by T. C. Clark
T.C. Clark
Liam: One Night with the Wicked Chef
First published by Dusk to Dawn Press 2020
Copyright © 2020 by T.C. Clark
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
T.C. Clark asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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The Campbell Brothers
Brodrick: A Dark Romance with the Notorious Scot!
Cole: Love on the Run
Liam: One Night with the Wicked Chef!
Tatum: Taming the Professor
Contents
Acknowledgement
1. Hey there, remember me..
2. We had a lovely night...
3. Welcome back...
4. Walking away isn’t an option...
5. Dream big or go home...
6. Where there is a will, there is a way...
7. Admit it, you are in love...
8. Your past is always there...
9. Love is the best kind of revenge...
10. Thank you, Karma...
Acknowledgement
Thank you for waiting patiently for this book. I hope you enjoy Liam’s story and I also hope that all of you are safe and well. A special thanks to Sarita, Karen, Linda, and Nana. Thank you so much for your support. I appreciate you all more than you know!
One
Hey there, remember me..
* * *
Liam Campbell checked his appearance for the third time and shook his head. What was it about, Irene James? The Gabrielle Union look-alike could turn him inside out with just a single glance.
He wanted her to like him. In fact, he’d spent most of the trip trying to figure out how to get her into his bed. He ‘d hoped that once they’d slept together, his desire for her would lessen. He was slowly coming to the realization that he would always want Irene, at least on some level.
Knowing Irene was going to attend dinner tonight filled him with excitement. The sheer depth of his anticipation helped fuel his ever-increasing desire for her.
Liam sighed, why couldn’t he get the damn woman out of his head?
She was beautiful—that much was clear to anyone with sight. In fact, yesterday at Mel and Cole’s brunch, he’d had to bite his tongue a few times when Javier, one of Cole’s friends, repeatedly tried to capture her interest.
Luckily, Irene’s frost wasn’t reserved for him alone. Liam had hidden his smile as the confused Spanish man finally gave up. Javier didn’t understand that Irene’s guard was all the way up. It would take time and patience to coax her out of her shell, and Liam was determined to be the only man around when she lowered it.
Liam had given up on the idea that his intense attraction to her would fade. He’d realized that wasn’t going to happen after he’d woken up for the tenth time with a hard cock, and her image still fresh in his mind.
Irene James had made an impression on his mind and his body. He needed to work her out of his system if he wanted to move on.
It wasn’t as if he believed she was utterly uninterested. He’d caught her a few times staring at him the way he stared at her. But, she still kept him and every man who worked up the nerve to approach her at a distance.
Liam shook his head; someone had hurt her, and they’d done a bang-up job of it. He didn’t know how to approach Irene, and his brothers were unhelpful.
Cole and Brodrick were too caught up in their own love lives, and Tatum was in some sort of war with his colleague. The only one left in the family to talk to was Ansley, his young niece, and he’d recently learned that she was trying to marry them all off.
Ansley had taken an instant liking to kind-hearted Irene. If Ansley knew that Liam was interested in her, she would probably try to plan the wedding. No, he was going to have to figure this out all on his own.
His other friends would laugh at him. Liam pursuing any woman was a surprise. He made it a rule to never chase, and to be honest, he’d never had to before.
Generally, by the time he was interested in someone, they were chasing him. But Irene was different; he’d known that from the second he’d met her. There was something about the shy beauty that appealed to him on a deeper level.
Slowly but surely, Liam had become obsessed with the idea of getting to know her. He’d hoped that his attraction to Irene would wane the more he learned about her; most of the time, the image that someone presented was typically destroyed upon closer inspection.
Unfortunately, when he’d met up with Mel and her best friend earlier this week, he’d learned Irene was precisely as she seemed. There was no way he could pretend that he wasn’t interested in her. It wouldn’t work anyway. Liam trusted his instincts, and they all led him back to Irene.
Liam was different from his brothers. He wasn’t afraid of having relationships. It was merely that no one had ever grabbed his attention quite like Irene.
Liam needed a plan to entice the beauty out of her shell. What was she interested in right now? He’d already quizzed Mel, and she’d politely told him that if he wanted to know about Irene, he could damn well grow some balls and ask her himself.
Liam chuckled; he still couldn’t believe Cole had landed someone like Mel. Both Cole and Brodrick were blessed. Somehow, they’d found the only women in the world who could put up with them.
He checked his phone. It was almost time to meet up with the others. Cole and Mel’s small wedding had been a success, and now they were in Vegas at Mel’s request.
