by J. S. Scott
What would happen if nobody was standing in his way? Would he be different?
After I hung up with Jade, I was still thinking about what I should do.
Should I take the risk of telling him the truth, or guard my heart so it wasn’t in pieces when I had to say good-bye?
CHAPTER 9
BROOKE
Later that day, I was curled up with a good book on investing when somebody knocked on my door. I tossed the paperback aside. It wasn’t like I had any money to invest, but I liked to keep up on the latest information in the world of finance.
I stood, wondering who was knocking at my door at eight o’clock in the evening.
I opened the door and froze when I saw Liam on my doorstep.
I hadn’t heard a word from him all day, and my insecurities had taken over.
Was he done with me after we’d had sex?
If he thought I was a cheater, maybe I was just another one-night stand for him, a way to alleviate the sexual tension that was always there between us.
“I thought you were working,” I said, trying not to notice that he looked totally edible in a pair of dark-blue jeans and a black sweater.
I hadn’t known that Liam was the sweater type, but it suited him. He was the kind of guy who could make a sweater look sexy. Really, I didn’t know a whole lot about him outside of the restaurant. The only things I’d ever seen him wear were jeans and T-shirts.
He strode through the door and into the living room, which wasn’t more than a few steps. It was a small apartment.
“You need to dump your rich boyfriend,” he stated abruptly. “It’s a red line for me that I won’t cross.”
I swallowed hard as I closed the door and faced him. His expression was so intense that I couldn’t answer.
He moved on. “For the rest of your time here in Amesport, we date. We see each other someplace other than Sullivan’s. The normal stuff. We’ve never had normal, Brooke.”
I raised a brow, wondering what he was up to, but my heart was hammering as I gaped at him.
“I can take you anywhere you want to go. Hell, we can fly anywhere in the world. You know I’m not exactly hard up for funds. I might only be a millionaire, but I have a lot of millions. That might not look all that good compared to the overabundance of billionaires in this town, but I could never work another day in my life, spend extravagantly, and still have money to burn.”
He was right. Liam had reached nine figures in his money markets, investments, and bank accounts. I’d done his taxes. I knew he was loaded. But what did that have to do with us?
“I don’t want money,” I said in a shaky voice.
He stepped up until he was directly in front of me. “Then what do you want, Brooke? Name it, and I’ll make sure you get it. The only requirement is for you to get rid of the other guy. You don’t love him. I know you well enough to see that you never would have slept with me if you were in love with somebody else. God knows I wanted to write you off as unfaithful, but there’s more to the story. I know there is. I can’t care about a woman who cheats.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my lungs starving for oxygen. “Do you care?” I asked cautiously.
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Yeah, I do. I’m done with the bullshit.”
At that moment, Liam looked so damn vulnerable that I wanted to throw myself into his arms and do something to make everything okay. But I was the subject of his torment, so I didn’t move.
He hadn’t just blown me off after having sex with me. I knew Liam, and he’d obviously been stewing all day about what happened . . . just like me.
“You’re not at the restaurant,” I said, not thinking about the fact that my comment wasn’t exactly brilliant. He obviously wasn’t at Sullivan’s. He was standing right in front of me.
“Tessa is there,” he grumbled. “If you agree to my terms, she’ll be covering a lot more for me, and I’ll pull somebody in to cover for you so we can spend some time together.”
I knew I needed to close my mouth and stop gawking at him, but I wasn’t sure how to accomplish it.
He wanted to . . . date me? We’d already had sex. “We slept together,” I said, still feeling like everything happening was surreal.
I’d never seen Liam act this way, and I was more than a little baffled.
Bottom line . . . he cared about me, and that was hard to comprehend. Even though I’d supposedly cheated with him, he still wanted to go out with me, have some kind of normal relationship.
Damn! I owed him the truth.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I blurted out, unable to stop myself. He’d put himself on the line to come here. I needed to come clean, too.
His eyes jerked to my face. “What do you mean?”
I walked past him and sat down on the couch so I could have something solid underneath me. “The guy you saw me with was my oldest brother, Noah. He came to see how I was doing. The jet belonged to Evan Sinclair.”
It was a relief to force the words from my mouth, but it left me feeling nervous.
“Why did you tell me he was your rich boyfriend?” he asked, sounding confused.
I clenched my fingers together on my lap. “First of all, my family isn’t rich. We lived incredibly poor our entire lives. We’re still putting funds together to help my youngest brother, Owen, get through his residency. Second, I never told you that Noah was my rich boyfriend. You assumed. I just didn’t really contradict your story. I couldn’t. If I did, I think there would have been more questions I couldn’t answer. I was hiding, Liam. And I was scared. Plus, I’d promised Evan and Noah I wouldn’t reveal anything. I couldn’t break that promise. They both went out of their way to help me, and they were trying to protect me.”
Liam’s face was stony and hard to read as he finally said, “So there was never anybody else?”
I shook my head. “No. You’re right about me. I could never have sex with somebody when I was committed to another guy. I’d have to break off the other relationship first.”
I was both elated and terrified that Liam had been able to see so much about me without really knowing who I was.
