Deep in thought, Liam didn’t utter a word while she felt the need to fess up. “There’s something else.”
By the timid tone of her voice, he was almost afraid to ask. But didn’t have to, cause she soon blurted, “I met your mom.”
He raised one eyebrow, giving her a look of pure disbelief. “How’d that happen?”
“For Olivia’s fundraiser, I had a list of people to solicit donations from, and she was on there.”
Just then the food arrived a perfect interruption. Because though it was Remi’s choice to confess, she began second-guessing that decision. Liam started shaking the salt container over the plate of overcooked potatoes and questioned, “Did my mother admit she knew who you were?”
Remi nodded. “She was very polite.”
She thought Liam was going to blow a gasket for sure, but he remained calm while taking a large bite of his sandwich. And with that, the conversation went dead. While Remi nibbled her food, she began to think it was strangely ironic that he stressed she needed a shrink when in reality, he was the one with some major issues. They ate in awkward silence for about ten minutes then Liam, whose curiosity got the better of him, inquired, “What did you and my mother talk about?”
Remi took a sip of soda, deliberately stalling. She figured, let him sweat for a moment, which is what he did, as his impatience began to show. “Are you going to tell me?”
“We talked about the donation and about you a little bit,” she replied. “There’s a picture of you on her desk.”
Coldly he stated, “I’m surprised she even has one.”
“You were sixteen in the photo.”
He just smirked.
“I thought you looked cute.”
He half-grinned, but it quickly faded. “Yeah, she probably keeps that picture in her office as a ruse to fool potential clients into thinking she’s something wonderful.”
His words laced with pure contempt, yet despondence at the same time. Having met Penny only once, Remi obviously didn’t know her like Liam did, but the impression she got was that his mother wanted to be a part of his life. “Your mom asked how you were.”
Liam violently poked his fork into the massive mound of home fries, and snapped, “She only cares how my actions affect her and my father. Nothing more.”
Remi was about to disagree, but a small voice inside her head warned against it, and a change of subject was more than warranted. Just then, the waitress popped over to see if there was anything else they wanted. “I’ll take another Coke,” Remi said as Liam requested the check. Remi then implored him to talk about his trip.
“There isn’t much to tell.”
She balked, “Seriously?”
“I went to New York, Chicago and Miami.”
“Any reason you chose those specific locations?”
“Just one,” he replied. “Miami.”
The waitress returned with the Coke and Remi drank a little before asking, “What’s in Miami?”
He thought for a moment then replied, “Solitude.”
She almost choked on the soda. “Funny, when I think of Miami, I think parties and celebrities, not necessarily a place to clear one’s head.”
“Have you ever been there?” he countered.
“No.”
“Then don’t assume,” he said rather smugly. She found his condescending tone disconcerting. “Yeah, you’re right, since I wasn’t able to just pack up and leave everything and everybody behind, guess I wouldn’t know, now would I?”
“Are you trying to provoke a fight?”
“I’m sorry, it’s just,” she stopped before putting her foot in her mouth, yet again.
“What?”
“You know, it’s really late,” she said hurriedly climbing out of the booth, pretty much cluing him in that she was ready to go. Liam placed thirty dollars and the check onto the table then swiftly followed her to the exit. Outside, the short walk to the truck was a silent one, putting Liam on notice that he currently was not her favorite person. He opened the door for her, which garnered an icy thank you in return. Under his breath, he sighed, dreading the ride home, as he was sure it was going to be a non-pleasurable one. As he shifted the truck into drive, he caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye and mustered up all the restraint he had not to laugh. With her arms tightly folded, her eyes staring straight ahead, it was obvious she was going out of her way to ignore him. So, Liam did the smartest thing he could; he kept his mouth shut.
Though not a long ride, it felt like hours with neither talking. All the weeks he had been gone, Remi had missed him something awful, but with his blasé attitude about Miami, she suddenly felt the warmer Liam, who had departed on New Year’s Eve had returned in the form of the unfeeling captor, sans the mask. She silently questioned what had changed? The rare sweetness he displayed by giving her the music box must have disappeared the moment he left Philly.
