Liam & Gwen - Entirely Yours: A Romance Novel (The Adair Series Book 1)

by Tania De Melo

  What more is there to know? Is that not what a woman expects? I’m not a mind reader, so if that is not what they want, then I am completely oblivious to the female gender, and I may as well throw in the towel now. Before she can answer, Kai walks through the door. He doesn’t bother acknowledging me, speaking directly to our mother.

  “Mom, we’re all going to grab dinner, but we might be late. Thea and Gracie are with us, so you know and don’t worry.”

  “Sounds good, Sweetie!” She replies.

  ‘All? What does he mean by all?’ I think to myself

  “Is Gwen going?” I ask, curious if he has spoken with her. Even if he had, with the cold shoulder I am getting from him, I don’t think he would tell me.

  “We just left there, but she wasn’t up to coming along. Ben is talking to Ati now, trying to convince them to come, but Liam; it’s not really an invitation to you.” He says with a hint of disdain in his tone.

  “Really…so I’m the jerk now?” I reply, actually feeling rather rejected that my brother is acting this way.

  “You have no clue, do you? Li, you hurt her, embarrassed her in front of friends and people that come into her salon every day.” He replies in response.

  I shake my head, “That’s why I need to talk to her...to explain.”

  “No. You are going to give her some time. To be honest, I doubt she will want to see you for a while anyway.”

  I’m angry now. Why does he feel like he needs to protect her from me? “Kai, I need to talk to Gwen.”

  “And I said, she’s going to need time.” He says with a little more firmness to his voice.

  I am about to snap back when our mother steps in. “Boys, enough. Liam, you need to listen to Kai on this one, he’s right. That girl was hurt and needs time.”

  I look to both of them, “It was a bloody pissing match. You both saw it; they would have continued until their bank accounts were completely dry. I had no choice; it was the only way.”

  Kai turns to me, arrogance in his glare, “Then why was it, Gwen? Why didn’t you stop, Emily?”

  Looking my brother dead in the eye, I hesitate not sure how to respond, but he does it for me, “You don’t need to answer Li. You chose to stop Gwen because you didn’t want to hurt Emily. It’s always Emily’s feelings you are trying to spare, or Emily, you are trying to keep safe, but in the process, you are hurting Gwen, and I won’t let you do it anymore.”

  I stand there speechless. Is that really what he is seeing? Is that what I am doing? Kai doesn’t stick around to hear a reply. He says goodbye and heads out. My mother is staring at me with a look of understanding. She knows I’m struggling with this, lost with what to do, how to fix this.

  “Liam, my love, I know you never had the intention of hurting, Gwen. What Kai said was a bit of a low blow, but Liam, he loves her. Kai, Ben, and Gwen have been like best friends since she came to Emerson, when he sees her hurt, especially by his own brother, he gets angry.”

  I think about what she said, “Ben doesn’t act that way.”

  “Ben and Kai are two different people. Ben holds more in; speaking only when he feels necessary. Kai does everything with such passion and conviction, especially protecting the ones he loves, including you.”

  “He has a funny way of showing it. He looked like he wanted to rip off my head.” I murmur

  “Liam, we can see it. You adore that girl, but your nature is to protect, it always has been, and that is what you are doing with, Emily. You are not a bad man, even though you ended things with her, you still don’t want to hurt her. You would want that for anyone, but the thing is Liam, your hurting Gwen. You need to either, end things with Emily, allow her to make the mistakes she is going to make, or let Gwen go completely.”

  Processing all that, I look to her knowing what I need to do. I give my mother a kiss, head out the door, to fix this and prove to Gwen that she is whom I want.

  ***

  It’s after midnight when I pull into Emily’s driveway, her car is home and the inside light on, so I am in luck, seeing, as I didn’t call before I came. After walking up to the door, and ringing the doorbell, it doesn’t take long for Emily to answer.

  “Liam, I didn’t expect you to show up tonight.” A shine of happiness crosses over her eyes. “Come in.” Stepping aside, she motions me through.

