“Nope! Not unless by some miracle you grow taller than five feet.” I say with a smart-ass smirk on my face.
“I’m five foot three Liam!” She corrects me.
“Yep! Still nugget sized.”
She jumps off the stool and grabs me into a headlock. “Take it back Li,” her grasp firm around my neck.
I start laughing uncontrollably and throw my hands up in a surrendering gesture. Thea releases her grip and jumps back to the seat continuing to eat her breakfast.
Still catching my breath, I readjusted myself on the stool. “Where’s Mom?”
“Emerson Women’s Society meeting. They’re discussing the fundraiser.” She replies, speaking the last part with a sad attempt at a seductive voice and wiggling her brows.
“Really?” I say in a less than impressed voice.
“Yep!”
Emerson Women’s Society holds an annual fundraiser each year to help support the local Woman’s Clinic. It is a fantastic cause, and I love to help. Unfortunately, the highlight of the fundraiser every year is the ‘Win a Date auction.’ The past three years my mother has convinced me to enter, and the past three years, Cassandra Gates has been the one to win a date with me. I guess it could be worse, at least with her being in her late seventies; it’s always an early night.
“You know when she will be back?” I ask
“Probably not for a while, she just left!”
I look over, as the kitchen doors from the backyard open. “Hey, Liam!”
“Hey, Grace! Were you outback?” I hadn’t noticed her when I came in.
“Yeah, she likes to watch Ewan workout, then waits for him to come out in his uniform after he’s showered,” Thea says with a look of repulsion.
“I-I-I.” Grace tries to deny it but lets out a frustrated breath instead.
Althea and Grace have been friends since they were little. Grace is like another sister to me; unfortunately for Grace, I believe Ewan thinks like that too.
“You still crushing, Gracie Ann?” I ask teasingly, as Ewan enters the kitchen.
She doesn’t say a word, only turns beet red. “Who’s Princess crushing on?” Ewan asks completely oblivious. Thea and I stay quiet, just sitting there with a smile on our faces.
With no one answering him, he turns to her. “Princess you’re too young to be crushing; No!” he says in an overprotective tone.
Grace’s face has gone from embarrassed, to outright mortified, with a hint of frustration at the nickname Ewan has used for Grace since they were little. We aren’t sure why he calls her that, he just does. Grace hates it, but never says anything to him.
“She’s eighteen Ewan.” Thea pipes up. The whole time Grace is sitting there quietly, unable to speak.
Ewan looks to Grace, then to Thea, back to Grace, then to me. “Can you give me a ride into the station? My cars at the garage for a tune-up,” he requests, entirely leaving Thea’s reply unacknowledged.
I nod my head and turn to Thea. “Can you tell Mom I stopped by?”
“Will do!” She answers
“Later nugget!” She flips me her middle finger, not even looking up from her bowl.
“See ya, Gracie.”
“Bye Liam!” Her sweet voice is carrying as she looks behind me, Eyes twinkling with giddiness, “Bye Ewan!”
“See you soon, princess!” he replies, then walks out the door.
***
A few hours later, I am sitting at my desk, back at the station, when Ewan, who is also one of the six uniformed officers we have in Emerson pulls up a seat beside me.
“Hey, what do you say about helping a brother out, and lend me your Bow Rider on Saturday.”
I raise my brow in question. “Sure, who’s the girl?”
Of my three brothers, with the occasional exception of Ben. Ewan has about the worst luck when it comes to women. Apparently, they’re all stage five clingers on the verge of breaking new heights, hitting a newly created stage six…‘Utterly insane.’ Maybe he should start considering Grace. She would be perfect, and Mom loves her so really, that is all that matters.
“Elise…Old man Matthews granddaughter,” he replies, wiggling his brow.
“Uh, you think that’s a good idea? Do you not remember the incident? The one where the old man was pointing the end of his Ruger at Brody Daniels for dropping her off past curfew?” A look of concern covers my face as I recall the incident. Glen Matthews brings an entirely new meaning to the word ‘overprotective.’
