51. Liam
FIFTY-ONE
LIAM
Piper
Happy end of the regular season!
How are we celebrating the best record in the league?
Me
With you.
Come over, baby.
Piper
I’m already on my way.
“If you do something horrible like tear your ACL next season and can’t play, I think you have a future in culinary.” Piper polishes off her dinner and scoots her plate away. “How are you this good at so many things?”
“I’m also not good at so many things, like listening to directions. Maverick yelled at me because I read ahead for book club, but I’m not going to slow down.”
“Are you a fan of monster smut now?”
“I think I’m converted.” I stand and grab her dirty dish, dropping in the sink with mine. “What other weird shit can you throw at me, Mitchell?”
“I’ll give you a list.” She crosses her legs and takes a sip of her wine. “Want some help cleaning up?”
“Nah. I saw the heels you wore to the arena today. I bet your feet are swollen as hell.”
“They’re bigger than Maven’s and she’s growing a human inside her! Come on, let me help. I know you had a long day with playoff prep. You shouldn’t have to clean up alone.”
“Fine. Come on down, Pipsqueak. You can wash and I’ll dry.”
Piper jumps off the stool and makes her way next to me. “I like doing these things with you. Washing dishes. Watching shitty television. Complaining about the curtains you need to fix in your bedroom.”
“Are we at the stage in our marriage where this is nagging?” I laugh when she grabs the sink nozzle and sprays me, warm water soaking my hair and shirt. “That was not a smart move, wife.”
“Whoops.” She gives me an innocent smile. “Better take those clothes off and get dry.”
“If you wanted me naked, Piper…” I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and touch the hem of my shirt. “You could’ve just asked.”
“It’s way more fun this way. You don’t get to?—”
I move before she can react, grabbing the nozzle out of her hand and spraying her in retaliation. She screeches and runs to the other side of the island, shielding her face with the plate we used for our salads.
“Two can play that game,” I say.
“How are you so fast ? You’re like a freaking ninja.” She looks down at the wet shirt clinging to her torso. I can see the outline of her nipples through the sheer material and I turn the water off, a new plan in mind. “This is a new side of Liam Sullivan, and I like it.”
“Goalie, remember?” I scoop her up and walk her down the hall to my room. “This is who I am now. Life is a hoot, and I’m goddamn fun.”
“Who knew all it took to lighten you up was getting laid by your perfect wife?”
“Someone’s cocky. You’re right, but you’re also cocky.”
“It’s a shame you didn’t have sex for years. Think of all the fun you missed out on by not banging your choice of women.”
When we get to my room, I set her on my bed. I take a step back and stare at her, all the humor leaving the room.
“I’ve never had a choice of women,” I say.
Piper frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Ask me why I haven’t slept with anyone in four years, Piper,” I say, and it comes out like a plea. Like I’m fucking desperate for her to hear this.
“W-why haven’t you slept with anyone in four years, Liam?” she whispers.
“The same reason I haven’t looked at a woman in four years. Why it wouldn’t have mattered who won me at the charity auction or tried to get my attention. Ask me why I keep my wedding ring tied to my skates,” I blurt out. Her eyes widen and she inhales a sharp breath. “Ask why I haven’t washed off the temporary tattoo you gave me days ago. Ask me, Piper,” I beg. “Please.”
“Why?” she whispers, but I know she knows the answer. I can tell by the way she reaches for me. In the softness of her fingers as they touch the back of my neck and how quickly she scoots to the edge of the bed. “Why, Liam?”
