Chapter Seventeen
Liam
Investing in a new company always kept me busy, but this time of the year was another level entirely.
Christmas was a few weeks away, and GalvaTech would be closed between the holidays, which meant every department was scrambling to hit deadlines before the break.
Prototypes needed final revisions. Marketing assets had to be prepped.
Contracts required signatures. CES prep was ramping toward full throttle for the first week in January.
And through all of it, Morgan and I barely had a minute to ourselves.
Four days had passed since dinner at her parent’s house. Four days since we’d crossed that line and slept together again. It had been good. Not just the sex. Everything.
I’d stayed the night, wrapped around her in a way I hadn’t held a woman in years, knowing I wasn’t going anywhere this time.
She’d fallen asleep with her cheek on my chest, her hand resting right over my heart like it belonged there.
And in the morning, after a slower, lazier round of sex, we’d showered together.
She made coffee while I cooked us breakfast, moving around her kitchen like we’d been doing it for years.
Being together had felt so natural. So easy and comfortable.
I kissed her before leaving. Not because I was caught up in the high of the night before, and not because I couldn’t help myself—though that was part of it—but because it felt like an honest and natural thing to do.
I wanted her to know that I wasn’t running. Not this time.
Now, at the office and already mid-week, the last four days had been a blur of other pressing demands.
I’d barely had a second alone with her. We were together constantly, but always surrounded by employees or buried in tasks.
We’d brush past each other in the hallway, exchange a look loaded with too much meaning, and then have to pretend nothing had happened between us because we’d decided to keep things to ourselves for now. It was torture of the best kind.
Despite our inability to get that time alone, I made sure we texted each other throughout the day. I was determined to do things right this time around. If face-to-face conversations alone were impossible at the moment, I would take any form of communication with Morgan I could get beyond business.
Underneath all of that, a knot of worry kept tightening in my chest. It had been a long time since I’d been in a real relationship, and every time I thought about how badly my engagement had imploded, a small part of me panicked and doubts seeped in.
My biggest worry was, could I do this the right way with Morgan?
When Ivy and I were together, I’d let work consume everything.
My time, my energy, my attention. I’d been a man who’d worked twelve-hour days on Wall Street, would come home exhausted, and only offered crumbs of affection.
I knew things weren’t good between Ivy and I, and I knew toward the end I’d chosen work because it felt easier than dealing with the emotional mess I’d made of our relationship.
The truth was, I didn’t want to be that man again. Not with Morgan. I needed to find a balance because she deserved someone who showed up. Fully. Consistently. Someone who chose her and made time for her.
I knew this, but I couldn’t deny that there was a part of me that was terrified I’d fuck it all up again.
After normal work hours on Thursday, I unexpectedly found myself with a block of free time while Morgan was in a meeting with the marketing team before everyone left for the evening.
Instead of reviewing another cost analysis spreadsheet, I decided to take the time to place a call to one of the most content married men I knew. My brother, Noah.
He answered on the first ring and we exchanged greetings and the usual small talk to catch up.
Finally, I said, “So, I wanted to talk to you about…being in a relationship.”
There was distinct silence before Noah replied. “Is this Liam?”
I huffed out a laugh despite myself. “Very funny. Are you going to help me out or not?”
“I guess it depends on what you want from me,” he said, amusement fading into genuine curiosity.
“Just listen,” I said, and launched into the story of Morgan and me.
I started with the night we met, skipping the intimate details and glossing over how my skepticism about marriage had driven me from his wedding reception in the first place.
“Now we’ve been dating, or whatever this is, for a few weeks, but I’m slammed at the office, exhausted from the grind here and jumping in to help Simon with the angel investment firm whenever he needs it.
I haven’t spent any quality time with her, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m already screwing this up. ”
Noah remained quiet while I talked. He was a good listener, which was another reason he was the person I chose to call.
“I’m struggling to see the problem here,” he said when I finished. “It sounds like you both have demanding schedules right now. That’s not a relationship crisis. That’s life.”
I rose from my desk and paced to the window, pressing the phone tighter to my ear, the city lights blurring below. “She’s the first woman I’ve tried to be serious about since Ivy. I keep worrying I’ll repeat the same mistakes with Morgan that I did with her.”
