Chapter Twenty-Five
The moments between kissing Liam in the Heartwarming lobby and arriving back at my apartment are a blur.
Elle decides to go to Jersey for the weekend after all, but not before hugging me like she’s leaving for a month when we parted. There is so much to be said between us, and I’m sure she’ll drag it all out of me when she returns on Monday.
I’m not sure how to leave things with Anne, so I just tell her I’ll see her on Monday, because that is definitely a Monday problem.
So that left Liam and me… alone.
“Where’s Blue?” I ask as Liam stands uncomfortably in the foyer of my apartment. I take his hand and lead him to the couch.
“With Brett,” Liam replies, weaving his fingers in mine. “I was really supposed to be meeting with suppliers this weekend. But my car kind of just drove itself here.” His voice trails off as we sit on the couch together.
“I feel like we have a lot to talk about,” he says.
I scoot to the edge of the couch and prop myself up on my knees. He raises his hand to place a piece of hair behind my ear. I lean into his hand, the corner of my mouth turning up at the feel of his fingers running through my hair. I look up at him and give him a soft smile.
“We do, but is it okay if I go first?” I say, sitting back on my heels. He nods.
I take a deep breath before I start. “I don’t know what this is going to look like, you and me,” I say, gesturing between us. “I don’t know what the next few months or years of my life are going to look like. But I want to go through them with you.”
Liam smiles my favorite shy smile and folds his legs under him to sit next to me on the couch. I let myself reach out and run my hand through his hair, taking a moment to marvel at the fact that I’m really looking into his eyes again. Part of me still can’t believe that today happened. Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow morning, my laptop still on my stomach after falling asleep writing, and realize this was all a dream, the perfect ending to my story. But this is real. I did this. I found my ending.
“I started writing the book,” I start, looking down to avoid his gaze. I wish I could sidestep this conversation, but this all-consuming idea of a book has been a third wheel in our relationship since day one, and we both need some closure from it. “It’s not about you. It’s not even about Hudson Hollow.” Liam eyes me, an unsure expression on his face. “It’s still a small-town romance, the heroine is a lot more cynical than me, if you can believe that,” I say with a nervous laugh. “And she finds herself, at least, I think she will, with the hero’s help.” I lift a corner of my mouth up. “Okay, maybe you did inspire some parts of it. But I want you to know, I didn’t mean any of the things I wrote about you. You’re not damaged, you’re so strong, and so put-together all the time,” I add with a laugh.
“I understand, Lucy. It took me a while, but I think I finally get it,” he says, his voice gravelly. He reaches over and takes my hand in his. “In truth, I don’t know how you qualified for this research mission in the first place, I don’t think you have one bone in your body that is slimy enough to do what you set out to.” I look down for a moment and squeeze Liam’s hand, hoping that our connection can communicate what my words are failing to in this moment. I think he knows how sorry I am. I think he’s forgiven me. Now I just need to forgive myself.
“You asked me once why I chose to edit romance novels,” I continue, meeting his eyes again. Liam nods at the memory. “And the answer is hope.” I smile sheepishly. “They give me hope. They let me feel love. Before I went to Hudson Hollow, not even my favorite romance novels were bringing me joy anymore. I couldn’t find inspiration anywhere because life was just beating me down.” Liam frowns at my statement, but I don’t want him to feel bad for me. I want him to understand why I’m here, and how I got here.
“But romance has always been it for me. Because there is always a happy ending. And I have to believe that we have one too. Because you,” I say, placing my hand on his chest. “Hudson Hollow, my trip, has done more than make me believe in love again. It made me believe in myself. It’s made me believe that I could impulsively run off upstate because I had to tell you I love you.” I chuckle and Liam’s smile grows wider on his face. “So, I’m in. I don’t want to scare you or commit too much too soon, but I can’t go back to my life as it was before I came to Hudson Hollow. Too much has changed. I’ve changed.”
Liam inhales, letting out a slow exhale that is visible on his chest. He lays his hand on the back of the couch and plays with the ends of my hair. “So, what does it look like for you? I know the planning side of your brain has thought about it.” I smile at the way he talks about me like he knows me so well. “What could our options be?”
I blow out a loud breath. “Well, I don’t think I want to live in the city anymore, but my lease isn’t up until January. Of course, I would have to talk to Elle about that. Even though she was somewhat of a ringleader in getting me back to you, I don’t think she’ll be too thrilled about having to take on our rent alone.”
“And then you’d move to Hudson Hollow?” Liam asks, and my chest clenches, wondering if I’ve scared him.
