Ati walks over and whispers, “Is everything OK? You look like you lost your kitten.”
Not my kitten, but rather the one person I have been madly crushing on for like ever. I straighten up and start toward the tents. “Yep, all good.”
She looks over at me then catches the line of site that I am holding before I remove my gaze. “Yeah, I saw that. I thought Liam broke up with his girlfriend?”
“He did, she must be a new one,” I whisper.
Now at our tent, she looks back to me, “Gwen, if it’s going to be too weird, we can leave.”
I take in her face and know that she is serious, and it warms my heart that she is thinking of me. “No! We came for a nice weekend with friends, and that is what we are going to have.” She nods and walks over to Grace who is standing by the fire.
“Gwen.” I feel a light tap on my shoulder. I turn to see Liam is standing there with his new companion. I freeze, and I can feel the burn of heat rise from my feet to my face.
“Eugenia, this is Gwen. Gwen, this is Eugenia.” What is he thinking? He can’t honestly be that simple to think that introducing me to his girlfriend is a good thing.
Nevertheless, I let go of my pride and remember the manners that my mother always taught me, “Nice to meet you.” It’s a forced greeting, but that’s all I have right now.
She offers her hand, and I extend mine in return. “Oh dear, your shaking.” I look down to my hand, and sure enough, I am visibly shaking, and here I thought I was doing an excellent job of hiding my emotions.
Liam looks down to my hand, then up to my eyes. It’s as if he sees my thoughts. His eyes becoming illuminated, with recognition and then quickly turn dark with longing.
“Ginny, would you mind grabbing the blanket from my tent, she’s probably got a chill.”
“For sure.” She turns quickly on her heel and heads away.
I clear my throat, “So…”
Before I can get any more out, Liam lowers his lips to my ear whispering, “Do. Not. Speak.” He then slowly lifts his head, so that his eyes, now filled with clear annoyance, meet mine.
He lets out a small snicker, “Gwen, did you honestly think I would bring another woman here when I knew you were coming?”
“What I th…” He rests his thumb against my mouth and ever so softly runs it across the bow of my upper lip.
“Yes or No, Gem.”
His thumb moves to my cheek, allowing me to answer. “I don’t know Liam,” I whisper under my breath.
He removes his hand from my face, lowers it grabbing my hand, and draws me in a bit closer. I see from the corner of my eye that Eugenia has stopped, and turned her attention to Kai and Ben. They are all pretending not to notice what is going on between Liam and me, very poorly, but trying.
“Gem, I know it’s taking us, what seems like forever, to give whatever these feelings are a chance. I am a patient man and know that the wait for you is well worth it. What I feel for you right now is unexplainable, we haven’t been on a date, I haven’t even properly kissed you. I feel a draw to you like no other. I want to be with you Gem, and when the time is right we will be, but I want you to know, that does not mean I will fill the void with another body until then.” He lowers his lips to mine in a soft quick kiss, then shawls his arm around my shoulders and walks me to the fire.
I guess I don’t get a say…whom am I kidding, nothing more needs to be said.
***
We spend the next little while by the fire, with the boys sharing stories of their past camping weekends, and Aldric sharing the truth of those tales; It was quite comical. After Liam and I spoke earlier, I finally began to relax and enjoy myself. Seated beside Eugenia, we have been chatting back and forth most of the night. She moved here recently to live with her cousin Bane. When Liam asked Bane to join the camping weekend, Eugenia was hesitant.
“So, why didn’t you want to come?” I ask, as she leans back in her chair, knees pulled to her chest, and moves in a little closer to me.
“Well, you see, Kai and I don’t get along all that well.” Her expression serious and a little hurt.
“Really? Why?” I don’t quite understand, I mean after talking with her a bit now, I find that we are somewhat similar in personality, and Kai I get along great…'Two peas in a pod', is what Ben calls us.
