“I don’t want to hear it,” he says sharply. “Tell me right now that you’ll never do that again. Ever.” I’m shocked by the anger in Liam’s voice, and I stare at him with my mouth open. Then it slowly dawns on me; he’s scared. He’s so scared he was going to lose me. He’s literally shaking.
He reaches across and strokes my injured face. “You don’t know how much you mean to me, Elle,” he tells me. “If something had happened to you...” His voice trails off, and on his face is a pained expression.
I swallow the lump that forms in my throat. “I’m sorry, Liam. I promise you. I’ll never do that again.”
He leans across the console and kisses me. I easily part my lips and kiss him back with the same passion he has for me.
He pulls away from me and looks into my eyes. My heart's racing, and everything feels like it’s too much to handle.
“This--” Liam begins to say, as he must sense the worries I have. “This will never happen again. This isn’t okay, and this isn’t normal.”
I search his eyes. “I’ve never lied to you, Elle.” I part my lips to protest that bullshit, but he puts his finger up to my lips and continues, “I’ve kept the truth from you, but I’ve never lied. And I promise you this. I fucking love you, and I will never let anything like this happen again.”
I don’t know what to think, or what to say. All I know is what I feel. And right now all I feel for him is love. I don’t trust it though. I feel stupid for even being with a man like him.
“I’m done with this shit. I’m completely done. All I want is you. I will do anything and everything to have you and to keep you safe.” Something shifts inside of me. As if those were the words I was waiting for.
“Just stay with me.” He says as his thumb brushes over my lips. “I’ll always protect you, and I know with everything in me that I love you. Just stay with me and let me be there for you.”
It’s so easy to give in, and I want to. I lean into his hand and close my eyes as I nod my head. I can be with this man. I know it in my heart. He was going to die for me. If that's not true love, I don't know what is.
“I will.” I open my eyes and see nothing but devotion in his. “I love you too, Liam.”
Chapter 30
Liam
She’s barely said a word since I’ve brought her back. I expected her to demand I take her back to her place, but instead she keeps looking over at me with worry in her eyes. Like she can’t believe we’re really safe.
“You still mad at me?” Zac asks her. The three of us are in my living room. I know the cops are going to show up at some point. They’ll probably have a warrant too since my car was at the scene of the crime, and there’s probably witnesses who saw me. It’s alright though. My uncle’s still got contacts, and I’m sure I’ll get off without a hitch. Until they get here though, I’m going to be on edge.
“I’m not mad at you,” Elle finally answers. Her voice is small and lacking the bite she usually has. She hasn’t eaten anything. I know she’s still rattled from everything that happened. I wish I could take it all back.
“Then play some cards with me,” Zac offers, holding up a deck. We were playing earlier to pass the time and help Elle get out of her funk. She’s not used to this, but she doesn’t ever need to get used to it. I swear I’ll never let this kind of thing ever happen again.
Elle narrows her eyes at Zac before responding, “You’re a filthy cheater.” Zac laughs and I let out a chuckle, pulling her closer to me on the sofa.
“You’re a poor loser,” Zac says, setting the cards down on the table.
We’ve got the news on, but other than a little snippet earlier, there’s nothing about what happened. Ian Dracho is dead. I already knew he was, but seeing it on the television made Elle relax somewhat. I shot that fucker right between his eyes and then his throat. I’ve never felt so much relief in my entire life. I remember how tense I was, waiting with slow and steady breaths. I just needed him to come up so I could take another shot. Although it was only seconds, the time passed so damn slow waiting for my target to show himself.
I shake off the tension creeping up on me and look down at Elle. I have to tell her everything. I promised her I would. I know she’s not going to like it, because it’s not pretty, but hopefully it’ll earn her trust.
“You okay?” I ask Elle quietly as Zac gets up and leaves the room.
“I’m scared, Liam,” she whispers back, and I kiss the tip of her nose and push the hair out of her face.