“Liam,” Noah said in that brotherly tone of his. “You’re not in that place anymore, and Morgan isn’t Ivy.”
I rubbed a hand along the back of my neck. “I know that.”
“I remember how much you worked when you were with Ivy,” Noah said, without judgment.
“But this? It sounds like it’s a busy period at the company that will blow over after the New Year.
You’re overthinking everything because the relationship is new.
Give it time. If this is someone you truly want in your life, you’ll find a way to make it work. ”
“Time,” I said, hearing the doubt in my own voice. “What if I don’t have time? What if—”
“You’re catastrophizing,” Noah said bluntly. “Do you really think Morgan is going to cheat on you the way Ivy did?”
The question hit like a punch to the gut, but my answer was immediate. “No.” Ivy had been unhappy for years, and there had been a lack of communication between us I was determined not to repeat with Morgan.
“Then what are you afraid of?” Noah asked.
I exhaled slowly. “That I’ll lose her anyway. That I’ll be so focused on work that I’ll lose sight of what’s important. That she’ll realize she deserves better and walk away or find someone else who—”
“Liam.” Noah’s voice turned firm. “Ivy cheated because of Ivy. Not because you worked too much or didn’t pay attention or whatever bullshit excuse she gave you. She made a choice. And yeah, maybe you did work too much, but that doesn’t change the fact that she betrayed you.”
“I know that—”
“Do you? Because it sounds like you’re blaming yourself for her wandering eye and trying to make yourself the villain in this new story before it’s even begun.”
Just talking to Noah helped ease my anxieties. “Marriage has made you wise,” I quipped, a reluctant smile tugging at my lips.
He laughed. “I’ve always been wise, but you’re not one to ask for advice. Reaching out like this? It tells me this woman means something to you.”
“She does,” I admitted quietly, my chest tightening with the admission. “I never thought I’d try to make a serious relationship work again. She’s special and I care about her. More than I expected.”
“So stop panicking and anticipating the worst,” Noah said. “Build this relationship. Don’t run from it.”
A sound behind me made me turn around, and I nearly dropped the phone when I saw Morgan standing there with a white plastic bag in her hand.
“I’ve got to go, Noah. I’ll call you back later,” I muttered, ending the call abruptly, my face heating as I wondered how much she’d overheard.
She held up the white take-out bag with a small, tentative smile.
“I wasn’t sure how late you planned to stay tonight, but everyone else is gone and I thought that maybe we could squeeze in a quick dinner together.
Well, everyone but Parker, but he’s holed up in his office with the door shut, which means he’s engrossed in something he deems important and doesn’t want to be disturbed. ”
I cleared my throat. “Dinner sounds great.”
Embarrassment prickled at my neck, still unsure how much she’d overheard of me confiding in my brother about my insecurities.
I moved toward the small sitting area, trying to play it cool, but before I reached it, Morgan turned back to the door, shutting it firmly and twisting the lock with a deliberate click.
She set the bag on one of the chairs in front of my desk then sauntered toward me with that slow, confident sway that turned my brain to static. Her gaze locked on mine, and a seductive smile curved her lips.
“I care about you too, Liam,” she said, grabbing my tie and pulling me in for a kiss.
Heat flooded through me instantly. I cupped her face, deepening the kiss, pouring everything I was worried about, everything I’d just confessed to Noah, into the way my mouth moved against hers.
When she pulled back, her eyes were bright, her lips swollen. “You’re not screwing this up,” she whispered.
“You heard that?” My voice came out rough.
She nodded, but didn’t let go of my tie, keeping me tethered to her, which I didn’t mind. “And for the record? I know you’re busy. I’m busy, too. But that doesn’t mean I think you don’t care. We’ll figure it out.”
The knot in my chest loosened. “You make it sound simple.”
“Maybe it is.” She smiled. “Maybe we’re both overthinking this because it matters. Because we don’t want to mess it up.”
“I don’t want to mess this up,” I reiterated quietly.
“Then don’t.” she kissed me again, softer this time. “Show up when you can. Communicate when you can’t. Trust that I’m not going anywhere just because we’re both working hard right now.”