by Meghan Quinn
Liam wrinkled his nose. “Just cuddle?”
“Yea, so I think you owe him an apology.”
“Over my dead body.” With that Liam took off leaving Fiona, Booker, Finn and Blaire to be left in his wake. Fiona grabbed some tissues off her night stand and went over to Booker to make sure he was ok. His eye looked like it was starting to bruise and his nose was still bleeding. She made him sit down on her bed and tended to his nose.
She looked over at Finn and noticed his lip was still bleeding and grabbed some more tissues to hand to him.
“Thanks.” He said. “How did Liam even know he was here?”
Booker chimed in. “I could give you one guess.” They all looked at him. “Murphy.”
“No way, Murphy wouldn’t do that.” Fiona said.
“I believe he would. He knows what kind of car I drive and we had a heated exchange yesterday morning. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Finn actually agreed. “I could see Murphy saying something, especially if he knows Booker might be involved with you, Fiona.”
Fiona just rolled her eyes. “Well it doesn’t matter. Thank you Finn for helping.”
“No problem. Uh we are going to go make some breakfast, do you two want to join us downstairs?” That was when Booker actually realized his sister was in Fiona’s apartment, in the morning, with Finn. He stood straight up and stared at her.
He pointed at Finn. “Did you sleep with him last night?”
“This feels like déjà vu.” Fiona commented.
Blaire stepped up and said, “Seriously, Booker. Don’t treat me like that barbarian who just left treated Fiona. You know better than that.”
Booker sized up Finn and nodded. “Sorry Blaire. I’m just not used to seeing you hang out with a man in the morning, if you know what I mean.” He looked over at Finn and said, “Don’t hurt her.”
“Didn’t we have this conversation the other night?” Finn asked.
“Just reminding you.”
“And I hope you do the same.” Like Neanderthals they stood next to each other puffing their chests out and then conceded and shook hands. Finn wrapped his arm around Blaire’s waist. “We will see you two downstairs. French toast?” he asked Fiona.
She just nodded. Once Blaire and Finn were gone, Fiona headed for Booker to make sure he was truly ok. She made him lay down on the bed and she straddled on top of him. She examined his face up close and noticed he had a cut in his eyebrow, the same eye that was starting to bruise. She went to get off of him when he stopped her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“You have a cut. I was going to get my first aid kit.”
“Just stay here for a second, I’m enjoying the view.” She leaned down so her face was near his and kissed his cheeks, avoiding all cuts. “What are you doing?”
“Making it feel better.”
He thrust his hips at her and said, “I know something you can make feel better.” He smiled that devilish grin again.
Fiona gasped. “You’re incorrigible. Come on let’s get you fixed up so we can go eat some breakfast.”
“Fine.” When she got up he slapped her ass causing her to squeal like a little girl.
While she was cleaning up his cuts she told him, “By the way, you looked so sexy defending my honor. Modern woman everywhere most likely want to stab me, but I couldn’t help but be turned on.”
He flipped her on her back and asked, “How come you didn’t say anything, I would have taken care of that for you.”
She pushed him back. “Remember, we’re going slow?”
“Oh yes, and how slow are we talking?”
“Come on.” She said while dragging him up off the bed. “We can talk logistics later, right now I’m starving.”
***
Sophie was just opening her bakery when she saw Liam standing outside, with a hood over his head looking down at the ground and his hands shoved in his pockets. When he looked up at her, she was startled by his beat up face. She whipped her front door open and ushered him inside.
“Oh my God, Liam. What happened to you?” She touched his bruised face.
He walked over to her bar stool and sat down. She rushed to the back of her kitchen area and grabbed some ice out of her freezer and threw it in a bag for him. On her way back she grabbed a light towel so the ice wouldn’t go directly on his skin.
“Here,” She handed him the ice but wasn’t quite sure where he was going to put it since there was multiple bruises on his face, his perfectly chiseled face. He placed the ice on his eye, which she thought was a good decision because after assessing his bruises, his eye looked the worst. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
She watched his shoulders sag in defeat, as if he was ashamed of himself and didn’t even want to be in his own presence. He wasn’t talking and he was starting to scare her with his deflated body language. She had never seen Liam like this. He was usually strong, confident and a leader, always rounding up his siblings.
“Liam, You’re scaring me.” She pushed on his shoulder slightly to get him to look at her.
He finally looked her in the eyes and shook his head. “I’m such an idiot.”
Sophie’s stomach dropped. Did he get into some serious trouble? The thought of him walking in on Neala with another man popped into Sophie’s head. Not that she knew Neala was seeing someone else but she could see Liam losing his mind over something like that. That would make sense if he walked in on Neala since his face looked like it took a good beating.
“What did you do?”
“I tried to beat up the Sheila.”
The Sheila? What the hell was he talking about? Was she right? Was Neala actually involved with someone?
“The Sheila?” She asked.
Liam rolled his eyes. “Booker.”
“Oh yea, the Sheila. Why would you beat up Booker?” Sophie was confused.