Ewan laughs at the memory, “Oh man, I don’t think she got a date for a whole year after that.” He shrugs adding, “…but, apparently he’s calmed down since she threatened to put him in a home if he doesn’t tone down the crazy.”
We both let out a laugh. “Yeah, stop by my place after work and grab the keys. I’m heading down to Gary early tomorrow morning; I won’t be there for you to get them when you come to pick up the boat.”
“Gary, Eh? I thought you ended things with her?”
The ‘her’ he is referring to is Emily my ex, and Flynn, another officer’s, cousin. We have been on and off for the past two years, much to my mother’s dismay. She never really much cared for Emily; always going on about there is something off with her, as if she is plotting something.
“I did, but she keeps insisting we need to talk.” Insisting is putting it mildly, to be honest. She has been calling me daily and following up with texts. Ok, so maybe some of what my family was talking about may be on point.
Ewan lets out a booming laugh, “Liam man, she’s playing you; trying to rope you back into her death grip. She won’t take no for an answer, and after two years, you think you would be on to her game. Man, had I known she was crazy, or I would never have let Flynn set you two up.”
I give my brother a confident look, “Not this time…It’s Over…for good.” I am sure of it. There is no way I can stay with Emily, not now…not when my interests lay elsewhere.
“Then why go down there?” Ewan asks.
“I left some of my fishing tackle in her garage. Normally, I would replace it, but some of the tackle from Gramps is in there.” Looking to my brother, I can’t ignore the unconvinced look he is wearing.
“I’m serious; it should have ended a year ago; we never really clicked; besides I’ve been kind of interested in someone else for a while now.”
Interest peaked Ewan leans forward. “Really? Do I know her? What’s her name?”
I chuckle at his line of inquiry, “Yes really and yes you know her, but NO, I am not telling you her name. The last thing I need is Mom finding out and trying to work her self-proclaimed matchmaker magic.”
He gasps with an over exaggerated breath, holding his hands over his mouth, “She would never, not our mother.”
I let out a laugh at his perfect impression of our mom, “Oh yes; she would! I don’t need Mom getting involved, as well-intentioned as it may be.”
Ewan stands from the chair pinning me with a look, “I’ll stop by around six tonight for the keys. Liam, a little bit of advice from one brother to another. If it’s whom I think it is, don’t wait around too long to put on your big boy pants and ask her out. A good woman like her doesn’t stay single forever.”
***
I walk up to Emily’s townhouse, like many times before. However, this time, the overcoming sense of inevitability hits me. In the past two years, I never saw the side of her my family had always mentioned…I guess I wasn’t looking either. It was fun in the beginning, and we enjoyed our time together, but after the first year, it should have ended; it’s as if we have been going through the motions. I’m sure my indecisiveness to committing to something more was partially to blame, but I wasn’t ready…or maybe because deep down, I knew she was not the one! As I enter the door, a familiar, delicious aroma hits me; Emily must be cooking her Chicken Parm she knows I love.
“Hey Baby, is that you?” I hear her call.
I head to the kitchen and find her in an apron pulling something out o
f the oven. “Hey!” I greet, as she puts the pan down, and walks toward me, arms open for an embrace.
Emily is a beautiful woman. Standing at five foot ten, she has toned legs, which go on forever. A small frame, too thin I think at times, but that would be from her strict diet and insane exercise regime. Her light brown hair well maintained above her shoulders, and her skin is pale; makeup always applied to add a little glow.
I take her in my arms and give her a quick kiss on the forehead.
“I made your favorite!” She returns with a quick smile.
I inhale deeply; she has always been a fantastic cook. “It smells good.”
“How was the drive?” she asks moving in a little closer. I can now feel her warmth against my own body, which at this moment seems to be betraying me.
“Good! I left early to miss the traffic.” I reply, moving over to the island to create some much-needed distance. “Do you need any help?”