“There’s no reason to be scared.” I give her a small smile. “I know it’s gonna take a little while before all that shit gets out of your system, but I swear to you, it’s all over. Everything’s okay.”
She searches my face for something, and whatever it is, I hope she finds it. She settles into my lap and puts her cheek against my chest.
“You belong here, Elle.” I kiss the top of her head. “You belong with me.”
She huffs a small laugh and gives me the faintest of smiles. “Yeah, I do.”
“You know I love you, right? And that I’m really sorry.” I say the words with every ounce of sincerity I have. I hope she knows it’s true. I can’t do anything but keep telling her and showing her until she believes me.
“I know,” she says as she leans up and plants a kiss on my lips. “I love you, too.”
Two weeks later
Elle’s finally coming around. At first she was hardly talking to me. But she wouldn’t let go of me. She wouldn’t let me out of her sight. Everything was cleared with the cops; I got off easy, no charges. My uncle came through with his connections. I told my brother and my cousin that I was out and they agreed it was for the best. Even after all that, she still looked at me like I was gonna be killed any second.
I’ll earn her trust again. And to do that, I'm starting with this move. I’ll live an honest life with her. I know she loves me and I love her, so the rest will come with time.
I'm moving in with her. Technically it's to a new place, but it was her choice, a place close to her school. Just for five months until she’s done, then her ass is coming home. I may not be working with my family anymore, but I want to be by them. And so does she.
She wants to work in a school, so there’s plenty of jobs for her when we move back here. And she wants to come back. Which makes me happy. She doesn’t have any family, but I do and I don’t want to leave them.
Not now.
I want as much family around us as we can get. And as soon as she’s ready and trusts me again, I’m gonna do right by her and put a ring on her finger. I don’t care if this is fast and it’s only been a couple of months. What we’ve been through is hard, but we did it together. I need her, and she needs me. That’s all that matters.
I look around my bedroom and make sure I’ve got everything packed.
I do, everything's all set. Except for the letter. I’ve held onto it. But I haven't been able to give it to her. I take a deep breath and slip it out of the envelope. We’re moving forward with our lives and I want her to see for herself what her old man was thinking. She should know.
I take deliberate steps to where Elle’s standing in the kitchen.
“Hey Elle,” I say and lean in to kiss her cheek. “You ready to read it?” I ask.
She looks at the note and a flash of sadness crosses her eyes as she registers what it is. She gives me a small nod. “You said he reminded you of your dad?” she asks as she walks toward me. The reminder makes my heart pang.
“Yeah, a little,” I admit.
“I’m sorry.” She cups my face in her hands and plants a kiss on my lips. “I’m sorry, Liam.” She holds my gaze and I look back at her, not knowing what to say. It was so long ago, but it does hurt from time to time still. I kiss her on the lips and pull her closer to me. I just wanna hold her. That makes everything feel better. Having her to love makes the pain go away somehow.
I sit at the small table in the kitchen and wait for her to take a seat on my lap. I
kiss her cheek, but it doesn’t help. She still gets a little sad whenever her old man comes up. I can’t blame her. It's gonna take time.
Her hand rests on my shoulder and she leans in, resting her cheek against my chest.
I shake the letter out and hold it so she can easily read it, too. I know this is gonna be hard for her. But I’m here. We’ll get through this together.
Chapter 31
Lizzie
“I can’t believe how well business is doing!” Nat cries as she sets out another fresh batch of her infamous sugar cookies.
Since it’s the day before I leave, I figured I’d come spend time with Nat before I say goodbye. I feel like myself again, most of the time. When I’m with Nat, it’s easier. She brings out the old me.
Only when I arrived, I found Nat swamped with customers. I offered to help Nat keep up with the demand. Unfortunately, it took just a few minutes of being bossed around before I wanted to strangle her.
Luckily for me, Nat’s two new hires came in to help, April and Haley, and they're busy running the cash register and filling the orders, allowing us a moment to chat in the back and catch up on each other’s lives.