She lets out a soft sigh and shrugs, “I’m not sure. I’ve known the Adair’s ever since I was little, like in diapers little. Every summer, when I would come to spend time with my Grandparents, Bane would take me with him to their house. I was kind of a pest, always following the boys around and wanting to do what they did, but because I was so much younger, they hated it. One day, they were all going to the beach to go wakeboarding, and I wanted to go. They didn’t want me to, but Maia made them take me, and because Kai was only a couple of years older than me, they stuck him with watching over me. He wasn’t happy; I can still see the scowl on his face. Anyways, as we were walking to the beach, I fell on the gravel path and scrapped my knee. Liam yelled at Kai for not watching me and said that now he couldn’t go with them, because he had to take me back home. He was so mad, and from that day on, I have not been his favorite person.”
I hold my stare, “Eugenia how old were you when that happened?”
“Six.”
Doing the quick math in my head, I respond in astonishment, “Eugenia, that was like eighteen years, ago, surely he is not still holding a grudge?”
She shrugs and turns to stare back to the fire, “Well, it seems like he is. He never talks to me, even in a group discussion, and when he does acknowledge my existence, he calls me Red. He knows I hate that nickname, yet he continues to call me that. I don't even have red hair anymore.”
I look over to where Kai is sitting with Liam and Bane, and he catches my glance and smiles, then spotting Eugenia, his smile falls, and he turns his head back to the other two.
Wow, maybe he still is. There has to be more to the story. I will have to find out.
Eugenia lets out a yawn and stretches out, “I think I’m going to turn in. I will see you in the morning.”
I give her a quick wave, and she heads off. I look around and notice that Ati, Thea, Grace, Ewan, and Ben have also left. Feeling a little tired; I decide to turn in for the night myself. I open the tent and find not only are the girls in there but so are Ben and Ewan. They are around what looks to have been game of cards before they all passed out, but that leaves me in the dilemma of, where do I sleep.
Chapter Twelve
-Liam-
I walk up the next morning and throw on a sweater. Getting out of my tent, Kai, Mom, and Dad are already up. Dad has the fire going, and Mom is preparing breakfast.
“Good Morning, Love.” My mother says.
“Morning”
“Morning,” they all call out.
I take a seat by the fire, and try to wake up; Kai and my father seem to be doing the same.
“You sleep OK?” My father asks, reaching to throw another log on the fire.
“I think that it’s time for me to invest in a portable folding cot...the mattress just isn’t doing it anymore.” Everyone lets out a little chuckle of acknowledgment.
“Well, I slept like a baby; I had the whole tent to myself,” Kai adds with a smile.
I look over to him with a raised brow, “Where did Ben and Ewan crash?”
He gives another full stretch and points to Gwen’s tent. “All six of them slept in a four-man tent?” I ask a little taken back.
He shrugs, “Must’ve...they weren’t with me.”
Suddenly, Gwen appears behind me, from out of the bush, “Nope it was only the five of them. I slept in the car.” She is stretching and trying to roll out what may be a kink from her neck.
“Sweetheart, did you sleep in your car?” My mother asks, concern taking over her face.
Gwen walks over, and my mother takes her in a hug rubbing her back. “Yeah, Benny and Ewan were passed out in the tent when I went to bed, so I
stayed in my car. It’s all good; my seats recline pretty far back.”
“Oh love, you should have kicked one of the boys out of their tent, they could have bunked together. Although Liam has never been good with sharing his space, that’s why he has his own tent.” My mom lets out a little giggle at the last part.
I shake my head, “I share, just not with those overgrown trolls.” I then turn to Gwen, less than happy that she was out there all alone last night, “Gwen, you shouldn’t have stayed out there alone...it’s not safe.”
She fluffs me off, “Oh please, unless Bigfoot is out there with a Slim Jim, I was perfectly fine.”
My mother, father, and Kai bust out in laughter, while I try unsuccessfully, not to join them.
“Would you like some help with breakfast?” Gwen offers my Mom, as she opens up the bacon to get it on the grill.
“That would be great, Thank you.”
Mom and Gwen work away at breakfast, as Kai, my dad and I head out to gather more wood for the fire.
***
It’s another half hour before anyone else wakes up, and Mom and Gwen have finished with the cooking and set up the three picnic tables with everything. We are now all sitting around digging into the spread before us.
