Motion(Laws of Physics #1)(11)

Oooohhhh. Okay, I get it.

Yep. I understood at once what Gabby had meant. Abram had won the genetics lottery. Or Powerball. Or whatever. The point was, this guy probably received congratulations cards for his face. Noted.

“Lisa,” he said to me. A muscle at his defined jaw jumped, visible even beneath the few days of stubble covering the lower half of his face.

“You’re Abram,” I said, because who else could he be? This statement was made to his distracting chin. His chin—like the rest of him—was pleasingly formed, but his stubble was remarkable. A shade lighter than the hair on his head, it was just as thick. If he ignored it, he’d likely have a hell of a wizard beard in a matter of months. The only thing I truly envied men was their ability to grow wizard beards.

Lifting my hand for a shake, Gabby intercepted it before I could bring my fingers parallel to the ground. “As always, a real pleasure to look at you, Abram. What do you have to eat? Lisa left all her stuff behind—including her wallet—so we’re starving.” Using my mistakenly offered hand, she pulled me inside the house, brushing past Abram.

Oh, right. Why would Lisa shake his hand? I sent Gabby a glance of gratitude and wondered again how in the helium I was going to fake being not-me for a week.

“There’s leftover Chinese food and pizza in the fridge.” His tone blatantly hostile, providing additional proof that he wasn’t happy to see us.

Gabby steered me into the kitchen and sat me on a stool, giving me a hard look before turning for the fridge and pulling out a box of pizza. I placed the Sephora bag on the counter and waited, unsure what to do. If I’d been me—Mona, not Lisa—I’d have made myself mint tea. But I had no idea if drinking mint tea was in character for Lisa. Maybe I should pour myself a glass of whiskey?

While I was stuck debating my beverage choice, Abram appeared in the doorway. He opted to hover by the entrance to the kitchen, leaning his back against the doorframe and shifting his irked glare from me to Gabby. Even scowling and visibly inimical, he was hot.

“Where’s your phone?” he asked, his attention coming back to me, lifting his chin as his eyelids drooped.

“Like I said, gorgeous—” Gabby walked into his line of sight, blocking me from view “—she left all her shit behind, even her phone.”

“How’d she board a plane if she left everything behind?”

I was used to people talking about me in the third person, like I was a calculator. These numbers make no sense, how did she arrive at these values? Did she do this part in her head?

It didn’t bother me.

“Well, if you’d let me finish, I would tell you. She left it all at security. She was almost late for the plane and had to run to the gate,” Gabby lied smoothly, making me envious. “We’d already arranged to have me pick her up from O’Hare. Don’t fret, though. My mother’s secretary called the airport and they’re sending her phone and stuff. It should get here tomorrow or the day after.”

Gabby’s lies were so persuasive, spoken with such artlessness, I almost believed her.

Conclusion: I required lying lessons.

Abram leaned to the side to peer around my sister’s friend, his eyelids still droopy, his gaze still irritated and distrustful. “You don’t have your phone?”

One-word answers. One-word answers. One-word answers.

“Nope,” I said, both proud and disgusted with myself for the lie. Needing a distraction, I picked through the fruit bowl in the center of the island, hunting for the perfect apple.

In my peripheral vision, I watched as Abram stepped away from the door, walked around Gabby, and stopped four feet from me just as I took a bite from the apple. Honeycrisp. I chewed and he studied my face. Meeting his inspection directly, I concentrated on the taste of the apple and hoped I was making a Lisa-face.

Lifting his chin toward the Sephora bag, he asked, “You had money for makeup but not for food?”

“Priorities, Abram,” Gabby spoke for me.

He ignored her. “You don’t mind if I search you for it?”

Before I could catch it, I felt my eyes squint and my lips curve into an unfriendly sneer. Like hell he was putting his hands on me. I didn’t care who he was, whether or not he was Leo’s best friend, or whether my parents trusted him, I didn’t like being touched by anyone.

Abram’s glare sharpened, as though my reaction surprised him, or he found it confusing.

But Gabby laughed, taking the stool next to mine. “Yeah, sure. Go for it, handsome. Where is she going to hide a cell phone in that outfit? But, okay. I’m sure you’ll both probably enjoy it, so go ahead.”

I glanced down at myself, at my boobs on display in the tank top and black lace bra, my bare stomach, and the second skin of Lisa’s leather pants. Once again, Gabby made a good point. There was nowhere to hide anything in these clothes, the pockets were sewn shut for Bohr’s sake.

Returning my attention to Abram, it was my turn to be surprised. An expression of mild repugnance passed over his features as he looked me over, like the thought of giving “Lisa” a pat down was just as distasteful to him as it was to me.

Well, okay then. Maybe nineteen-year-old, olive-skinned, heavily makeupped, athletic with big boobs, long black hair, and brown eyes wasn’t his type.

Crossing his arms, Abram leveled me with a severe stare. “As soon as your stuff arrives, you give me the phone.”