The Romance Plan: Cupids: Book 5

by Lila Monroe

  Needless to say: The pancakes burn.

  Luckily, I made extra batter, so after a not-too-brief trip back to the bedroom, I put on another batch. We eat them standing up at the counter, the morning sun streaming in through the window above the sink. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?” I ask.

  “Wall to wall meetings,” he says with a grimace. “In the morning, at least. You?”

  I glance at the clock on the stove. “I should probably get into the office, actually,” I say. “My boss is a total hard-ass.”

  “You know, I’ve heard that about him,” Liam grins, dragging his index finger through a puddle of maple syrup on his plate and holding it up for me to lick clean. “You better get going, I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

  “I don’t know, trouble sounds pretty good to me,” I tease, reaching up for one last kiss.

  Back at my apartment, I quickly dress in my usual work clothes… and then change my mind at the last minute, opting for a cute dress and a pair of lacy panties that normally I’d never wear to the office. Flirting with danger? Maybe. But I can just imagine the look on Liam’s face if I happen to send him a text about my wardrobe choices…

  I’m just buckling up the lucky polka dot heels that I was wearing the first night Liam and I met when my cell phone rings on my dresser. “There you are!” Maddie says when I answer. “I thought maybe you’d gotten eaten by one of those alligators they say live in the sewer system.”

  “Do they still say that?” I ask with a laugh.

  “Some people definitely still say that,” she assures me. “Anyway, hello, good morning. Tell me everything about everything.”

  I put her on speaker and set the phone on the edge of the bathroom sink while I finish getting ready, slicking on lipstick and mascara and filling her in on everything that’s been happening with Liam. “Aw, yeah!” she crows delightedly, when I get to the part about going back to his apartment last night. I can practically hear her fist-pumping. “My god, if anyone deserves a hot night of desperate lovemaking in a luxuriously appointed penthouse, it’s you.”

  “Why, because I’ve been wandering through a sex desert for forty years?” I ask with a laugh.

  “What? No!” Maddie protests, and then seems to think about it for a moment. “Well, yes, actually. But I was going to say because you’re so committed to bringing romance into everyone else’s lives. You ought to have a healthy dose of it in your own.”

  I grin at myself in the mirror, flushed and goofy. “It is pretty romantic,” I admit. “And not the penthouse part. It would still be amazing even if he’d taken me back to a stinky shared apartment that smelled like a frat house.”

  “Wow,” Maddie says, sounding impressed. “You do like him. So, what happens next?” she asks eagerly. “Is he staying in town once he wraps things up at Sterling, or…?”

  “Weren’t you the one telling me not to try and control the narrative?” I ask her.

  “Hm, might have been,” Maddie admits with a laugh. “That sounds like something I would say.”

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” I confess, sitting down on the edge of the bathtub and touching my neck without entirely meaning to, feeling the ghost of Liam’s mouth moving over my skin. “But I hope he sticks around. It’s a long way to California.”

  “You’ll figure something out,” Maddie reassures me. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “You know what?” I grin. “I’m happy for me too!”

  I get into the office just in time for our weekly staff meeting. “You look different,” Rachel says, as I take a seat in the conference room. She tilts her head to the side and looks at me curiously. “Did you change your hair?”

  “Nope. Maybe it’s the lipstick,” I say, hiding a blush behind my notebook. “I’m trying a new shade.”

  Liam, for his part, is all business, striding into the conference room in a perfectly tailored suit, not a hair out of place. “Good morning, all,” he says pleasantly, then launches into his weekly agenda without missing a beat. You’d never know that barely an hour ago he was down on his knees in front of me on his kitchen floor, his tongue working expertly between my legs. The memory has me fanning myself with my file folder, glancing around to see if maybe the A/C in the conference room has suddenly died.

  Nope? Just me then.