  “Emily, I’m not staying. I only came to return this to you.” I hand her a check for twenty thousand dollars.

  Taking it from my hands, she stares at it in confusion. “Liam, this money was for the clinic. I am not taking it back.”

  “It’s from my account, not the auction. I don’t feel right with you having to pay that kind of money when I can’t go on a date with you.” I explain.

  She looks back down to the check, “It’s her, isn’t it?” She pauses a moment, then lifts her chin in a more defensive gesture, “If you didn’t want to go on a date with someone, then why did you enter the auction?” She asks with reason.

  “It was for a good cause, and to be honest if it were anyone else, this wouldn’t be an issue, but Emily; you know you did it hoping for more.” I confront her honestly.

  “Do you even know anything about her, Liam?” She asks out of nowhere.

  “What are you talking about, Emily?” She stands there for a moment, reading the confusion written all over my face.

  “It’s a pretty simple question, Liam. What exactly do you know about her? Like, did you know she only started to come to see her sister the past couple of years’; before that nothing!”

  “What? How do you even know about her sister?” I ask wanting answers how she knows all this.

  She glances at me for a moment, as if she is choosing her next words carefully. “No…you know what, Liam? I’m going to let you figure this one out all on your own, but heed my advice, Liam. There is something those two are hiding, and I have a bad feeling about it.”

  She doesn’t say any more, only swiftly opens the door, and walks inside. I head to my car, sit there for a moment trying to process what she said. What and how could Emily know anything about Gwen or Ati? Whatever it is, she seems to think I should be concerned. Maybe I should, but I need to be careful how I approach this, there is no way I’m ever going to hurt Gwen again, I need this to work with her.

  I pick up my phone, texting Gwen one final time, ‘please I need to see you. I’m sorry!’

  ***

  It’s been three weeks since the fundraiser, and I still haven’t spoken to Gwen. Actually, I haven’t spoken to any of my brothers either, other than Ewan at work. I never realized the bond she had with Kai and Ben. I knew they were close, but it’s more than that, they see her as family.

  Today, Kai is moving into his new place in town, we had planned a while ago, that my brothers, father, and I were going to help him move. I’m not sure I am still welcome, but I need to make things right with them, clear the air, and get things back to the way they were. I know they love me, and things will eventually work itself out, but I did this and I need to be the one to fix it.

  I pull into Kai’s driveway of his new place, everyone else already here. Making my way up to the garage door, I can hear them all chatting about where they should start.

  “Do you guys need another hand?” I ask, entering through the main door.

  Quickly Ben and Ewan lower their heads not sure of what to say, and my father looks to Kai, “Son, you two need to work this out; it’s been long enough.”

  Kai takes his gaze from me, to look at my father, “I’m not the one he needs to work things out with.”

  He’s right, but fixing things with Gwen starts here first.

  “Kai, I plan to. I’ve called, text, and left messages asking her that when she is ready, to please hear me out. I know what I did was wrong, I hurt her, even though that was never my intention, I did. You said it was, Emily I was trying to protect, keep from getting hurt…maybe you were right to a point, but it was also, Gwen. I didn’t want to involve her in my past p
roblems.”

  Kai looks to me but says nothing.

  “Kai, please?” I ask, almost pleading. “I regret my decision, not only because of what it did to Gwen but because of what it’s done to us. You’re my brother, and I love you. This silence between us is killing me. Gwen, may choose to forgive me, but never talk to me again, but I can’t let that happen with you; Kai we’re family.”

  “That’s just it, Li. Just because she’s not blood, doesn’t mean she’s not family. She had no one when Benny and I opened up to let her in, but you don’t see that. Gwen and now, Ati want to be a part of something bigger, a family, but your actions, your decision to protect Emily, took that away. She hasn’t spoken to any of us, Li. You putting Emily before Gwen should never have been a decision; it should always have been, Gwen. You should have seen it right from the beginning. Emily never fit in, Gwen did. Mom loves her; we love her; but by you doing what you did, made her feel like she can never really be a part of this family. You may not want to be with Gwen, that’s fine, but you should never have let her believe that maybe there could be something.”