Liam couldn’t park fast enough, and before the engine was turned off, she hopped out. And the cold shoulder routine continued through the parking lot, through the lobby, in the elevator, and all the way down the hall to their respective apartments. The only words spoken were from Remi when she suddenly realized her necessities were still at his place. “Dammit,” she whispered, standing in front of her door.
“What’s wrong?” he cautiously asked, feeling it was a loaded question, and he might not want the answer.
Pointing towards his apartment, she stated, “All my stuff is in there!”
He sighed. “You’re allowed to go into my apartment, just because I’m back, doesn’t mean you can’t.”
Pushing a few strands of hair behind her left ear, she pondered what to do. He gave her a minute then decided to make that choice for her by walking towards his door. She just watched as he unlocked it, and once he turned the last deadbolt key, he turned his head and asked, “You coming?”
Grudgingly, she shuffled along as he disappeared through the doorway. Liam tossed his keys onto the counter, and just as he had earlier, he almost tripped on the pink fuzzy slippers. “You’ve been staying here for a while, so don’t worry about your stuff tonight, let’s just get some sleep.”
The questionable expression on her face must have been priceless cause he quickly clarified, “You take the bed, I’ll take the couch.”
She hated that he made it next to impossible to stay mad. Cause just when she resigned herself to the fact that he’s always going to have that bastard persona, he whips out the gentleman card. “Are you sure?” she sheepishly asked. He nodded then as he headed towards the bedroom she called for him to wait. He turned around and walked back, coming within inches of her. Even wearing three-inch heels, he still towered over her tiny frame, so she peered up at him and said, “I’d feel bad you sleeping out on the couch.”
“I’ve done it before.”
She was quick to argue, “It still wouldn’t be right.”
He abruptly moved in close, purposely making his intimidating presence known. He then whispered as if others could hear. “This isn’t up for debate; you take the bed. I take the couch. It’s that simple.”
A master at the art of persuasion, it only took Liam a matter of seconds to turn Remi into putty. Impressed by his effortless ability of coercion, she gave him props for it, but at the same time, found it a bit scary. Not that she was afraid of him physically it was the mere fact he could dominate so easily. He didn’t wait for her to react, he just retreated to the bedroom, and a couple of seconds later emerged carrying a pillow. “Do you need to get into the bathroom?” he asked. “Yeah,” she replied cautiously, still unsure if staying was the right thing. Liam stepped out of the way so she could enter. Once inside, she just stared into the mirror. The sudden awkwardness of being in there hit her like a ton of bricks. For weeks she used that bathroom without giving it a second thought, now with Liam in the other room, it felt bizarre. With her hair pulled back by a plastic headband, she gently scrubbed off all traces of makeup, and thoroughly washed h
er face. She then grabbed her toothbrush but paused at the sight of his toothbrush sitting in the holder. Doing a fast scan, she noticed in the shower, Liam’s shampoo was lined up directly next to hers and what struck her as odd was that he hadn’t moved her things, not even a tiny bit. “Hmm,” she mumbled.
Knowing he was probably itching to get in there, she quickly brushed her teeth then snuck into the bedroom to get changed. She listened for when Liam went into the bathroom, and once he did, she peeled off her pantyhose, unzipped her dress, and allowed it to fall to the floor. Remi breathed a sigh of relief from no longer feeling constricted. She then slipped on a pair of pink and black polka dotted pajama boxers and a pink cotton t-shirt. Since he was still in the bathroom, she took the opportunity to trek down the hall to retrieve her slippers and a bottle of water. Moving as quickly as possible, hoping to avoid Liam, she rushed back to the bedroom, but before she made it, she ran right smack into him. His hands instinctively gripped her arms. “Whoa,” he uttered then asked, “Where’s the fire?”
Feeling self-conscious about being in her pajamas and without a lick of makeup on, she felt exposed. Of course, Liam didn’t appear to care that he was only wearing black cotton boxers himself. Though she had seen him like that before; he probably didn’t think twice about it. Plus he had nothing to be embarrassed about, blessed with incredible genes and the many hours at the gym, have served him well. “Got everything you need?” he asked grinning, while still conspicuously holding her arms.