“I can’t say that I’m not relieved, but I wish you would have told me the truth,” he rumbled.
“I wanted to. I wanted to tell you so many times. I trusted you, Liam. But I made a promise I couldn’t break.” I kept our gazes locked, willing him to see the truth in my eyes.
He held up a hand. “Don’t, Brooke. Don’t be sorry. I get that you did what you thought you had to do.”
“But I don’t have to like it,” I said solemnly. “It’s been a tough year for me.”
“But it’s over,” he commented. “Now all I have to do is get you to go out with me. Spend some time with me, Brooke. No pressure. We both know that what happened last night doesn’t happen every day. Hell, I’m thirty-five years old and I’ve never felt like that.”
“It’s never happened to me, either,” I shared.
“Do we really want to walk away from it?” he asked huskily.
His green-eyed gaze was tumultuous, and I couldn’t resist stepping into the fire to tell him everything. “No. I never wanted to ignore it, and I knew the chemistry was there from the moment I met you. I just . . . couldn’t be me.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I saw you.”
My heart tripped. “I know.” I paused before I asked, “Where do we go from here, Liam? I have no idea.”
“We have some fun together. Pour our guts out about anything and everything. Isn’t that what people do on dates? I’m hoping to convince you to stay,” he warned. “I want you to know that up front.”
My heart was lodged in my throat, and I couldn’t speak. No guy had ever really cared whether I stayed with him or not. I’d had flings in college. But none of them had ever become real relationships. “I’ve never been in a serious relationship,” I admitted.
He shot me a grin. “I can’t say as I have, either. But we can mak
e shit up as we go along.”
I smiled at him, blinking back the tears that wanted to fall just because he cared. “It’s a deal.”
He scooped me up and twirled me around the living-room floor. “You just made me a happy man, Brooke. And that’s not easy to do.”
I laughed as he put my feet back on the ground. There was so much underneath Liam’s crusty exterior. Maybe it was a little bit intimidating, but just like he’d seen me, I’d seen him, too. I’d been drawn to him from the very first day I’d reported to work at the restaurant.
“I think I like making you happy,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.
His eyes went a deeper green. “Jesus! I love the way you smell. Like sweet vanilla.”
“It’s just my body lotion. I took a bath earlier.” I’d used the same lotion for years, and nobody had ever commented on the scent. Honestly, it was subtle, so I was pretty sure that Liam was the only person who noticed it.
“It’s almost like sugar cookies,” he mused.
“Vanilla and sugar,” I confirmed.
“Good enough to eat. Did I ever tell you that those are my favorite?”
I tried to clear my X-rated brain from conjuring up images of Liam devouring me.
I shook my head slowly. “I didn’t know.”
He leaned down and gave me a very thorough kiss.
I was breathless when he finally lifted his head.
He let go of me and moved across the living room. “Fuck! Brooke, I promised myself I wouldn’t fuck you again until we started really seeing each other. We jumped the gun last night. I jumped the gun last night. Not that I regret it. But right now, I just want to be with you. I want to learn everything about you. It’s not all that easy when my dick is hard, which is just about every time I fucking see you.”
I smiled at him. “I want that, too.”
Not that I didn’t want to have sex with him. The urge was always going to be there. But I knew there was so much more to him than a spectacular body and a handsome face.
“Then let’s do it,” he said gruffly.
“Have sex?” I teased.
He shot me a censuring look. “You’re going to have to help me.”
“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be,” I joked. “I pretty much want you to nail me all the time.”
His mouth formed into a happy grin. “Luckily, I have to get back to the restaurant. I promised Tessa I’d close up. But she is going to cover some time for me, and you’re going to have some unscheduled nights off.”
“Am I still working tomorrow?”
He moved back to me and lifted my chin. “Yes, smartass. You are. But no promises after that. I’m redoing the schedule.”
Meeting his eyes directly when we were so close together was intense. My body craved him now, but I tried to shake it off. I did want to get to know him. And if my body had its way, I’d never get out of the bedroom.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, my heart clenching in my chest for lying to him.
He put his fingers over my lips. “Don’t. It wasn’t all your fault. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’ll wait until you want to talk about it. In the meantime, I’m good with you just being uninvolved with another man.”
I let go of a sigh as he moved his fingers and kissed me. It was short, but so damn sweet.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said roughly as he let me go.
I let him out, knowing I was probably going to get very little sleep for another night.
CHAPTER 10
BROOKE
Over the next week, Liam and I managed to spend a lot of time together. We’d worked a few shifts, but the majority of the time, we hung out together away from the restaurant.
During those days, I discovered that Liam loved food just as much as I did.
He’d come with me for my dinner with Evan and Miranda.
And I’d accompanied him to dinner at Xander and Samantha’s place.
We’d had an outstanding meal in Boston because Liam swore that all the restaurants were better there. I wasn’t sure that they were better. Sullivan’s served some pretty amazing food. But the restaurants were definitely fancier.
Being raised poor, we ate whatever we could afford, which usually consisted of a casserole we could throw together from leftovers, and lots of cheap sandwiches. It wasn’t ideal for a food-obsessed kid, but I hadn’t really thought much about that until Liam started taking me from one gastronomical orgasm to another. I was pretty sure I’d gained several pounds from the seven days, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to complain.