“I don’t want to freak either of us out, since we’ve been together for a total of two hours,” I say with a chuckle. “But I want to give us a shot. And I may have sort of quit my job before going to find you—”
“You did?” he asks, raising his brows.
“Kind of. I’ll have to work out the particulars with Anne, but I want to be a writer. And maybe that means freelance editing or being a commissioning editor, or something like that to bring in some income. Maybe working remotely, I don’t know yet. But I know that this is right for me. My life has been a bit upended this summer—with being in Hudson Hollow, meeting you, writing a book, and Josie…” My voice trails off.
Liam watches me carefully, letting the tone of my voice sink in. “Lucy…” he starts.
I smile, pressing down the knot in my throat. “She wanted me to chase my own dream. She wanted—” I take a deep breath before continuing.
“Going to Hudson Hollow caused so much change in my life, and not just giving me the opportunity to fall in love with you,” I say with a surprisingly confident tone. “It made me realize that publishing as I’m in it right now, isn’t a dream. And a wise man once told me that I might need a new dream.”
Liam grins. “And you’ve found it? Your new dream?”
“I’m looking at him.”
We lean in together, the gravity of the moment so strong that we’re pulled together by forces out of our control. Liam gathers me in his arms and pulls me onto his lap, and I feel his forearms clench around my back. I moan into his mouth as he pulls me tighter to him. The feeling of disbelief is caught in my chest, like at any moment I could say something wrong or snap back into reality where I don’t have a man kissing me like his life depends on it, holding me like he may never let me go.
So naturally, I start laughing.
My awkward laugh breaks our kiss, and I immediately hide myself in Liam’s chest. “What are you doing, you weirdo?” he says, a rumble of laughter emanating from his throat.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m ruining this perfect moment. Why am I like this?
“Lucy, talk to me.”
I lift my head, trying to shake the smile from my face, but when I look at his perfectly swollen lips, I run my fingers across them, and let another giggle escape my lips. “Is there something on my face, or something?” I laugh even harder at his question.
“I’m sorry,” I say, my voice high like I’m on helium. “No, I’m sorry,” I say, cupping his face. “You’re perfect. I’m just the worst.”
“What?” he asks, confusion and a hint of amusement on his face.
“I’m sorry,” I repeat, trying to control myself. I hope the laughing fit has finally passed and I can focus on trying to form coherent words. “I just—you’re so perfect.” He continues to look at me cluelessly. “You’re romance-novel-perfect.”
Liam shakes his head, his blonde waves swaying back and forth. “You know, I think I’ve been told that before. Something about my eyebrows,” he says, gesturing to his face. I cackle.
“When I met you that day I got to Hudson Hollow, I literally thought you were some actor Anne hired to mess with me. I couldn’t believe that I had come to a small town and you were standing there,” I say, sitting back on his lap. “And never, in a million years, would I have thought my summer would end up like this. And now, I don’t know, I’m just wondering if I deserve it.”
Liam traces a finger down my cheek and cups his thumb under my chin to lift my head. I slowly lift my lids and let his gaze absorb me. His face is solemn, like he is about to make the most serious confession of his life. “When I was in middle school, I had the worst acne.”
Yes, of course, I let out the loudest, most obnoxious laugh ever.
“What?” I say, looking at him like he’s crazy. “Where did that come from?”
“I was the dorkiest of the dorks. And I don’t mean to put labels on anything, but I played the clarinet. I loved reading. I would blow through fifty books throughout the school year, nagging my teachers for more until the rest of the class dubbed me the teacher’s pet. I wasn’t competitive. The list goes on and on.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I ask, all laughter disappearing from my voice.
“Because you have me pegged as this ideal romance hero, like I came out of the womb ready to be Fabio on the cover of a mass market—”
“Fabio? Mass market?” I interrupt, stunned by his industry terminology.
“Yeah, I did research. That Julia Quinn knows her shit,” he says matter-of-factly. I a laugh. “I’m just a guy who grew up in a small town. Maybe I remind you of some stereotype that you’ve read about, but that’s not me. I’m real. I have a history and a family, and flaws up the wahzoo—”
“Including the fact that you say wahzoo,” I mutter. When he looks at me knowingly, I roll my eyes at myself. “I’m sorry, it just came out.”
“I’m not perfect. I’m just me. And I hope you can wrap your head around the fact that you’re not getting your fictional lines blurred here. I’m in love with you, Lucy Bowen. Not some character in a book loosely based on you. You .”
I smile sheepishly, but then scrunch my nose at him. “So, acne, huh?”
“Cystic,” he mutters, pursing his lips and nodding his head.