  I let it sink in, everything Kai said; He’s right. We have always been that way, Grace and Bane have always been a part of our family, raised by his grandparents, they passed when Bane was only sixteen, my parents took him in and loved him like a son. Grace; although she has a mother and sister, has always been mistreated by them; in turn, spending most of her time with our family because hers could care less.

  “Kai, I can’t say Gwen, and I will work out, we haven’t even really got to know one another, but I promise I will make sure she knows she and Ati will always have a family here. I won’t take that away from her.” That’s all I have, but I mean it. I know the importance of being a part of a family, and I care about Gwen enough, to make sure she gets to know as well.

  Kai looks at me a moment longer, then simply nods his head.

  “Well, let’s get to it then, this stuff isn’t going to move itself.” He says then walks off.

  I am going to take that as acceptance of my apology, and that he trusts I will make things right with Gwen. Now, all I have to do is get her to talk to me so that I can explain and apologize for being a fool and hurting her.

  ***

  It’s about nine o’clock in the evening by the time we get everything moved in. Bane ended up coming over and helping us, which made things go a lot faster; the guy is like a machine. As the day went on, things started to get back to normal between my brothers and me.

  Now sitting on the back porch having a beer, Benny mentions the girls are all having a sleepover at Gwen and Ati’s place.

  “Like a slumber party?” Ewan inquires a little too excited.

  “Yep! Apparently, according to Thea and Grace, they’re having a spa night with pizza and scary movies for Ati’s birthday.” Ben replies.

  Ewan looks as though he's concocting a master plan. “You know what would be fun?” His eyes are holding something I am sure we are not going to like.

  We all look to Ewan with apprehension; his plans usually entail someone ending up pranked.

  “Brother, I know you can’t be thinking to pull one over on those girls...they will be pissed! I’m not worried so much about Ati and Grace, but Gwen and Thea, although they’re tiny, I am pretty sure if they unite; those two could take us all out.” Kai, states.

  We all let out a little laugh. “Come, on it will be perfect, I have the best plan,” Ewan explains.

  “Well boys, I am going to pretend I heard none of this because if it gets back to your mother, she will have my head; I am out of here. Have a good night, Gentlemen.”

  With that, our father leaves, and Ewan tells us what he is thinking. Although I am not as into crashing slumber parties as much as I was when I was a teenager, maybe Gwen will be willing to talk once I am there.

  ***

  Pulling onto Gwen’s street, Kai parks just a little down from the house, Ben and Ewan are the first to jump out, followed by Kai, Bane and myself.

  “Ok, everyone got your masks?” Ewan asks, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of his plot coming together.

  We had made a quick pit stop at our parents’ house, grabbing our old Halloween masks from the year we had all been characters from our favorite horror movies; that was not an easy one to explain to our mother. I had a feeling she knew we were up to no good but said nothing; she was just happy we had all worked things out.

  Making our way along the side of Gwen’s house to the back, Bane walks ahead to check that the coast is clear, “All systems a go! The back-patio lights are on, but the curtains are pulled shut.” He calls over the two-way radios; we took from Kai’s truck.

  “10-4” Ewan replies.

  “You guys do know you’re only five feet away from each other, are the radio’s really necessary?” I add, still trying to figure out, how they talked me into this.

  “Stop being such a killjoy, Li! Immerse yourself in some harmless adolescent fun.” Kai pokes.

  Kai was always the first one to be up for Ewan’s antics, with me always pointing out the many obvious ways we were going to get in trouble.

  “Fine, but it’s all on you…I am pleading sibling coercion if we get out asses chewed out.”

  Creeping up onto the back deck, I look out to the yard, “Thank god, they don’t have back neighbor’s, all I need is the chief getting a call about five suspicious men, then having to explain why I am wearing a Freddie mask while lurking around the yard of unsuspecting young women when he catches us.” They all seemed to find that funny…me, not so much!

  Ewan is the first to peak through the window.