In a very short period of time, being with Liam had become as natural as breathing. So far, we’d held to our agreement of getting to know each other without sex, but I went to bed every night thinking about him, wanting him with a gnawing pain that got worse and worse with every day that passed.
“I’m getting very spoiled,” I muttered to myself as I pulled into the driveway of Liam’s house located outside of Amesport.
Although Liam wasn’t the type of guy to throw around his wealth, he had his toys. When he’d renovated his childhood residence, the new plans had included six garages to house vehicles, and every one of them was full. I’d refused to drive the expensive sports cars, but I’d accepted his offer to drive one of the two SUVs he’d housed in his garages.
Life was just easier with a car.
“Don’t get used to it,” I reminded myself aloud as I parked on the asphalt beside his house.
I had no idea how this fairy tale was going to end. I trusted Liam, but we hadn’t discussed my departure, which was growing closer and closer every day.
I don’t want to be destroyed when I have to leave.
Even as I cut the SUV’s engine, I knew that this might not end well. I was already used to seeing Liam every day, and even though my body craved him, my heart wanted him even more.
I didn’t regret the time I’d spent with him. Whether we saw each other after next week or not, these days would always be the happiest of my entire life. I’d known I was taking a chance, but it was a gamble I’d had to take.
If I have to deal with the fallout of getting close to Liam, I’ll worry about it later.
The last thing I wanted to do was spend the next week waiting for a bomb to drop.
I grabbed the bag of Chinese food I’d picked up on my way to Liam’s, smiling as I got out of the car.
He’d bragged about his fishing skills, so we were supposed to be eating freshly caught fish for dinner. Xander and Liam had gone out on Liam’s boat to fish this morning.
They’d come back empty handed.
I wondered if he was still mad because I’d laughed and offered to pick up Chinese.
Liam was mostly good natured, but I might have slightly wounded his male ego.
“Liam,” I called as I walked in the door. “I come bearing food.”
“Smartass,” he grumbled as he came out of the kitchen to greet me.
What did he expect? I had four brothers. I’d had to have some kind of protection mechanism from that childhood trauma. My best weapon had always been sarcasm.
I went to walk past him to get some plates, but he snagged my waist before I could get by him. “But I forgive you,” he said huskily, getting a kiss before he let me go.
I shivered as he released me. I loved the way he never let me get past him without touching me.
“I didn’t mean to injure your manly ego,” I said with a laugh.
“You didn’t,” he said gruffly. “I’m pretty secure in my masculinity.”
“I know you are,” I mumbled as I made my way to the kitchen. Liam’s maleness was never in question. He produced way more testosterone than he should.
He whacked me on the ass playfully as I set the bags down on the kitchen counter.
I squealed. “What was that for? I brought the food,” I said with feigned outrage.
He folded his arms in front of him and grinned. “Your ass is way too beautiful to resis
t.”
I rubbed my butt cheek as I smiled back at him. “Remind me that you get crabby when you don’t catch any fish.”
He shrugged. “It happens, but it was a wasted morning. I would have rather spent the time with you.”
Since Xander and Liam had already made plans to go fishing this week, I’d encouraged him to go. I’d spent a pleasant morning hanging out with Samantha. “I like Chinese,” I said. “And I’m here now.”
It was pathetic, but I’d missed him as much as he’d missed me.
“Thank God,” he grumbled. “If I had to listen to Xander bitch one more time about not getting any fish, I would have thrown him overboard. Next time you’re coming with me. I’ll teach you to fish.”
I gaped at him. “You’ll teach me to fish?” Did he think I had encouraged him to go with Xander because I didn’t want to go? Or because I was useless in a boat? “I’ve been fishing since I was old enough to walk,” I said huffily.
“You fish?”
“Of course. My brother Aiden taught me when I was little, and I go as much as I can. He’s a commercial fisherman, and he’s a little bit competitive sometimes, but I blow his arrogance off for the chance to get out on the water.”
“Then I guess I’m not going to be able to bullshit you with my fish stories.”
I smiled. “Nope. My brothers tried it all the time. I stop listening when they get to the part where the fish got away.”
When a woman has four brothers like I do, she learns to be tolerant. But Jade and I had to draw the line somewhere.
I got some plates from the cupboard and started loading them with food. Liam grabbed the silverware and drinks so we could sit down at the table.
After we were seated with plates of Chinese food, Liam asked, “So you’re all pretty close?”
“As close as a female can be to brothers who know it all. Honestly, it wasn’t easy growing up with all that testosterone, but Jade and I managed to survive,” I joked.
“What is it like?” he asked. “Growing up with that many siblings?”
“For us, it was scary sometimes, and I can only imagine what it was like for Noah. When my mom died, he was all we had. And he really wasn’t old enough to take on five kids under the age of eighteen. He grew up way too early. But we were used to pitching in to help. My mom worked a lot. We lived on a pretty tight income, so we had all tried to bring in some money to help her. It was the same once she died.”