“Mom, you’ve outdone yourself. See, I told you guys it was a good idea to bring the woman along.” Ewan, on his second helping, says, as he forks more food into his mouth.
“Thank you, but Gwen had an equal hand into making this morning’s breakfast.” She says leaning into Gwen with a side hug.
“So, Bane how is the new office?” My father asks, starting up a conversation.
“Pretty good actually, most of the old clients, who were there before Wilson closed up, have come back, and some new ones from the surrounding area have come on. Eugenia has been helping me with answering phones and filing until I can find a permanent replacement. I asked her to stay on, but she says it doesn’t allow her artistic side to flourish.” Bane replies with a playful dig.
Eugenia rolls her eyes, “What I said was, I get more mental stimulation out of watching paint dry.”
“Same thing!” Bane adds with a shrug.
My mom gets up from the table, heading to the little radio we brought along with us. “We need some music.”
Everyone lets a groan, “Mom, it’s too early for your Salsa music.” Ewan says.
“It’s never too early for Enrique.” She replies, shimming to the radio.
The song we know all too well because she has been playing it on repeat since she discovered it, comes on. Ati jumps from the table, taking Gwen by the hand.
“Subeme la Radio, I love this song…Dance with me Gwen.” She says, pulling Gwen from the table.
As though it is the most natural thing in the world, both of them start moving to the rhythm of the music with absolute precision and flawlessly sing along with Enrique as though they were his backup singers. We’ve all gone speechless, with Ben looking as though he may pass out if he doesn’t start to breathe sometime soon.
“Oh, I want to learn to dance like that.” My mom says, and soon Gwen takes her by the hand, pulling her toward herself and Ati.
“Did you learn those moves in Brazil?” Thea bellows out, following with a catcall.
“Brazil?” Ben, finally coming out of his trance, lets out.
Thea turns to us, “Yep, Ati was raised in Brazil until she was fourteen. Cool, right? She speaks Portuguese and everything.”
The song ends, and we look to Ati and Gwen, as they take their seats back at the table.
“You never mentioned that you were raised in Brazil,” Kai says to Gwen.
Gwen looks around the table, then a nervous smile plays on her lips, “That’s because I wasn’t, only Matilda was.”
“Why?” Ewan asks directly.
“We had different fathers; so circumstances made it that Ati, was brought up there, while I was raised with my mother and Papa here, in the U.S.”
“…but you guys have the same last name. Wouldn’t you have different last names if you have different fathers?” Thea asks.
Gwen starts to become more uncomfortable at the line of questioning. This may be a private family matter; she and Ati are not necessarily comfortable discussing with us yet.
“Guys stop giving them the third degree.” Gwen looks to me with thanks, but she can see that I have questions of my own.
“Ok, but I have one last question; do you speak Portuguese too, Gwen?” Kai asks.
Ati answers for her, “Yep, and Spanish, French, Italian, German and Mandarin…Fluently! She’s a linguistic genius, probably why she was top of her class in university.”
“Ati!” Gwen scolds firmly, resting her hand over her brow.
Ati’s eyes squeeze shut, as she must realize she was not supposed to let that particular cat, out of the bag.
“What the hell! Gwen, is there anything else you care to share?” Kai, now showing his annoyance at what was made known.
Gwen looks to Kai, “Kai, I wasn’t keeping anything from you...you just never asked.”
“Gwen, we’re best friends, it’s not something I should have to ask.” Kai finishes.
As I look at him, I can see he is a little hurt by her omission. Gwen holds his eyes with her apologetic ones, hoping it will be enough. Kai shakes his head and looks away. I don’t think I truly realized how much this friendship meant to Kai until now, and to be honest; I am not sure how I feel about that.
“What was your major?” Bane, who has been quiet, along with Eugenia through this whole discussion, asks.
Gwen takes a deep breath, answering with a smile “Political Science.”
Ben smiles with acknowledgment, “What were you looking at going into?”
“Law, but things changed, and here I am.” Gwen seems to be somewhere else, answering more robotically rather than in her usual cheerful manner. Bane must notice, as he doesn’t ask anymore.