She walks to the oven placing a foil over the pan and sets it to the back. “Nope, it’s all done. I wanted to get it out of the way so I could spend time with you instead of fussing in the kitchen.”
I give her smile, trying to hide the ever-growing awareness of the knot forming in my stomach. I don’t think this conversation is going to go as well as I was hoping. She seems to be carrying on as always as if things will go back to normal and we will continue the way we have been. The façade of having to carry on like everything is how it should be, leading her to believe this isn’t over, is just going to make it worse in the end. Realizing I need to get this out of the way, I decided no time like the present.
“Emily, we need to talk!”
Walking around to where I have taken a seat, she stands in between my legs, locks her arms around my neck and places a soft kiss to my lips, “Liam, I haven’t seen you in forever. I thought we could save the talking for after, we re-acquaint ourselves upstairs.”
I look into her eyes, “Emily, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Stepping back, she looks to me with a raised brow; I am confident she knows where this is going, but plays the game anyway, “Care to explain why?”
“Emily, you know I care abou…?”
“No! No, Liam!” she starts, shaking her head. “Don’t you dare, try to give me the ‘Emily you know I care about you’ blow off speech. You know as well as I do, this is another one of those times where you try to figure things out, only to realize, this is what you need and come back to me.”
OK, I knew this was not going to be easy, but I am not prepared for how it is now going down. “I’ve thought about it, Emily, and that’s not what this is. I am not coming back this time. We cannot keep doing this. We both need to move on.”
Blood is rising to her face, leaving a trail of blotchy spots on her chest and neck; her telltale sign she is not happy, “To what Liam…another woman? Is that it…have you met someone else?”
I consider telling her about Gwen or at least my interest in her but then decide, that may not be the best way to handle this. How would she even take knowing, that over the past year and a half, I’ve been developing an attraction for a particular stylist, all the while still intimately being with her…Yeah, I will stick with not telling her.
“Emily, that’s not it! We’re holding each other back from moving on.”
“…but I don’t want to move on Liam, at least not without you. Liam, I love you, you love me. How can you say two people in love need to move on from one another?”
I let out an exhausted breath; this is my entire fault. I have to buck up, be a man, and tell her the truth, even though it is not going to be pretty.
“That’s just it, Emily. I don’t love you, and as much as I don’t want to hurt you, I want to be honest…I don’t know if I ever did.”
I look away shamefully, running my hand down my face. I have told Emily I loved her…repeatedly, but having time to step back, think, and look at our relationship, I know for sure I never did. I guess I got lost in the motions of what I thought was expected, and I feel less than honorable for doing so.
Emily is standing there motionless, with no words and a look of brokenness. I step closer, raising my hand to cup her face. “Emily say something…talk to me.”
She removes my hand from her cheek, stepping back, furthering herself from me. “You need to leave.” She whispers, with a quiver to her voice.
“Emily, please we need to talk this out. I can’t leave it like this. I need to know you understand and you are okay.”
She looks directly into my eyes, “Understand what Liam? That this whole time I was investing myself…my heart, into a man I believed, was doing the same, now only to find out, he wasn’t and didn’t have the decency to fill me in.”
“Emily, that’s not what happened!” I say knowing she is right; it is what I did, but not intentionally.
“Really? So, you do love me?” I can hear the harsh bitterness in her tone.
“Emily…”
“Just leave Liam…now…please.”
I look to her, not wanting to leave it like this, but the coldness in her eyes tells me I need to do as she has asked, and go.
Chapter Four
-Gwen-
It’s seven o’clock Saturday evening, and my last client has left. I turn the sign to ‘closed’ and grab the broom to finish sweeping up the remaining remnants of hair and fallen bobby pins from the bridal party earlier. Looking through the side window, I take in a relaxing breathe and enjoy the view before me. It has been two years since coming to Emerson Point. I still appreciate the majestic beauty, which offers the perfect backdrop to its small-town charm. The summer is a marvelous time in Emerson. Its luminously sunlit days with temperatures in the mid-seventies and vibrant nights deliver the perfect setting for outdoor entertainment and an escape from the busyness of life.
