his mind all throughout the rest of his vacation. He’d even gone to the same club the next night, hoping he’d run into her, all to no avail. Yet, here she was, shy and unassuming.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you officially, Liam,” she said, lowering her eyes as she took his hand in hers. “I’m Violet Stratton.”