Brodrick, Gabby, and Ansley were already on their way back to Scotland. Gabby’s pregnancy was really wearing down her energy, and Ansley and Brodrick refused to leave her side.
Tatum left early as well. His little war with the new professor of the Geology department at his university was heating up, and according to him, he needed to keep his eye on the sneaky woman.
Liam smiled; he was sure there would be a story waiting for him when he returned to Scotland. Right now, he needed to focus on tonight. If he played his cards right, Irene wouldn’t remain a mystery to him for long.
He wanted the sexy woman, and it was time for him to show her how much. Something told him this may be his last shot. Irene was a runner; every time he got close to her, she took to her heels. She was elusive enough to disappear forever if he gave her a chance.
> Tonight, Irene was going to catch the full brunt of the Campbell charm. He was tired of waiting on her to warm up. What they both needed was a good push in the right direction.
Irene better watch out; tonight, Liam Campbell was coming for her, and somehow, he would convince her to take a chance on them. There was no use fighting their attraction—everyone knew that Campbell’s always won.
* * *
1Irene James shook her head as yet another man tried to get her attention. She wasn’t here for any of that. This week was for her best friend alone. Mel had finally met her match with Cole Campbell, and Irene couldn’t be happier.
To say her best friend was a handful was one hell of an understatement. Mel would keep Cole running in circles for the rest of his life, and the Scot would do so with a smile. Irene was so happy for her; Mel deserved the best. Cole Campbell had come out of nowhere and turned her best friend’s life upside down.
Irene looked around the opulent lobby with a frown. So far, this wedding trip had been a lot of fun—other than the sexy Scottish man haunting her every move.
One thing was sure, Liam Campbell was a man who knew what he wanted, and for some reason, he wanted her. It wasn’t as if she was unfamiliar with a man’s interest; the problem was she’d never really felt the same about them.
Her ex, Bryce, had done a great job of making her doubt her own instincts. She never wanted to be in a situation like that again, where she loved someone so much that losing them nearly broke her.
It wasn’t just their breakup that had caused her dating freeze. It was how they’d parted. Bryce’s departure had been horrific, and his betrayal had left deep scars on her heart.
Mel still didn’t know that Irene had decided to start dating again. It was a personal choice that Irene still wasn’t sure about. The one thing she knew for sure was that she was tired of being lonely.
Irene had been alone for long enough. In the back of her mind, she knew every man couldn’t be like her ex. But heartbreak was hard to forget.
She looked down at her phone. Good. She still had a little bit of time before everyone started to arrive. The wedding party had shrunk significantly at this point. Most of Cole’s family had left already, and to be fair, his people made up most of the crowd.
The only ones left for him were Alek and some other private investigators that worked with the couple.
Irene wandered into the brightly lit gift store and looked around. She braced herself as a horde of teenage girls pushed past her. Irene narrowly missed knocking over a display of gaudy crystal globes with a tiny Las Vegas lit up inside. She picked up the globe and inspected it. This would be the perfect souvenir for a place like this.
Contrary to popular belief, she was enjoying herself, and she wanted something to take home that reminded her of their time here. Las Vegas was a lot like New Orleans—the people were full of life.
In another lifetime, she could see herself living here. Irene carried the globe to the front and paid for it. She needed to get back to the lobby. Irene was always the first to arrive in these types of situations. As she turned to leave, she started to feel the usual butterflies that fluttered in the pit of her stomach.
Her nephew said it was because she had social anxiety, whatever that was. Her sister said all she needed was prayer. Irene thought the answer was somewhere in between the two.
Mel had only invited her and Rose, her cousin, for her part of the wedding party. Surprisingly, Rose left early; she’d had a concert planned in New York City. That meant that the dinner tonight would be much more intimate.
Irene leaned against the marble counter and watched the stairs intently. She was so focused on seeing who would arrive first that she didn’t notice the man who walked up behind her.
She felt his presence first. Whenever Liam Campbell was nearby, her body reacted as if it had a mind of its own. She tingled from head to toe. She turned around slowly and granted him a serene smile.
The Scot did not need to know how easily he affected her. She braced herself against the instant attraction she felt for him.
“Liam, how are you?”
“Better now that I’m here with you,” Liam said softly. His accent curled her toes. She stepped back as his sultry cologne hit her nose.
“Do you know where everyone else is?” Irene asked. She pulled out her phone and was surprised to see two missed messages. Oh, no, please don’t do this, Mel.
Liam’s smile confirmed her fears. The big man already knew what happened. Irene clicked on Mel’s name and read the message.
