Chapter Thirty-Three #3
“Absolutely,” he confirms. “I’ll protect her with my life, Soph.”
“Good.” She blows out a breath. “And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you finally came to your senses, Liam. But if you hurt her, I won’t think twice about kicking your ass, then throwing you to the wolves to let them eat you alive.”
“If I do that, I give you permission,” Liam says confidently. “Trust me, though, it’s the last thing I want to do again. I love her.”
“Aww…wow,” Sophie gasps. “Never thought I’d hear that come from your mouth, Liam Evans.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He grunts at her playful teasing.
“I’ll text or call tomorrow, okay? We’re gonna get ready for bed,” I tell her.
After a few moments, we end the call, and I beam at Liam. “Well, she didn’t cuss you out, so that’s a plus.”
“That was only one sister…” he says, breathing in through his nose as if he’s expecting the worst from Lennon. “Then I have to deal with the wrath of Mason and Hunter.”
I pat his hand like a child’s. “Don’t forget my parents too, eventually.”
Liam pales with a groan.
Tyler laughs. “I don’t envy you, man.”
“You ever bring a chick home to meet the parents?” I ask him.
Tyler’s lips turn into a frown, and I fear I’ve hit a sensitive topic. “Hell no.”
“He has a hot sister, though,” Liam taunts, and I scowl at him. “Or so I’ve heard.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, nice save.” Then I look at Tyler. “You didn’t tell me you had a sister. What’s her name? Where does she live?”
Tyler pushes his hands on his knees and stands. “And that’s exactly why I didn’t.”
“Oh come on!” I pout. “If we’re gonna be roomies, I need some personal info.”
He contemplates it for a moment. “Six feet five, a hundred seventy-five pounds, brown hair, and brown eyes. Favorite color is orange, and I like spicy foods,” he rambles off, then gives me a shit-eating grin.
“That’s not what I meant!” I groan. “Wait. Your favorite color is orange?” I chuckle. “That’s cute.”
“Can I go now?”
I groan, narrowing my eyes. “At least give me your sister’s name!”
“Fine. Her name is Everleigh.” He gives in, and I grin victoriously.
“Maybe I’ll get to meet her someday.” I smile hopeful, but he doesn’t take the bait to give me more information.
He nods firmly with tight lips, and I know he gets uncomfortable talking about himself. That part was genuine while at the cabin. When he avoided telling me anything personal, it wasn’t an act.
“Alright, lovebirds. I’m gonna shower, then go to sleep.”
“I think that’s code for get off the couch,” Liam says, grabbing my hand and pulling me up.
Tyler walks toward the bathroom, then smirks. “Well, I’m definitely not sleeping in that bed. I’ll be wearing the headphones, though.”
The past six days have all been long and repetitive. It’s felt like Groundhogs Day except Liam’s been too paranoid to let any of us out of the condo, so we have food delivered, and Tyler’s friend who owns the place dropped off some other supplies for us. Condoms included this time.
I can tell Liam’s been on edge the past couple of days as he waits for Victoria to make the next move. I also know he hates sitting around and is eager to get back to work.
Sophie and I text every day, and I called Lennon to give her the same updates. Once we’re home, we plan on telling everyone the whole story. Now that Victoria isn’t playing puppet master, they need to know everything in case anyone in her world tries to talk to them.
Then Liam has to talk to his father and give him a brief summary of why he’s no longer staying married to her and how the babies aren’t his. He’s stressed about the fallout of having an arranged marriage and now having to apologize to everyone for lying.
There’s a lot on his plate, so I try not to push him to talk about it because there’s nothing that can be done until Victoria sends the papers. Until then, we’re in limbo.
“What’re you hungry for?” Tyler asks as I sit at the breakfast table.
“A triple berry smoothie from Frenchie’s Cafe,” I say. “They have the best muffins too. Mmm.” I release a dreamy sigh as I think about being back in Sacramento.
“Alllllright, well…” he ponders. “I can make you a fruit and yogurt smoothie, and there’s some blueberry muffin mix in the pantry. How’s that?”
“Deal.”
“Good, then you can do my laundry while I cook.”
“Oh my God. You too? Liam does the same shit to me.” I groan.
“What do I do?” Liam wraps his arms around my waist, then presses a kiss to my neck.
“Sneak your dirty clothes with mine so I’ll wash ‘em.” I elbow him in the stomach. “Now Tyler is trying to be sneaky and barter for his cooking.”