“I can,” I say, fighting back the urge to snatch one of the fresh cookies off the tray. They smell damn delicious and it’s hard to keep my eyes off of them. Seriously, I could eat the entire batch by myself right now! Ever since making up with Liam, my appetite has returned in full force. I think I’ve put on a good ten pounds and even have my voluptuous figure back. “Have you tasted your cookies lately? They're out of this world amazing!”
Nat grins at me as she gently prods one of the cookies to test its softness. “You’re such a suck-up, you know that?”
I wink at her. “Why wouldn’t I be? After all, you’re like the town’s queen of baking.”
Nat pokes another one of her cookies and snorts. “Goddess of baking is more like it. Hell, I should have my own show on the Food Network with all the work I put in.”
I raise an eyebrow. “My my, modest, aren’t we?”
Nat laughs. “I’m just playing. You know I don’t have a big head like that.”
I nod, my stomach growling. I can’t stop eyeing those delicious cookies. A second longer, and I’m going to need handcuffs. “Mmmhmm. Sure. Anything you say. Just wait until you expand and open up your next bakery. Then you’ll probably fall over from the weight of your head.”
Nat laughs. Then she groans. “Ugh. Don’t tell me about it. I was already looking at my balance sheet the other day and realizing I’ll have this paid off by the end of the year, which will give me room to expand if I want.” She sighs. “I’ve already started stressing out, staking out prime locations for a new shop in the town over.”
“Take it slow,” I advise, still staring at those damn cookies. “Don’t worry about that until it gets here. You have all the time in the world to enjoy the success you’re having now.” Screw it! I can’t take it anymore. I take one of Nat’s cookies and pop it in my mouth. The rich, delicious sweetness invades my taste buds, and my eyes roll back in my head at the taste. God, so good.
Nat glowers at my theft, but deep down I know she loves that I can’t keep my hands off her cookies. It’s the hallmark of a grandmaster baker. “You know what? You’re right. Speaking of which, how are things with you and Liam?”
I pause, my heart fluttering in my chest at the thought of Liam. He’s been the best lately, renting out the perfect place for us while I’m going to school, and doing what he can to make my life easier. It warms my heart, because it means he cares, and he’s trying to make up for everything that went down. Still, I feel guilty about him paying for everything, but he insists not to worry about it. He says I’d do the same for him if I were in his position. And I would.
I can hardly contain the smile on my face as I finish off the delicious morsel. “They're good.” More than good. I told Nat about Liam the other day. A little more than I should have, I think. I even included Liam’s dad dying, him staying with his uncle and how he’s a bookie. I probably shouldn’t have said anything about the business. But Liam keeps saying it’s legal. And he’s quitting. For me. That’s the only reason I told her. I pop another delicious cookie in my mouth to keep in all the other details that have been dying to come out. She doesn’t need to know about everything that happened. No one does. I want to forget it all and pretend like those few nights never existed.
Nat’s eyes flash dangerously at my bold theft, and I hold in a laugh. “I don’t know Liz, isn’t this rather fast to be doing all this?” she asks, watching me gobble down the cookie. “After what happened, I’m kind of worried about you.”
“Don’t be,” I say. “I know it’s only been two months, but Liam and I… We’ve really gotten to know each other.” It’s hard to put into words what I feel. I feel like he’s my soul mate. Nat would have to find her own to understand.
Nat doesn’t look totally reassured as she says, “I hope so.”
Then she asks, “But what’s he going to do while you’re at school?”
“A lot!” I say excitedly, momentarily forgetting the tray of cookies. I’ve been dying to tell her of Liam’s plans to build up his investments.
“Well, he’s got enough cash flow to invest in a few companies.” He told me he loved the restaurant, but he didn’t want another. Something about numbers and return on investments. I didn’t quite keep up with what he was saying, but he was excited to tell me about the other companies.
Nat makes a surprised face when I’m done. “That’s odd.”