  The meeting is uneventful, as ever: reports from sales and marketing, votes on new acquisitions… But I can’t help feeling like my X-rated thoughts are written on my face for everyone to read. I imagine Liam and I taking advantage of the massive rain shower in his apartment. I imagine Liam and I sprawled sweaty and naked in my bed. I imagine Liam and I in that pool on top of his building, his nimble fingers peeling my damp bathing suit down my—

  “—And Eliza,” Liam says from the font of the room, barely looking up from his notes to me a glance. “Come by my office after the meeting for an update on the Verity Lange project.”

  I snap to attention, cheeks flushed and the tiniest bit dizzy. “Sure thing,” I chirp. Then, unable to help myself, I add: “Boss.”

  Liam’s smirk is unmistakable—to me, anyways, and when I turn up in his office a few minutes later, his smile is even wider. “That was cute,” Liam says, shutting the door behind me before perching on the edge of his desk and crossing one leg slowly over the other.

  “Thank you,” I give a flirty grin. “I thought so.” I tilt my head to the side, my hair falling over my face. “You had… questions for me?”

  Liam gazes at me for a long, heavy moment, the chemistry practically sizzling between us. He clears his throat. “Just, ah, wondering where we were on the deadline.”

  “Since last night?” I smile at him, not buying this act for a second. “About the same, I think. Right on schedule.” I swing my bare leg back and forth, my foot just brushing his leg. “Anything else you need?”

  “Eliza,” he says, sounding a little bit tormented. “We have to be professional.”

  “I’m not the one calling you into my office for bogus meetings,” I point out.

  “It’s not bogus,” he says, his voice low and husky. “We’re crashing the production schedule for this book. The printers are ready. All the other departments are ready to drop everything else and go, the second the manuscript comes in from Verity.”

  I nod seriously. “Drop everything,” I repeat. “Got it.”

  And then I don’t know what comes over me, but I reach up under my skirt and wriggle out of my panties. Liam’s jaw drops as I reach over and tuck them into the pocket of his jacket. “Don’t worry,” I give him a wink. “We’ll be ready.”

  I spend the rest of the morning trying to concentrate, but the truth is I’m completely distracted, both by the memory of this morning in Liam’s kitchen and the feeling of the A/C blowing up under my skirt.

  My cheeks burn—the ones on my face, that is. What the hell came over me in there? I can’t believe I just did something so bold, so dirty.

  And I liked it, too.

  Now, it’s hard to get my mind on anything else. I answer a few emails and idly rearrange the icons on my desktop before finally managing to settle down with the first few chapters of Katie’s newest manuscript. I’ve just started to find a groove when a text from Liam pops up on my phone. Thanks for the gift, it says.

  I smile to myself, glancing out my office door to make sure nobody’s around to notice my stupid grin before sitting back in my chair to answer. Anytime, I type back, my thumb flying over the screen. How’s your day going?

  Honestly? he replies a moment later. We should have just stayed in bed, for all the work I’m getting done today. I’m so distracted I haven’t heard a thing anyone has said in any of these meetings all morning long.

  Same here, I tell him. Just don’t let my boss know. Then, a moment later: You look extra bangable today.

  I could say the same thing to you, he says. Nice shoes, by the way.

  Still think they’re impractical?

  Yes. His rep
ly is immediate. But…

  But? I prompt.

  I think I might appreciate them more if they were the only thing you were wearing.

  Well. It’s safe to say that after that, all thoughts of work are fully out the window. Splattered all over Seventh Avenue, in fact. Instead I spend a little time tidying up my office, filing a teetering stack of papers on my desk and heading down to the supply closet to re-up on Post-its. I’m standing on my tiptoes to peer up onto the top shelf when I hear someone clearing their throat behind me. “Come here often?” Liam asks quietly.

  I laugh. “Is that your best pickup line?” I ask, turning around with my eyebrows raised. “The one you use on all the girls.”

  “Yes, actually,” Liam admits, his lips quirking. “Have I ever, in all the time we’ve known each other, struck you as particularly smooth?”

  I smile, leaning back against the wall. “You have your moments,” I remind him.

  That’s when he steps into the closet and shuts the door behind him.