Liam walks around me and goes toward the fridge. “Smart man. He works his strengths in his favor.”
“I’m good for more than just cleaning.”
“Like what?” Tyler pries. “Because all I’ve seen you do is watch Netflix, do yoga, and dance around the living room for the past three weeks.”
Liam whips his head around and faces me. “You were doing yoga and dancing in front of him?”
“I. Was. Bored!” I say for the hundredth time this week. “He’s the one who watched…” I hold out my hand, putting the attention on Tyler instead.
Tyler snickers, shaking his head. “It was my job to watch you. Remember?”
“You better be keeping your beady little eyes off her now,” Liam warns, and I can’t tell if he’s being serious or not. His voice is firm, and he flashes Tyler a murderous glare. Liam looks like he’s ready for a fight.
“Liam, relax,” I tell him, rubbing my hand over his arm.
“Yeah, Liam, relax,” Tyler mimics in my same tone. “Plus, I only saw her naked one time. She’s got nice nipple rings.”
I knew he looked, the bastard!
Tyler shrugs, and within two seconds, Liam’s charging for him.
“Dude, not fuckin’ cool!” Liam has Tyler’s shirt fisted in his hands as he pushes him up against the wall.
“Liam!” I scream.
I’ve seen Liam pissed off before, but never like this. He’s worked up and taking it out on the wrong person.
“Maddie, stay back. It’s fine,” Tyler says, then looks at Liam, not even defending himself. “Go ahead, punch me. Get your anger out.”
Tyler’s voice is calm and calculated, which means he knows what he’s doing and that Liam won’t actually hit him.
Liam pulls back, dropping his arms. “Shit.”
He glances at me, looking fucked up, then looks at Tyler.
“I’m sorry, man.” Liam shakes his head, then lowers it. “Being stuck inside and not being able to work out and not hearing from Victoria…” He pauses and inhales a deep breath.
“It’s okay, really.” Tyler puts his hand on Liam’s shoulder. “I get it. You’re used to an outlet and you’re not getting one.”
“It’s no excuse. I should never lose my temper like that, especially to lay a hand on you.” Liam sounds distraught, and I’ve never seen him like this before.
“Liam, it’s alright.” Tyler rests both of his hands on his shoulders and pushes him back slightly so he’ll look in his eyes. “You’re at your breaking point. We all have one. Perhaps you need to do a yoga workout video.” He smirks, causing Liam to relax and blow out a breath.
“Maddie told you, didn’t she?”
“What can I say…” I chime in. “I’m a rambler when I’m bored.”
Liam wraps his arms around him in a big, manly hug. I smile wide at the gesture, knowing Liam isn’t close to many people. There’s his small inner circle of Mason, Hunter, and my sisters, but now Tyler is one of us. He’s our family now, too.
“Sorry again.” Liam slaps his back before pulling away.
“We’re cool, man. Don’t worry about it.”
The rest of the day passes, and by ten, we’re ready to pass out. This routine is getting old, and I can’t wait until I can go back to my dance classes—assuming I haven’t been dropped from them.
I’m woken up the next morning by Liam’s booming voice echoing in the distance. I blink, then notice he’s not in bed with me. Right after I throw off the covers and set my feet on the floor, the door whips open. Liam charges toward me with a wide smile.
“What’s going on?” It can’t be any later than nine.
“Victoria texted me. She has the papers and signed them.”
“She did?” I throw my arms around him, and he lifts me up, my legs wrapping around his waist.
“Yep.” He kisses me before setting me down.
“She’s sending them to the house, but I had her send me pictures of the docs for proof.
We were only married for four months, so it’s all standard.
Her assets are hers, mine are mine, and we never had anything joint or shared, so I’ll sign and send it back for her to file.
Then depending on the court’s schedule, hopefully in six to eight weeks, we’ll go in front of a judge. ”
“Then what?”
“Then it’ll be final.”
My heart races when I think about Liam finally being a free man. “I’m so relieved.”
“Me too, baby. So fucking relieved.” He cups my face, and I pull him closer as he brushes his lips against mine.
After the incident in the kitchen last night, Liam was so pissed at himself.
He’d never intentionally hurt anyone he loved, especially not Tyler.
He apologized over and over for showing that side of himself, but I want it all.
The good, bad, and ugly parts of him. Neither of us is perfect, but together we’re stronger and much happier.
Fortunately, Tyler handled it all well and knew how to deal with the situation.
Liam smiles. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”