“What?” I ask.
“With how hot Liam is, I’d thought he’d have shit for brains. This guy sounds smart as hell.”
“That’s not nice,” I protest. She shrugs.
“Sorry. But it’s the truth. Guy like him could make millions on his looks alone, instead he chooses to use his brain. I know if I could model and make megabucks, I sure in the hell wouldn’t be breaking my back doing this.” Nat shakes her head sorrowfully.
I chuckle. “He totally looks like he’d be some vapid model instead of head of his own empire--”
Nat suddenly motions with her hands as if to warn me to shut up. “Speak of the devil.”
Strong arms enclose me, and a deep voice murmurs in my ear, “Speaking of what devil?”
My heart does several backflips. “Liam!”
I turn in his arms to be greeted with a deep, smoldering kiss that has me wanting to strip naked and fuck right then and there in the back of Nat’s bakery. In front of Nat.
We’re both so lost in the kiss that it takes Nat to break us out of it.
“Get a room! Jesus!”
I pull away from Liam, my face burning. “Sorry!”
Nat is unconvinced. “I’m sure.”
Liam chuckles, totally unashamed by our hot and heavy display of affection and wipes his lips. I’m sure I taste like sugar cookies, but Liam probably likes it. “Hey Nat.”
Nat does a little wave. “Hey Liam. How’s it hanging?”
Liam grins and I know he’s thinking something dirty. “Alright. How’s the bakery going?”
“Absolutely fantastic,” she says, gesturing to the front of the shop. “Can’t you tell by the line outside?”
Liam shakes his head. “I snuck in the back.”
“Figures.” Nat scowls at me. “I wonder who left the door open.”
I look innocent. “Surely not me.”
Nat scowls harder, threatening to send me off into gales of laughter.
Liam stares at Nat’s fresh batch of cookies. “So are these the famous cookies I’ve been hearing so much about around town?”
“Yes they are,” I’m quick to say. I gesture at the tray. “You should try one.” Heaven knows, I could eat five more.
“I think he already has,” Nat growls, staring pointedly at the five empty spots on the tray. “Sugar lips.”
Liam laughs as he realizes why I tasted like a sugar cookie. “Well, if that’s the case, I g
uess I have to have one. 'Cause Elle here tasted sweeter than usual.” He walks over to the tray and looks at Nat for permission.
Nat waves him on. “Go ahead, you certainly can’t do any more damage than your girlfriend did.”
“I resent that,” I say.
“Bite me.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Liam isn’t paying attention to our bickering. He takes a cookie and pops it in his mouth. His eyes widen a moment later. “Shit. These are really good,” he says.
Nat beams with pride. I can tell she takes his compliment to heart since he's someone that knows good food. “Thank you.”
Liam shakes his head, grabbing another cookie. “No. Thank you. Seriously, I could totally see you going on TV and winning one of those baking contests and then ending up with your own reality show.”
Natalie looks at me with an ‘I told you so” look. “See, Lizzie? What’d I tell you?”
“Careful, Liam,” I warn. “You give her too many compliments, her head might explode.”
“Better than my stomach exploding from eating too many cookies,” she retorts. I giggle at her insult.
“If you’re looking for a business partner, I could certainly help you out in the investment.” I’m surprised by Liam’s offer and judging by the look on Nat’s face, so is she.
“I’ll…” she starts to say and then purses her lips. “I’ll have to think about it,” she says confidently and then nods with a smile. “But thank you. If I need a partner, I’ll keep you in mind.”
“Fair enough,” Liam says with a smile. “You ready to go, Elle?” His eyes are hooded with lust as he looks at me, and a shiver of anticipation shoots up my spine.
“Yes,” I say huskily. “Just let me say bye to Nat and then we can go.”
He pulls me into a light kiss that makes me weak in the knees. “Don’t keep me waiting long.” He gives Nat a nod goodbye, and she does the same in return as he walks out the back door.
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