  The light in the supply closet goes off automatically, plunging us into darkness as Liam presses his hot mouth against mine. “All morning,” he mutters, his hands everywhere on my body at once. “All morning I’ve been trying to concentrate, and all I could think about was—was—”

  “This?” I supply, my stomach turning over in delight.

  Liam spins me around so I’m facing the wall instead of answering. He slides a hand up my dress and nudges my legs further apart, both of us groaning quietly at how wet I already am. I bury my face in the crook of my arm to keep from screaming as he works his expert fingers in and out of me, rocking myself greedily against the heel of his hand.

  I can’t believe we’re doing this here—anyone could walk in! —but I can’t bring myself to stop, it feels too good.

  “Don’t turn around,” he whispers in my ear even as he pulls away from me, his breath warm against my skin. I can hear the sound of his belt unbuckling, his zipper, then the crinkle of a condom wrapper and suddenly he’s back inside me, his cock thick and hot and demanding. I gasp, reaching back and curling one hand around the back of his neck.

  “Please,” I beg, wanting him closer. Wanting everything.

  “Shh,” he reminds me even as he’s thrusting hard and rhythmic. He sneaks one hand around the front of me, his nimble fingers playing over my clit. “We need to keep it professional, remember?”

  My knees almost give out entirely as the orgasm breaks, pleasure flooding through every cell of my body, but Liam presses his chest to my back so I’m pinned upright between him and the wall. He follows me over the edge himself a moment later, his quiet groan echoing in my ear.

  We stay where we are for a moment as our breathing returns to normal, Liam’s arms still locked tightly around me. Then, reluctantly, we break apart and straighten ourselves out. I feel like I’m walking on air…

  And we’ve barely been gone ten minutes.

  Now that’s what I call a productive meeting.

  “You know,” I tell him, clearing my throat and smoothing my dress back down, “I do come here often, actually. In fact, I’d guess you’d probably be able to find me back here in this very spot later this afternoon.”

  And Liam laughs. “Don’t tempt me.”

  18

  Eliza

  The full manuscript of Rock Hard lands in my inbox the following morning. I don’t know what Verity did to get it finished in time, or to which Gods of Romance she made her sacrifices; I’m just thrilled that it’s done.

  The next week is a total blur as the entire office works around the clock trying to get it ready for publication. I wasn’t lying to Liam when I told him that it usually takes us two years to get a book from draft to publication: Endless rounds of revisions, and copy-edits, and proof-reading before the typesetters even lay it out. So, getting this thing done in a matter of weeks?

  It’s utter madness.

  And everyone is losing their minds right along with me. All of us are stressed and giddy, dazedly brushing our teeth in the ladies’ room after staring at our computers until 2 a.m.—but it’s also a little bit fun. Liam agrees to an emergency take-out budget. I catch Rachel napping under her desk. I’ve never been part of anything like this before, and I’m exhausted…

  … Although, not too exhausted to tear Liam’s suit off every single night.

  It’s been a thrill, working side by side with him like this—feeling like we’re a real team, counting on each other to meet the deadline and save Sterling. It feels like a true partnership, and I can’t deny that in between approving Verity’s cover art and trying to help her think of other words for “scrotum,” I’ve wondered what it might feel like to make that partnership last.

  Like, a long-term, committed kind of lasting. His and hers bathrobes. My toothbrush on his nightstand. His Netflix log-in on my TV.

  Not that I’ve said any of this to Liam, of course.

  “Aaaand… We’re done!” I announce early on Saturday morning, sending the manuscript off to the typesetters with a flourish. I fall backward into my bedroom pillows, throwing my arms up into the air in a victory pump.

  “Wait, what?” Liam stops short in the doorway to the bedroom, nearly dropping the tray he’s holding. “Really?”

  “Signed, sealed, and edited,” I say with a laugh, enjoying the sight of him holding an extravagant breakfast spread complete with scrambled eggs and perfectly crisp bacon, plus fresh blueberry muffins from the bakery around the corner and a French press full of coffee.

  Could this day get any better?