“I can say it’s hockey. I can say it’s because I didn’t want to be distracted. I can say it’s because I care about my position, but that’s all bullshit. The day you walked into the United Airlines Arena was the best day of my life. It was a Wednesday. Partly cloudy. Eight-five in the first week of August. August seventh, actually,” I croak, and her eyes blur with tears as her attention bounces to my phone on the bedside table. “You ran into me. After, you introduced yourself to me. Stuck your hand out like you were the most important person in the room. I saw the ring on your finger and knew I couldn’t get close to you. Couldn’t get to know you. Not in the way I wanted. That fucking diamond taunted me for months until one day, you showed up and it wasn’t there anymore. And for the first time since I laid eyes on you, I felt a sliver of hope.” I laugh, still not convinced this is all happening. Still not sure she’s really here with me. “I’ve never been an optimistic guy, baby, but the day I found out you were single was the day I started believing. We talked here and there. Had that night in Canada where I was so nervous, so fucking careful with you, I wanted to scream. And then you asked me to fuck you, and I did. But I fucked it all up, because I fell in love with the way you laugh. With the way you smile. With the way you’re brave and bold and so fucking beautiful.”
I pause for a breath. I wipe the tears from her cheeks and tip her chin back, wanting her to look at me so she doesn’t miss a single word before I start again.
“I fell in love with your determination and your drive. With the way you speak into a microphone and how hard you work. I fell in love with your kind heart and the way sometimes, when I’m feeling really fucking positive, I let myself believe you might one day love me back. When you’re ready. But you take all the time you need, sweetheart, because I’m not going anywhere.”
“Liam,” she says, and I want to keep going. I want her to hear everything before she makes up her mind, so I put my hand gently over her mouth.
“You know I’m not a man of many words, Mitchell, but with you, I have a lot to say. I’m not finished,” I tell her, and her eyes crinkle in the corners. “I know you’ve been hurt. I know it’s hard for you to trust. I know it’s difficult for you to believe what happened to you once won’t happen again. And, look. I’ll sit here and promise you everything in the world. Money. Safety. Anything you could ever want. But they won’t mean shit if I don’t tell you this: I will love you, Piper Mitchell, until my dying days. When it’s stormy. When it’s sunny. You will always have my full attention. You’ve had it for years and you weren’t even mine. I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re my favorite person in the world. No one else could ever come close.”
She mumbles something against my palm, and there’s a moment of panic. A world where she doesn’t feel the same and I’ll have to deal with the sucker punch to the gut as I watch her live her life with someone else.
“You are my favorite person,” Piper starts. She touches my cheek, and fuck. I ache for her. One graze of her fingers and I’m on top of the world. Feeling like I can fucking fly . “The patience you’ve shown me. The respect you’ve shown me. The kindness you’ve shown me these last couple of months…” She shakes her head and laughs. “Thank you isn’t good enough. You’ve changed me. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without you.”
“That’s not true. You would’ve gotten there on your own. You’re strong. Capable. You didn’t need a man. You just needed someone who believed in you.”
“And you do believe in me. I told you I’m scared, and I am, but I know you’ll never, ever hurt me. I think I’ve known that for a while now, which is why I went to you in the first place. Why I feel safe and secure whenever you’re around. I love you too, Liam. So unbelievably much. What I feel for you is… I’m not sure there’s a word to describe it. To define just how… you…” Piper trails off. Fresh tears stain her cheeks and I hold her tight in my arms. “You fixed me, Liam.”
“You were never broken, Piper.”
“I love you,” she says again, the three words muffled against my chest. Cemented in my soul and close to piercing my heart. “You’re the best thing to ever come out of my heartbreak, and even though it hurt like hell , I’d do it again if it meant finding you.”
There are a thousand things I want to say to her. A thousand things I want to do, but for now I ease her onto the bed. I lie beside her and kiss her—soft at first, then hungrier, like she’s going to slip out of my grasp at any second.
I know she’s not. She’s mine and I’m hers for as long as she’ll have me. A day. A week. A month. I don’t care, and I’m not going to take a goddamn second of her time for granted.
I show her how I feel with my hands. Then my tongue and my teeth and my mouth. With the careful way I strip her naked and kiss every inch of her body I’ve come to adore. I fuck her gently, lovingly , and know there’s no rush.
A million lifetimes with her won’t be enough.
It’ll never be enough.
But fuck if I’m going to work until my body gives out to make sure every day is the best fucking day of her life.