Liam set the ice on the counter but Sophie made him put it back on his eye while she pulled up a stool next to him. She hoped no one came in early to the bakery, she didn’t need people seeing her with Liam, let alone with him looking all beat up. Most likely the rumors would start spreading about him defending her honor or something crazy like that. Sophie missed the small town feel of Warblers Point but she didn’t miss the way everyone was in each other’s business or the amazingly fast grapevine of information that traveled. She could do without that. Not that Neala and her lying big mouth helped any.
Liam still wasn’t talking. “Listen, Liam either talk or get out, I can’t have a bloody mute man hanging in my bakery all day.
“Sorry. I am just so mad at myself.”
“Start from the beginning.” Sophie encouraged.
“I got a text message from Murphy this morning saying he drove by the pub on his way to his shop when he noticed the Sheila’s Jeep parked in the back and how he knew Fiona was out with the man all day. He just wanted to make sure the Sheila didn’t take advantage of her or anything.”
“Sounds like Murphy’s jealous and that whatever Fiona does with her love life is none of his business or yours.”
“Wish I would have thought about that earlier but I didn’t. With everything that has been happening with Neala I just lost my mind. All I could think about was that man fulfilling some kind of crazy California sexual fantasy with my baby sister and all I saw was red.”
“Do Californians have crazy sex?”
Liam furrowed his brow. “What?”
“You said Booker had some crazy Californian sexual fantasy, I didn’t know if it was a known thing about Californians.”
“Oh.” Liam waved his hand in dismissal. “I don’t know, my mind is just making shit up. I’m sure Californians are just like the rest of us, but maybe more plastic parts.” A little grin peaked out, slightly warming Sophie’s heart. “Anyway, I stormed up to Fiona’s apartment and pounded on her door until she opened it. She was in an oversized shirt and he was just wearing jeans…in her bedroom.”
>
“Oh the horror.” Sophie faked shock.
“Well it is to an older brother and that was when I attacked him but the Sheila actually has a good upper cut, you wouldn’t think from his pretty boy face. We rolled around for a bit until Finn came in and broke us up but not until I attacked him as well.”
“Oh Liam, you didn’t fight with Finn again, did you?”
Liam just nodded his head.
“Liam you can’t keep going around town punching family members.”
“That’s how the Irish fight…with our fists.”
“It’s no way to accomplish anything. You just look like an idiot when you do it.”
Liam tossed the ice in the trash can behind her counter and pointed at his face. “Yea you look like an idiot when you fight people younger than you.”
Sophie quirked a smile. “Finn isn’t that much younger than you.”
“Three years is young enough. Fiona was so mad at me and I acted like such an idiot. I didn’t end it well. I’m afraid she will never forgive me and separate herself from me. It already is bothersome that Fiona goes to Finn for everything, she skips right over me and goes to him for advice…everyone does.”
Sophie felt guilt starting to crawl up her neck. She knew Liam was talking about her too. She always went to Finn for advice, he was just so good at listening and always had a solution to solve her problems. She didn’t know people going to Finn instead of Liam was so hurtful to him. She needed to make a better attempt at approaching Liam for help, to make him feel better.
She tried to perk his spirits a bit. “You know Fiona and Finn have always been close, just like how you and Bradon are close. You guys always said it’s the brown eyes against the blues.”
“That was when we were young. Now Bradon has his own life satisfying the sexual needs of the women in Warblers Point.”
Sophie couldn’t disagree with that. She saw the woman Bradon easily shuffled through in a week, how he did it, she had no clue, especially since the town was so small.
She added, “Well, he won’t be around especially now because it’s the season of pussy for him.”
Liam sat up straight and stared at her for a second and then busted out in laughter. “Why Sophie, I don’t think I have ever heard you say pussy. I think you just socked the hair right off of me.”
She patted his hand and moved her way behind her counter to make sure everything was in place in her food coolers. “Well there is always a first for everyone.” She said with a wink. “Seriously though, I know your sister and if you go up to her and sincerely apologize and explain to her what has been going on, she will forgive you. But you have to stay out of her business. She’s a grown girl now, she can handle anything she gets herself into.”
“She will always be my baby sister.”
“I know, but just because she’s your baby sister that doesn’t give you the right to treat her like a baby for the rest of her life. Plus, you have to realize your sister really likes Booker. Maybe if you got to know him better and stopped calling him the Sheila, Fiona would cut you some slack.”
“Damn, why do you always have to be right?”
She shrugged. “I just am and don’t you forget it.”
Liam looked her in the eyes and she could see there was yearning in his face. Yearning for her.
“Soph, I… ’”
“Don’t Liam.” She didn’t want to deal with any Liam-Sophie drama right now, especially since his divorce wasn’t even final.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“Yes I do. I can see it in your eyes and it’s not going to happen. We have to close the chapter on us.” Mainly because she couldn’t stand to start things up with him again and possibly lose him once more. She needed to end any kind of thoughts he might have of them getting back together.
Liam nodded. He pointed to a cinnamon chip scone and said, “Bag me up one of those and a coffee, please.”
She did as he asked and took his money because she knew he would leave it if she tried to refuse it. “Anything else?”