Sorry, girl, Cole had a sexy surprise waiting for me at the hotel. Not going to make it out the door tonight. The others canceled as well, but I know one guy who won’t. Have fun with your adoring chef and tell me all about it in the morning. Love ya lots. - Mel
This situation had setup written all over it.
“Well, it looks like it’s just us tonight. Do you want to call it a night? We both have flights out tomorrow,” Irene asked.
Liam’s eyes narrowed at the hope he heard in her voice. “Absolutely not. Listen, Irene, I feel like you’ve been avoiding me lately, and I don’t want that. We both know that Mel set this up, so let’s just enjoy tonight.”
“I don’t know. It’s been a long week…” Irene ignored her fleeting desire to spend time alone with him.
Liam Campbell was too much like her ex, Bryce. She’d learned the hard way that powerful men made dangerous partners.
“Did I do something to offend you?” Liam looked genuinely confused by her reaction. To be fair, he hadn’t really done anything offensive. Sure, he was interested in her, but he’d always been respectful.
It was time for a little honesty. “Liam, you’ve done nothing wrong. I just don’t date men like you anymore. I can’t…”
Irene paused as she tried to find the right words to explain how she felt.
Liam’s eyebrows rose. “Men like me?”
Well, hell, she’d offended him. “What I mean is…”
“You can’t possibly know what kind of man I am. We’ve only met a few times.”
“You’re famous and powerful, Liam, and men with those kinds of stats tend to be dangerous.”
“I’m not famous, and I’m damn sure, not powerful. What lies has Cole been telling you?”
Irene pointed to the front of the building, where an oversized photo banner of Liam fluttered in the air. “Isn’t that your picture hanging in one of the most expensive hotels in Vegas?” Irene asked dryly.
“Okay, so I’m a B-list celebrity who knows how to cook? That still doesn’t mean I’m here to hurt you,” Liam said quietly.
Irene sighed when she spotted another guest across the room. The woman kept looking from the poster to Liam, over and over. If her reaction was anything like the people who’d overrun her store back in New Orleans, they only had a few more minutes of privacy.
“What do you want from me, Liam?”
“I want a chance to explore whatever this is between us. Ever since I met you, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head—and I’ve tried to. I’m not used to chasing after anyone, and I’m not sure my ego likes it. But I can’t deny you are always on my mind, and I need to know why.”
“That sounds a lot like lust.” Irene frowned; there was so much confidence in his voice.
“Oh, lass, of course, there is a whole lot of lust, but there is something more to it than that. If it were only lust, then any woman would do, and I promise you, no one else is doing anything for me right now. I dream about a certain brown-skinned woman with the softest eyes I’ve ever seen. All I’m asking for is one night to show you who I am. If you’re still not interested, somehow, I will walk away, and the next time we meet, this won’t happen again. Cole and Mel’s life will bring us together a lot, and I don’t want it to be awkward. So if you say the word, this stops.”
Irene was caught off guard by the sincerity in his eyes. It was time for her to decide if that’s what she really wanted. As
much as she’d struggled with his attention, she did enjoy it. Liam’s subtle comments and hungry looks had caused the ice around her heart to melt.
What would one night hurt? For just tonight, she would let her guard down a little. Yes, Bryce had hurt her, but that hard lesson ensured her eyes would remain wide open with Liam. If she even caught a hint of deception, she would walk away.
Irene looked behind Liam and grimaced. The woman who’d noticed him was clearly gathering her team of friends, and she looked ready to pounce.
“Are you involved with anyone? Or should I say, is there anyone waiting at home for you?”
Liam looked confused by the question. That, at least, was a good sign.
“No, if I were involved with someone, I can assure you I wouldn’t be here. That’s not how I operate, and I detest liars and cheats. You’re not with anyone, are you?” He frowned as he asked the question. He’d assumed she was single.
“No, and I feel the same way as you do. You are right; there is something between us—something that I can’t explain, nor do I really understand it, but I almost died a couple of weeks ago, and I don’t want to regret not getting to know you. So, yes, we can spend some time getting to know each other, and by the end of all of this, we will walk away as friends—and to be clear, I don’t intend to end up in your bed.”
“Thank you—and we will have to agree to disagree on not ending up in bed together.”
Irene opened her mouth to argue, and before she could speak, the waiting crowd finally ran out of patience and swarmed them. Liam gently guided her behind him.
“I’ll handle this, and then we can begin our night at Chef Vanar’s restaurant on the south end of the strip. After that mediocre affair, I’ll show you the real Las Vegas.”
Irene chuckled. “That’s fine with me, Liam.”
She looked from Liam to the crowd of people and smiled when she noticed all the looks of adoration.