I giggle before I lean in and cover his mouth with mine, pouring everything I have into him. Liam’s grip on my hips tightens and I feel a change in the energy between us. When our kiss breaks, Liam’s eyes don’t move from my lips, and we can both sense that we are heading somewhere.
“Hey,” I say softly, running my fingers through his hair and brushing it out of his face. I scrunch my brows at him, trying to gauge his hesitation. Am I reading him wrong? Is this going too fast? My heart jolts at the possibility of rejection, especially with everything we’ve said to each other tonight. But then Liam reaches for my face, cupping the back of my head in his hand.
“I’m sure there’s something cool and sexy to say in this moment, but I’ve got nothing,” he says, not a hint of laughter in his voice. “Except to say that I’ve pretty much been waiting for this moment since I met you.”
“You should give yourself some credit, because that was pretty good,” I say with a smile. Liam lifts one corner of his mouth up and embraces me again, wrapping his arms around my back and kissing me fervently. Liam brings his large hands to my bottom and wraps my legs around his waist. I grab on to his neck and feel weightless as he carries us to my bed, never once losing the connection between our lips.
When he lays me down on the bed, he takes his time exploring every inch of my body with his fingers. I do the same, running my hands up and down the flexed muscles of his torso once he lifts his shirt over his head. Whenever I’ve done this in the past, my concentration has been on making sure my partner knows I am enjoying myself. I focus on making all the right noises and trying to do what I think I should do, rather than just being in the moment. In all the times I imagined this happening with Liam, I could never imagine it being this comfortable. So natural that I’m only focusing on him, and the way he makes my body feel. I think back to all our subtle moments—brushing hands while we hiked up to The Point, nudging each other’s knees when we fished from his dock, the tingle I felt when he fitted me with a life jacket on his boat. It was all leading to this. And it feels like we finally make sense.
Our noses brush one another and now, there is more urgency to our kiss. While he kisses me, Liam’s hands skim down my body, one cupping in between my legs. When I gasp in response, his mouth crashes into mine harder, more passionately than before. His lips never lose their rhythm while his fingers slide beneath my panties and find the warmth beneath. My grip on his neck tightens as he massages me gently with his thumb, pressing first one, and then two fingers inside. To no surprise, Liam knows exactly what to do to make me shudder. I’m moaning, breathlessly pleading for his pace to quicken, grabbing his shoulders so tightly as he watches me fall apart beneath him.
When finally, the quaking within me settles, Liam traces my face with his hand, pressing his lips to mine gently. “I thought I couldn’t love you anymore than I already did, but then I watched you do that,” he whispers, brushing my hair off my face.
My brain can’t form words at the moment, so I return the sentiment with a slow, tender kiss. I don’t think I ever want to stop kissing Liam. Ever. It is my new favorite pastime.
Liam lifts me up, readjusting our position and placing my head on the pillow. I watch as he retrieves a condom from his wallet. Desire stirs as he slips out of his jeans, and I take a deep breath.
Thumb-to-pointer-finger theory: proven.
Liam slides the condom on in one smooth motion and then moves on top of me. A wide smile spreads across my face as Liam’s blue eyes gaze into mine, and I feel like I am home.
He presses himself into me slowly, gauging my reaction to each of his movements. He moves his hips gently, and with each movement, I feel the pleasure building. Liam breaks our kiss and slows his motions, and I see his face is strained. I nudge Liam’s shoulder until he slows and I can use his weight to help us flip over.
A knowing smile spreads across my face as his surprise registers. Shifting atop him, I adjust my position, rolling my hips until I align perfectly with the exact spot I want. Liam’s gaze tracks my every movement, his hands steadying on my hips. Leaning forward, I kiss him, then quicken my rhythm, my muscles tightening as I pinpoint the sensation that sends waves of pleasure coursing through me. The intensity builds as I lose control, crying out with each thrust. I collapse against him, warmth flooding through my body as release overtakes me.
I roll onto my side and let one leg drape over Liam as we both catch our breaths. I lay my head on his chest and listen to the sound of his racing heart, letting its rhythm soothe my own, drifting off to the feeling of his fingers tracing the lines of my back.
“I’ve dreamt of his moment,” Liam murmurs against my forehead. When I look up at him from my position on his chest, he cups my chin in his hand. “You were my new dream, too,” he says. “And I’m never going to let you go again.”
I admire the beautiful man beside me. Before I met him, I’m not sure I knew exactly who I was. I’m not sure I knew that there was a happily-ever-after out there for me. When I met him, even though I worked every day to bring HEAs to readers, I think I truly had lost the magic in them. But every time I look at him, I can’t help but feel it, not just my love for him, but my love for our story.
He is the hero of my story. My small-town romance. My happily-ever-now.
Thanks for reading!