With Willy and Rosie being, the first two people I met when I arrived in Emerson, we quickly became friends. After moving here and settling in, Rosie offered me an apprenticeship under her at the salon. She and Willy worked to train me to be able to take over, and within a year and a half, they packed up and headed south, dropping me the keys to the shop on their way out of town. So, two years later here I am, owner of my own thriving business; thankfully in part to Rosie and Willy’s well-established clientele and the fact, the next nearest place for a cut and color is one hour away in Gary. It has all been great, however; all this has left me no time for any social life. Ben, Kai, and I have become the best of friends over these two years, but just like me, they also have lives and careers that pulled them in opposite directions, not allowing for much free time. My sister Ati and I have become very close, video chatting every night, it kind of makes it seems like she is right there in the room with me. Over the past year, she has started to ask if she can come live at home, I would love for her too, but I keep thinking that maybe Albrecht Prep is a better place for her to be right now.
As I am lost in all that is Emerson, and how my life has been over the past couple of years, the bell on the front door, chimes. I look up to see Maia Adair. Maia, whom I have come to love as family, over the last two years, was terrific when it came to helping me adjust to my new life. Though she knows nothing of my past, myself never offering the information and herself never asking, she has taken me under her wing and I could not be more grateful. I love her dearly, but I have also come to learn, Maia is quite the advocate for any one of her four sons’ loves lives. When she learned Kai, Ben and I were hanging out, she had pretty much planned the whole wedding, other than ordering the invitations, and that only was because she wasn’t sure which one of their names to put on it. She was quite disappointed when she learned there was no interest in between any of the three of us. However, that is not the case when it comes to Liam, her oldest son. Now, there is one man I would not mind her setting me up with, but up until recently, he has had a girlfriend, so that was a no go.
“Maia! What brings you by the salon? Not that I mind at all, yo
u are always more than welcome.” I ask as she walks over, greeting me with her usual embrace and a soft kiss on the cheek.
“Well, I wanted to see if you would like to join me for dinner tonight. Aldric is in Gary with Thea, at some boxing match; so, they won’t be back until later, and I stopped planning for the boys to be home for supper long ago so I will be all alone.”
“Maia, you couldn’t have better timing. I am starving, and my day is over; let me grab my things.” I head to the back, grab my purse, and turn off the lights so we can head out.
***
Maia and I are sitting at Cal’s, a local restaurant, outside on the patio. The view before us is breathtaking, especially this time of day with dusk creeping in, making the sun seem even closer. We are overlooking the pier leading to the lighthouse. The water is calm, but still lightly crashing against the rocks causing the water to spray. “The things we take for granted,” I say lost in the ebb and flow of the ocean.
“What do you mean?” Maia asks, her eyes ahead taking in the sunset.
“Look at this view! We’re able to experience this every day; yet, and I’m almost embarrassed to admit this. In the two years I’ve been here, I think this is the first time I’ve sat this close to the water, or even stopped long enough to take it all in. I mean look at it out there, I cannot imagine a more beautiful work of art…, and it’s free! We spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to make the four walls around us pretty, when the reality is, we only need to add more windows and allow Mother Nature to do her job.” I turn, catching Maia with a smile on her face, and realize Liam, somewhere during my monologue, had taken a seat at the table.
“Liam, I’m sorry I didn’t hear you join us.”
Smiling he looks into my eyes, “No worries, I enjoyed listening to you, and have to say; I couldn’t agree more.”
Directing my attention back to Maia, her smile seems to have grown even fuller as she speaks to Liam “Are you able to join us, Sweetie?”
Taking his eyes from mine, he turns to his mother, “I would love to, but unfortunately I was called to the station, I was headed there when I spotted the two of you sitting here; Rain check?” he asks, directing the question to me.
Liam & Gwen - Entirely Yours: A Romance Novel (The Adair Series Book 1) Page 4