“Yeah, thanks,” she said, shaking herself free.
He laughed as he casually walked into the kitchen. Remi followed but did her best not to stare at his admirable physique. That was until he turned, and she subconsciously dropped her gaze spotting the 4-inch scar on the lower portion of his sculpted abs. “Wow, that healed up nicely,” she remarked. He nodded as she stepped in for a better look. “You can barely see it,” she said. “But of course you’re quite tan so that probably helps.”
He sensed sarcasm but chose not to call her out on it. Instead, as he sought refuge on the couch, he commented, “Cute shorts.”
He then stifled a smile while she just blushed, her self-consciousness visible to him. Remi tried to play it off by focusing on watching Liam stretch out his long, bronzed muscular legs. “I honestly don’t mind taking the couch,” she said. And to cover her blatant staring, she added, “You’re not going to be comfortable there.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, pulling the blanket from atop the couch then reaching over to turn off the lamp. Getting the hint, she conceded that he won that war. “Goodnight, Remi,” he quietly said. Before saying it back, she thanked him for helping at the benefit, for treating at the diner and for the ride home. He told her a thank you wasn’t necessary but that she was welcome. With that, came the dreaded awkward silence, something Remi loathed, but she rectified it by muttering a quick, “Goodnight, Liam,” then hurried out of the room. Filled with a slew of emotions, being around him had an entirely different effect on her than it did a month ago, which was somewhat confusing. As she climbed into the bed and curled up into a little ball, she thought about the past month, and how she’s held her own and toughened up a bit. However, knowing that Liam was close by, gave her an extra sense of security. She sighed with contentment as fatigue finally set in. Within mere seconds, Remi was asleep.
Liam tugged the crocheted blanket up over his body, instantly catching a whiff of the familiar scents of strawberry shampoo and vanilla body lotion, a clue that Remi had used it at some point. He then thought why did he care and why was he even thinking about it. Being home, and being back in the apartment, caused him to feel conflicted. It was as if nothing had changed, but at the same time, and possibly for the first time, Liam was unsure of himself.
CHAPTER 8
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee permeated the room, instantly waking Remi. With her hands, she rubbed her eyes then glanced at the clock. It was only six, and even though she probably had gotten plenty of rest, she wrapped herself up in the sheets then fell back to sleep. Unlike Remi, Liam was fully awake and raring to go. Wanting to get in a morning run, he needed clothes from the bedroom but didn’t want to disturb Remi. So, he waited a few minutes, thinking she would be coming out at any moment. But when that didn’t happen, he decided to sneak in. He quietly pushed the door opened, stepped in, and immediately looked towards the bed. Remi was all bundled up in the sheets, sleeping peacefully. As he watched her breathe, it reminded him of when she slept inside of the vault, and when he slipped his jacket underneath her head. That was the first time he crossed the line with her. He then thought, how ironic that he’d cross that line many times afterward. Not wanting to rehash it mentally, he shook off the memory while picking up the partially unpacked bag off the floor. He right away dug out a pair of gray sweats, a white t-shirt, socks, and sneakers. As he tied his shoelaces, Remi’s eyes fluttered open and spotted him on the floor. “Hey,” she mumbled. He turned to face her and said, “Morning.”
She smiled then yawned. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” said Liam, standing up. Remi propped the pillows behind her back and sat up. With her blonde locks rocking the quintessential bedhead look and her blue eyes still somewhat half-hooded, she assured, “You didn’t.”
He silently admitted she looked adorable, but the strangeness of her being in his bed again, with him right there took awkward to a whole new level. To counter that, he announced he was going for a run. He then said, “I guess you already know where everything is in the kitchen.”
“Well, I am the one who stocked it,” she quipped, smiling.
He grinned. “Thank you by the way.”