My father, changing the subject, jumps up. “Okay, it’s fishing time, anyone wanting to join, grab your poles and let’s get moving.”
Ben, Ewan, Bane and I get up, Kai remaining seated, lost in his thoughts. I see Gwen approach him, not able to hear what they are saying; I watch through the corner of my eye, as she sits beside him and looks to be explaining something. At first, he doesn’t look at her, but Gwen must say something bringing him around, because now he is looking at her, attentively taking in what Gwen is saying. He leans over, pulling her to his lap and giving her a huge hug, and then proceeds to clutch her in a headlock, as she laughs uncontrollably.
“You know it’s not polite to stare,” My mother whispers, as she comes up behind me.
I turn my attention to her, “I wasn’t staring.”
She lets out a little chuckle, “Sweetheart, if there is one thing I can read better than your father, it’s you, boys. It bothers you they are so close.” It’s more of a statement than a question, but I offer a shrug in response.
“Liam, I’m not going to lie and say those two don’t have a special bond. Honestly, in the beginning, I thought they would get together, but as I watched them, I realized it was something different. They’re like the same person. They understand one another. When Kai was away, they spoke, not often, but as soon as he came home, it went back to the way it was before he left as if they never lost a day. I know it bothers you, but you need to understand the relationship. The love they have is not like a husband and wife has, but more of family, like siblings that are very close.” My mom gives me a little pat on the shoulder and walks off.
I turn to see Gwen has joined the girls by the fire, and Kai has his pole in hand ready to head out. I know my mom was trying to help ease my worries, and I know Kai would never tell me to ask Gwen out if he was interested. I’m overthinking all this, and I need to let it go.
***
My brothers, father, Bane, and I are all sitting on the floating dock; lines cast waiting for a bite. It’s the perfect day for fishing, the sun is out, and
the air is warm, with the slightest breeze.
“So, you boys liking having the ladies along.” My father asks, breaking the silence.
“I love it, you all are horrible cooks, having Mom and Gwen here is like being at home.” Leave it to Ewan, to think only about his stomach.
“Well, I’ve never been here with the boys, but having the girls around I’m sure is adding a particular kind of, 'appreciated entertainment.'” Bane adds with a wiggle of his brow.
I believe Bane is referring to the dance show Gwen and Ati put on earlier, and I will have to agree, that was undoubtedly ‘appreciated entertainment.’
“Ok, did any of you know Ati was raised in Brazil?” Ben asks, still stumped by the news.
“Yeah, that one kind of surprised me, along with Gwen being able to speak six different languages and having gone to university. I mean, most times those things would come up in conversation within two years of knowing someone. Next, we’re going to find out she’s actually a secret agent or something; I mean, who speaks six different languages…fluently? A spy I tell you?” Ewan looks at us with all the seriousness in the world.
“I was a little miffed that was the first I ever heard of anything, although, I guess she has her reasons for wanting to leave the past, in the past,” Kai responds
Kai may be okay with whatever explanation she gave him, but to be honest, I’m still a bit curious.
Ben, now turning the heat on Ewan, starts in. “So, what’s going on with you and Gracie?”
Ewan’s jaw ticks as he tightens his jaw, “I don’t know. I mean, I know her dad just passed away, and I don’t want to rush her into anything, but all yesterday, she was standoffish, even in the tent when I tried to sit next to her, she moved away. I thought she was interested…It’s confusing as hell.”
My father then jumps in, “For the love of God, you all sound like a bunch of women. ‘ Oh, she never told me, oh she’s giving me the cold shoulder’ I swear I’ve raised a bunch of little girls. Now listen it’s simple. Gwen and Ati will tell you more about themselves when they feel they can, so stop pestering them, or thinking Gwen is some spy.” Then quickly turning his focus now on, Ewan, “You! That girl lost her father, the only person in her family who cared for her. Now, she is stuck with a moron of a sister and an idiot of a mother. The one saving Grace for the girl is that she has all of us, and maybe, in her head, she’s scared that if things with you don’t work out, she will lose us as well.”
Liam & Gwen - Entirely Yours: A Romance Novel (The Adair Series Book 1) Page 11