Chapter 7 #2
I snort before I can help it, half laughing, half trying to pull myself together. And even though we were nearly busted, I still want to kiss him again.
Charlie calls out again, her voice closer this time. I clear my throat, forcing my voice into something resembling normal.
“We’re in the office!” I call out.
Liam leans down to scoop up the papers, brushing close enough that I can still feel the heat radiating off him.
As I turn toward the door, smoothing my shirt and pretending I’m totally fine, I catch his smirk out of the corner of my eye and the way his gaze lingers, hungry and possessive.
Practice, I remind myself weakly.
Just practice. But even in my own head, it sounds like a lie.
Charlie rounds the corner. Her face lights up with excitement when she sees me.
Charlie is blonde, curvy, and her baby bump is showing. She’s totally not who I’d imagine Sam Stone ending up with, which kind of makes her perfect.
“Sam said there’s a surprise for me out in the barn,” she says, practically bouncing on her toes. “I have a feeling I know what it is, and I couldn’t wait another second to get over here.”
I grin, feeling a little thrill of happiness for her. “I think you’re going to love it.”
“Let’s go!” she beams, turning to Liam. “Hey, are you feeling okay? Your cheeks are flushed.”
I barely manage to hold back a laugh. Because Liam? Liam is definitely flushed. And I know exactly why. I meet his gaze. His jaw is tight, and his posture is stiff like he’s bracing for impact, and I have to bite my lip to keep from losing it.
With my most innocent expression, I say, “You do look warm. Maybe you should take a shower. It’ll help.”
Charlie nods in agreement, completely earnest.
Meanwhile, Liam mutters under his breath, low and rough, so only I can hear, “Only if it’s cold.”
Heat races up my neck, and I have to duck my head for a second to hide my smile.
I turn back to Charlie, my voice a little too bright. “Come on. I can’t wait for you to see the surprise.”
Charlie links her arm through mine, tugging me toward the door without another glance back.
But I feel Liam’s stare on me the whole way out. It’s heavy, hot, and full of unfinished business. And something tells me we’re nowhere near done.
I lead Charlie across the yard toward the main barn, the steady drum of rain on the roof above us fading into a soft hush.
This barn is where Liam keeps most of his farm equipment, feed, and tools.
But recently, it’s also become home to a much cuter kind of chaos when Snooki decided it was the perfect place to have her litter.
We step inside, the air smelling of hay, oil, and something faintly sweet from the rain-soaked earth. I close the door behind us, muffling the world outside, and call out into the space.
“Come here, kitties!”
For a heartbeat, there’s nothing. Then a rush of tiny paws pattering across the concrete, coming from every direction like a living flood with Snooki following them like a proud mama.
Charlie lets out an excited squeal, clapping her hands as eight little fluff balls race toward us.
Eight.
And, obviously, I had no self-control with naming them.
Pauly D, Mike, Ronnie, Vinny, Angelina, J-Wow, Deena, and Sammi.
Charlie drops into a crouch, her arms outstretched as the kittens swarm her, noses twitching, tails flicking, and full of cuteness that makes it hard not to want to steal all of them.
While the others tumble around Charlie’s boots, Sammi, the tiny solid-black runt, beelines straight for me, letting out a scratchy little meow that sounds too big for her tiny body.
My heart squeezes.
I kneel and scoop her up, pressing her soft, warm body against my chest. She immediately starts purring, loud and fierce, as if she knows exactly where she belongs.
“Hi, love,” I whisper into her fur.
Meanwhile, Charlie is completely absorbed, cooing and laughing as she meets each kitten.
“Oh, you’re so cute. And so are you!” she croons, giggling as one climbs her leg like a tree. She glances up at me, eyes sparkling. “What are their names?”
I tell her one by one, and she bursts out laughing.
“I love it,” she says, grinning so wide it’s impossible not to smile back. “Only you would name a litter of barn kittens after the cast of Jersey Shore.”
I shrug, cuddling Sammi closer. “Iconic behavior deserves to be honored.”
Charlie snorts and gathers up two kittens in her arms, looking like all her dreams just came true. And for a moment, standing there in the cozy barn with the rain tapping on the roof, the air filled with kitten mews and laughter, it feels like the world has gotten just a little bit softer.
The soft, cozy chaos of the barn is shattered by a sudden burst of laughter as Liam and Sam stroll in, boots scuffing across the concrete.
I glance up and immediately wish I hadn’t.
Liam’s hair is damp, darkened and curling a little at the ends like it always does after a shower.
Apparently, he took my suggestion seriously.
I tear my gaze away before my brain can start filling in the details I have no business imagining.
Sam comes to a stop beside Charlie, slipping his arm around her round waist in that easy, instinctive way that makes something inside me ache.
“Well, was it a good surprise, darlin’?” Sam asks, his voice warm and full of pride.
Charlie leans into him, still cradling two kittens in her arms. “It was. But now I have a problem.” She looks up at him, wide-eyed and playful. “I don’t know which one I want.”
Sam hums, surveying the tiny herd at their feet. “Orange one looks nice. Got a real tomcat face. And you can’t go wrong with a black cat.”
At his words, a sharp, unexpected pang cuts through my chest. My arms tighten around Sammi, who’s still purring against my heart.
I know Charlie and Sam would give her a good home.
Probably a perfect one. But the thought of her tucked into someone else’s life, someone else’s bed, someone else’s arms?
It guts me.
I don’t even realize I’m holding my breath until Liam speaks up.
“Oh, that one’s already been claimed,” he says casually.
My head snaps toward him. His face is the picture of easy nonchalance, but his eyes are anything but. They're steady. Sure. Saying everything he doesn’t put into words.
Sam doesn’t miss a beat. He just points at the next kitten and says, “What about the grey one?”
Charlie coos and reaches for it, attention shifting away.
But I can’t move. Because at that moment, Liam didn’t just save me from losing Sammi. He chose me. Quietly. Like it wasn’t even a question. And somehow, it feels like the first real promise anyone’s made to me in a long, long time.
Charlie finally picks one—the tiny grey fluff ball Sam pointed out—and together they load him up in Sam’s truck, tucked inside a borrowed crate with a blanket and a handful of treats.
Liam and I stand in the open barn doorway, watching them drive away, the sound of tires crunching on wet gravel fading into the distance.
He chuckles beside me, warm and easy. “I bet they come back tomorrow for at least one more.”
I smile, still cradling Sammi against my chest. She’s fallen asleep, tiny purrs vibrating against my heart.
I turn to him, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Thank you. For what you said about Sammi.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Sammi?”
“The black kitten.”
“Ah.” His mouth pulls into a slow smile. “Well, they couldn’t see it, but I could.”
My heart does a slow, aching flip. “See what?”
He shrugs, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. “That Sammi already had a home.”
Our eyes meet. And for a second, everything else just falls away.
He smiles again, softer this time, and it melts something inside me I didn’t even realize was still frozen.
“Now,” he says, tapping my chin playfully, “let’s head into town and get this second date started.”
I laugh, light and breathless, feeling more weightless than I have in years.
“Let’s go.”