“That’s the least I could have done,” she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Suddenly seeing her dress still crumpled on the floor, Remi apologized again for leaving the place in such disarray. “It’s okay,” he said, taking a seat next to her on the bed. “How’d you sleep?” she asked, still feeling awful that he was stuck on the couch.
“Good and yourself?”
She replied, “Good,” then the conversation went silent. The whole time, Remi kept staring at the dress and decided to put an end to their muted misery. “Guess I’ll gather up my stuff so you can have your place back,” she said, hoping for some kind of reaction from him. A part of Liam wanted to tell her she could stay there as long as she wanted, but the other part was telling him not to do it. “Okay then,” she muttered, aggressively snatching the pile of clothes off the floor and shoving them into her overnight bag. She then ventured into the bathroom and began swooping up all the various beauty products, while Liam made way to the kitchen to make her a cup of coffee. “You don’t have to leave this very moment,” he called out. With her overnight bag in tow, she thanked him for allowing her to use his place. He just nodded then asked if she wanted sugar and cream. “Yes, please,” she replied, taking hold of the hot ceramic mug. She took a tiny sip then asked, “Now that you’re back, what are your plans?”
“Today, I’m going to visit my grandmother, and tomorrow I’m going to meet with Simon to get my job back.”
She couldn’t contain a smile while asking, “You’re staying?”
“For now, I guess.”
Not exactly the answer she was hoping for, but at least he was here.
She figured she was just prolonging the inevitable and it was best just to leave. With the mug in her hand, she held it up and said, “I’ll get this back to you.”
She then started walking towards the door and noticed two large cylinder tubes leaning against the wall. “What are those?”
“Drawings.”
“You actually worked on your sabbatical?”
He laughed, “Yeah, a little bit.”
While ogling them, she remarked, “I’d love to see something that you designed.”
“That can be arranged,” he said, grinning while opening the door for her.
“Enjoy your run.”
“Thanks,” he said as he waited to mak
e sure she got safely into her place then grabbed his keys and headed down the stairs.
Melanie had just woken up when Remi strolled in and immediately asked, “How was the benefit?”
“Uh, it was good.”
Melanie sensed something was amiss. “You okay?”
After tossing her bag onto the couch, Remi ignored the question and asked her own. “Guess who’s back?”
“Hmm—Liam?”
“Bingo!”
“Am I to assume you saw him?”
“Oh yeah, I saw him all right,” stated Remi. “He showed up at the hotel, all tanned and cool, acting as if he never left.”
Melanie crinkled her nose, obviously perplexed. “You weren’t happy to see him?”
Remi sighed. “No, I was happy.”
Melanie continued to prod. “Well, what happened?”
Remi began pacing around the living room while running her hands through her hair. “After the fundraiser, we went to a diner then went back to his place.”
A wicked grin crept across Melanie’s face. “Then what?”
“He told me since all of my stuff was still there that I could stay last night.”
“And?” she urged, rubbing her hands together, fully anticipating juicy details. Remi stopped and just looked at her. “Nothing. He slept on the couch while I slept in the bed.”
Melanie gasped, disappointed in how chaste this conversation turned. “So, you two didn’t sleep together?”
“Mel, stop turning this into some sexual thing.”
She apologized then asked, “How’s he look?”
Remi subconsciously blushed.
“That good, huh?”
As a permanent shade of crimson remained on Remi’s cheeks, she confessed. “Yeah, he looks good.”
On his way to the retirement home, Liam stopped to purchase an arrangement of flowers. While he waited for the florist to put it together, he perused the shop, but his mind wasn’t on the beautiful displays, it was on Remi, and how he felt like shit pretty much kicking her out. Though glad she took full advantage of his apartment, he was back now and wasn’t interested in having a roommate. Living with Remi would be beyond crossing a line. How in good conscience, he thought, could he live with someone he once threatened to kill and held hostage? Technically they shouldn’t even be friends, but that was just it, he didn’t have much of a conscience, let alone a good one. It was his choice to go see her at the fundraiser, he took full responsibility for that, but it was bothering him that he was beginning to second-guess himself.
UNMASKED: Sequel to Behind the Mask Page 10