  Liam leans over to kiss me, and I yelp, steadying the tray. “That’s precious cargo you’ve got there, my friend.” I giggle. “But yes. Rock Hard has officially been mined.”

  Liam looks at me for a long moment, then shakes his head in amazement. “You’re a marvel,” he tells me.

  “Verity’s the marvel,” I counter, snatching a piece of bacon off the tray. I take a bite, beaming. “The book is so good, Liam. Plotty, emotional, glam… And very, very sexy.”

  That gets Liam’s attention. “How sexy?” he asks with a smirk, sitting down on the mattress beside me.

  I flutter my eyelashes. “I guess you’ll have to read it to find out.”

  Liam pretends to think. “I guess I’ll have to see if I know anyone who can get me a

  copy. If I ask nicely…”

  He leans in and kisses me again, and I melt. “We should celebrate,” he suggests, pouring us each a steaming cup of coffee. “How do you feel about a day by the pool?”

  As weekend offers go, it’s extremely temping, but I reluctantly shake my head. “As much as I’ve been meaning to check out that roof deck of yours—and believe me, I have—I actually have plans with friends today,” I tell him. “Kickball game in the park.” I pause, suddenly feeling shy. “Actually, there’s always room for one more, if you’re interested in joining…” I suggest, feeling awkward. Up until now, we’ve been in a secretive bubble of two. I haven’t met any of his friends, and he hasn’t met mine. It’s been sexy, all this sneaking around, but now I want to take things to the next level.

  Public displays of affection.

  Liam looks skeptical. “I don’t know,” he says slowly. “I don’t really do…”

  “Fun?” I supply. “Sports?”

  He makes a face. “I was going to say friends,” he admits, and my heart sinks a little.

  “But I can make an exception,” he adds. “Still, kickball?”

  “It’ll be fun,” I promise, smiling again. “Come on. You must own one pair of sneakers, right? For those long, grueling, fun-free runs of yours?”

  Liam chuckles. “I suppose I do.”

  “Well then.” I pop one last piece of bacon into my mouth and hop up out of bed. “Come on!”

  After only one minor delay for shower sex, we get dressed and head over to the park to meet my friends. “Remind me who’s going to be here?” Liam asks, lacing his hand through mine.

  I sm
ile. “April and Seth,” I say, giving him the low-down. “She’s got an amazing flower shop and he’s an event planner. Katie, my author who I’ve told you about, and her boyfriend Wes. Poppy and Dylan, who owns the Griffin Hotel. And Natalie and her boyfriend Justin—who you should have a lot in common with, actually, on account of he comes from a family of soulless venture capitalists.”

  “Real funny.” Liam grins. He looks completely hot in his workout clothes: a T-shirt that shows off his muscles and a vintage-y looking baseball cap, but I can tell by the furrow of his handsome brow that he’s anxious about meeting everyone.

  “Relax,” I say, giving his hand a squeeze. It’s a gorgeous day, and a warm, end-of-summer breeze is rustling the leaves on the trees up above. “There’s nothing to worry about, I promise. They’re going to love you.”

  “I’m not nervous,” he protests, which is blatantly a lie. “They’re important to you, that’s all,” he says quietly. “And you’re important to me.”

  “Well, good.” I squeeze his hand, feeling a fresh rush of emotion for him—this handsome, surprising person who’s become such a big part of my life over the last few weeks. I’m falling for him, I can feel it. And I think he’s falling for me too.

  My friends are already at the park when we arrive, “warming up,” by which I mean, sitting on benches drinking mimosas out of plastic cups they brought from home. We’ve been playing kickball every other weekend all summer long—it started as a way to shake the cobwebs out after a night of chips and guacamole, but it’s turned into one of my favorite Saturday routines, despite the well-documented fact that I’m about as athletic as a tree sloth. “Hey there,” I call as we make our way across the grass.

  “You made it!” Poppy runs over to us and gives me a hug, then turns to Liam, stepping back to take in the full picture like he’s a painting hanging in a museum. “And you must be Liam.” She offers him her hand. “I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we are all very excited to meet you.”