  “Dude, you look like a peeping-tom,” Bane whispers with a chuckle.

  “Call me what you want, I’m the one that has a front-row view of them dancing around in barely anything.”

  Kai quickly pushes Ewan out of the way, “Holy hell, is that Ginny?” Kai removes his mask so he can get a better look, “Damn, yep that’s her.”

  That earns him a smack on the head from Bane, “That’s my cousin, assjack!”

  “Yeah, well that’s payback for going on a date with my sister, Curtis!” Ben and Ewan nod in agreement.

  When Bane took Thea on their date, my brothers were not pleased; it didn’t bother me, it’s not as if Bane has a thing for my sister.

  “Can you see, Ati?” Ben asks, moving in closer, but also walking into one of the deck chairs creating a huge bang.

  The music inside stops, and we can see the shadows of the girls all huddled together, “Christ, Ben!”

  “Sorry, I didn’t see it there.”

  Just as we all look back up to the patio doors, the curtain flies open, and all five girls shriek and jump in fright. However, what caught my eye was each one of them standing defensively with some sort of kitchen utensil in their hands, Gwen in front, brandishing a meat tenderizer.

  We can’t hold in our laughter at the site. Ripping off our masks; the girl's faces turn from ones filled with fear to one of anger, “Crap.”

  Gwen throws the door open, “I don’t know who to be more pissed at, Ewan, because this was clearly his moronic and infantile idea or the rest of you idiots for actually going along with it.”

  We all lower our heads, like children in trouble with their parents.

  “Sorry Gwenie, but in all fairness, you weren’t answering any of our calls...we’ve missed you,” Kai explains, playing the wounded card while pleading to her softer side.

  “Fine! Since you’re already here, you may as well come in. There is plenty of pizza and cake left over if you are hungry.”

  Motioning us in, Kai leads the way. I stay back, unsure if I am welcome.

  “Are you coming in?” She’s not looking at me, only looking at the ground as she asks.

  “Gwen, can we talk outside for a minute?” I don’t want things to be uncomfortable for everyone in there, maybe if I can finally explain things we can clear the air and start fresh.

  “Liam,
there isn’t anything to say.” The look in her eyes tells me differently; she’s still hurt.

  Moving a little closer, I ask again, “Please Gwen.” She stalls for a moment, eventually giving in stepping outside, closing the door behind her.

  Wrapping her arms around herself, I notice she’s in nothing but pajama shorts and a tank top. I take off my jacket, throwing it around her shoulders.

  “Thank you.” She pulls it tighter around her body, softly breathing in its scent. “It smells good.”

  The shakiness in my voice is noticeable as my nerves get the better of me, “Gwen, I’m going to start with, ‘I am so sorry,’ it was never my intention to make you feel the way I did. It was getting out of hand, and I just jumped, not thinking about how my actions might affect you.”

  “Liam, you embarrassed me in front of everyone, people I see every day. These past weeks, I’ve had to deal with all those women telling me how sorry they felt for me, and they don’t know how they would deal with rejection like that in public. All I could do was plaster on a fake smile; brushing it off as though it didn’t bother me, but Liam…it did…a lot. I’m not a prideful person, but I still didn’t deserve to be subjected to that kind of humiliation.”

  Hearing the struggle of her voice, the reality of what I did hits even harder; her words like knives piercing my chest repeatedly, “Can I even fix this?”

  A stray tear falls down her cheek, “Truthfully Liam, I’m not sure I have the energy. We haven’t even got to the blissfulness of first getting to know one another, yet I’ve shed more tears over you as if we’ve been together for eternity. I’m tired, and emotionally, I can’t handle anymore. I shouldn’t have to feel as though I’m constantly fighting against the history of an old relationship. I don’t need double rainbows, with lavish gestures of affection, but I at least merit being the only woman you think about.”

  My mind is swirling, grasping for words, words meaningful enough for her to understand how I feel, but I can’t seem to vocalize them. She’s given me her answer; I can’t fix this, I ruined any chance to be with Gwen because of my misguided integrity to do the right thing by Emily.