"Dad!" I shouted as I stepped into the penthouse.

He turned around his chair smiling. But that smile dropped when he saw my face.

"I didn't do it!" he protested, pointing his pencil at me.

"Yes, you did! You invited that-that-that she-devil to come work for you!" I yelled at him, slamming my purse onto a chair.

"Ah, that... Well, yes, now I suppose I did do that," he relented, shrugging.

"How could you?! You know..." I started before trailing off, my voice becoming small, "You know how I feel about him, dad,"

He sighed, putting his pencil down on the desk and walking over to me. He placed his hands gently on my shoulders, forcing me to meet his brown-eyed gaze, so much like my own.

"I know, mija. I do. But I also know that she is his girlfriend. This will only end in heartbreak and I don't want that for you," he told me truthfully, his eyes pitying.

I let out a long sigh, nodding, "Yeah, I know that... But...how can I get over him? Especially when he's here 24/7?"

Darius frowned slightly, "Bringing her here will help. I know...I know that it sounds bad but he won't be around quite as often with her. You two will spend less time together. Taking a few days off from coming to work with me will also be a start."

The frown that had formed on my face deepened but I knew he was right. I had to let Liam go. I couldn't keep chasing a boy who didn't care for me. It wasn't fair to do that to myself. The next few days, I avoided him. I didn't go to see him, didn't go to the lab.

It wasn't until Croft called me up, saying him and Liam needed my help on the project that I finally returned.

"Hey, where have you been?" Liam asked me when I arrived, hands in his jeans pockets.

I shrugged, chunking my purse into a chair. The gold hoop earrings I wore dangled back and forth as I sat down in a chair beside Croft.

"I've been busy. Come on, less chatting, more work." I told him seriously.

The three of us worked tirelessly through the night. I didn't even know I'd fallen asleep until I was being shaken awake by Liam. My head was resting on his shoulder. Blushing, I sat up and he grinned down at me excitedly.

"She found a match, Tess found a match!" he told me, beaming.

"No way! Seriously?!" I smiled happily.

Liam ran to the other computer across the room then and Croft and I followed after him, smiling. He pulled up the rocket screen and it displayed the frequency match.

"Professor, we have thrust. We have thrust! We have thrust," he proclaimed in shock and excitement.

Liam hugged me and I hugged him back tighter as the Professor began jumping up and down, clapping joyfully.

"We have thrust!" I shouted happily.

"We've got thrust." Liam agreed, grinning in relief as he held me.

My eyes met his then and I could feel his warm breath mingling with mine.

"I missed you...those days you were gone," he admitted softly and I nodded.

"Missed you, too, Liam." I confessed despite the agreement I'd had with dad.

He leaned in close to me and my heartbeat sped up considerably. His chocolate brown eyes fluttered closed and mine did the same as our lips became mere inches apart.

"I knew you guys would figure it out," Darius said suddenly, making us spring apart.

I swallowed nervously, not daring to look up. But apparently, dad didn't notice the moment we'd just shared because he delved into the work. As we worked on building the rocket, I couldn't help but feel Liam's eyes on me. And I knew this was just the beginning of something very complicated.