“No.” He lifted the coffee and bag at her. “Thanks and thank you for the advice. I will try my best controlling my temper.”
He was about to leave the bakery when she called after him. “Liam, wait.” She walked up to him and gave him a hug. When she pulled away she looked him in the eyes and said, “I really want to be friends. Do you think that could be something that happens for us in the future?”
Liam sighed and nodded his head. “I would like that Sophie. I would like that a lot.”
“Good.” She waved good bye to him and watched him walk out the door. She wasn’t sure but she thought maybe she just gained the closure she needed on that chapter of her life. She hopes Liam felt the same way.
Chapter 15
A couple weeks later Fiona watched in awe as her family ate Thanksgiving pie around the big table they put together at the pub. Her family more than welcomed Booker and Blaire for the holiday. After Liam barged in her apartment, he approached her later that night and apologized, explaining he has been having a really difficult time dealing with his divorce and when Murphy text him that Booker was with her, he just lost his mind and took it out on her and regretfully Booker. He also apologized to Booker and in the past few weeks they really grew close.
Fiona watched Booker as he laughed at a stupid Irish joke Liam was telling. Fiona even noticed Liam lightened up since the big brawl, which was what they were calling it now. Bradon complained about being left out, he always enjoyed getting his jabs in at his brothers when the opportunity arose. Booker joked about re-enacting the whole incident so Bradon could be included but both Finn and Liam said it wouldn’t be worth it since Bradon’s punch was weaker than Fiona’s. That comment resulted in all three O’Leary boys rolling around on the ground until both Liam and Finn pinned Bradon to the ground. They just patted his face and told him to keep his pretty boy image because he fought like a slapper.
Fiona looked over at Bradon, he brought one of his random girls to Thanksgiving dinner, that was a “misfit” according to him and had nowhere else to go, also known as, Bradon wanted to take advantage of the tryptophan his date consumed at dinner.
Tipper and Sophie also came over for dessert, which was nice since Fiona didn’t want to be stuck striking up conversation with Bradon’s flavor of the day. Fiona would talk to her boyfriend, Booker, but he was too busy being one of the guys and Finn and Blaire were attached at the hip. They had been inseparable ever since they went on their first date. The same day Fiona was pretty sure she fell in love with Booker.
They had been seeing each other non-stop, whenever Fiona had a spare moment they were together. Booker even started helping out at the pub. He called her his girlfriend a couple days after their “date” in Puerto Rico. Hearing those words roll of his tongue sent a shock through her body, a good shock. She couldn’t believe how fast things were moving between them. They still hadn’t said “I love you” out loud to each other but Fiona knew she loved him and deep down she could tell Booker felt the same way. She had never been happier, they still had not had any sex since the first time in his cabin, but she was starting to get a little antsy now. She thought they had taken their relationship slow enough by now to build a solid foundation for their relationship. They spent each night with each other but just talking and then cuddling…and maybe a little bit of groping but that was it. She thought about how she wanted to show him tonight just exactly what she was thankful for.
Fiona had not seen Murphy in a while and ever since Booker found out Murphy was the one who tipped Liam about Booker’s sleep over, Booker decided he wouldn’t be taking any ski lessons from him because he was nervous about burying his fist through Murphy’s face. Her brother’s must be getting to Booker because more and more he was thinking more with his fists and less with that gorgeous head of his. Since Booker decided to give up his ski lessons with Murphy, Fiona offered to teach him. There was about a foot of snow accumu
lated on the ground so instead of some crazy black Friday shopping, Fiona, Booker, Finn and Blaire decided to hit the slopes.
Fiona took Blaire over to Murphy’s shop, even though Booker tried to convince her to get gear somewhere else. Fiona set Blaire up with some winter gear and skis, courtesy of Booker. Fiona still was in the dark when it came to what Booker’s occupation was. All she knew was that he had an immense amount of money and a lot of connections. Whenever she tried to breach the subject he always changed the conversation or straight up told her he didn’t want to talk about it, telling her not to worry. Well she was worrying. She started to get nervous that he was possibly involved in some kind of underground drug dealing. She brought the topic up to Blaire yesterday and she just laughed at her. Not very re-assuring.
Fiona scanned the room again and saw her parents at the end of the table holding hands and engaging in their own conversation, she was impressed with them the most when it came to her relationship with Booker. They had welcomed him into the family more than Murphy, which shocked the hell out of her since Murphy was the perfect Irishman to court their daughter. The only thing her ma was nervous about was Booker’s name. She just kept asking, “What kind of name is Booker? Why would a parent do that to their child? He needs a good Irish name like…Seamus.” Fiona just shrugged her shoulders and changed the subject. If that was the only qualm her ma had with her boyfriend than she was extremely happy.
She noticed Bradon was in the back arguing with his date, she wondered if the family drama was about to start. There was never a dull moment at an O’Leary family holiday. Somehow the boys always ended up brawling and Fiona was left making ice packs in the kitchen with her ma for her idiotic brothers. She wondered why her brothers still looked normal after all the punches they had endured from each other. She was surprised none of them had a crooked nose or an eyeball out of its socket. It must be those strong Irish bones they inherited.