Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
ANDIE
I t’s not every day the company's CEO tells me to take the rest of the day off and rest up over the weekend. In fact, I can count on one finger exactly how many times it’s happened. I’m glad for the break, though, because once the adrenaline evaporated from my bloodstream I all but collapsed face-first on my bed and slipped into a coma.
The satisfaction I felt as I pulled out of the parking garage put a giddy smile on my face. Liam said I hit a grand slam. I guess we’ll know once the Landmark execs meet to discuss our proposal and then return their verdict. I’m hopeful, though, because thirty minutes after the meeting, Peter Rockwell sent me an email thanking me for the work I put into the presentation. I returned his email with a reminder that I couldn’t have managed it without having a strong team of people working alongside me. Addison also sent me a follow-up email on behalf of our legal department. Hers was short and sweet:
You wowed us all with your presentation. Regardless of the outcome, I will recommend you for that directorship we discussed a few weeks ago. Enjoy your weekend.
When I walked into the conference room with Addison a few weeks ago, I had no idea what to expect. I only knew a whole lot of money was on the line, and I feared I might be in over my head. Who knows, I may still be in over my head, but I know I’m not in this alone and that’s a great feeling.
Liam told me to go home and change into something fancy, but after arriving home and collapsing onto my bed, I knew I would need a little downtime to recuperate before I’d be going anywhere.
Me: What time are you planning to pick me up?
Liam: Look on your front porch.
Me: What? You’re already here?
Liam: Just look.
Me: Why didn’t you just let yourself in like usual?
Lia m: Please see above message.
Me: Are you really going to make me come all the way downstairs? What, did you forget your key or something?
Liam: Please see above message.
Me: You’re so annoying sometimes.
Liam: It’s a gift.
Dragging myself off my soft and dreamy down comforter, I head downstairs muttering to myself about Liam’s terrible timing. What good is it for him to have a key if I still have to answer the door when he arrives?
When I reach the front door, I throw it open with a loud groan and a scowl, but Liam isn’t waiting for me on the front porch as I’d assumed. Instead, there’s a large gift basket wrapped in clear cellophane and tied with a large white bow.
Okay, so, what? Liam drove by and saw the gift basket sitting on my porch. Why not just bring it in with him? Sometimes he’s just so…Liam.
I pick up the basket, which is surprisingly heavier than I anticipated, and carry it to my kitchen counter. Grabbing the scissors from my knife block, I carefully cut the ribbon and peel away the cellophane. Placed in the center is a card that reads:
Figured you might like a chance to relax before getting all dolled up for an evening out. Here are just a few of your favorite guilty pleasures to help you decompress. Pick you up at six.
The card is signed simply “L.”
I begin rummaging through the basket and smile at how well this guy knows me. There’s an assortment of designer candies, two bottles of cold club soda, six long-stem chocolate-covered strawberries, three scented bath bombs, a bath pillow, and a small bag of Epsom salt.
There’s no way Liam could have managed to have this basket assembled and delivered so soon after I arrived home unless he had already pre-arranged this gift for me. I’m so touched by his thoughtfulness I might cry. But since I don’t want red, puffy eyes when Liam picks me up, I smile instead.
A big, wide, deliriously happy smile.
Me: I love your annoying butt.
Liam: See you at six .
Most people never see this side of Liam. The side that hands you a white envelope with a bicycle-built-for-two charm inside. The side that hands you a stack of pre-written letters, one for each day he’ll be gone on vacation. The side that spends an entire night talking to you on the phone because he doesn’t want to say goodbye. The side that leaves random flowers on your car window just to show you he’s thinking about you. Or the side that has a gift basket delivered so you can decompress after a grueling work week and a presentation that completely drains you of all your reserves.
Others may not see this side of Liam. But I do. And I’m here for it.
A couple hours later, after a luxurious soak in my bathtub, I’m relaxed, refueled, and ready to rock Liam’s world when I greet him at my door wearing my favorite black cocktail dress and my rose gold strappy heels. I spend extra time on my hair, styling it in long, loose curls fastened with a shiny ribbon at the side. It’s not as elaborate as a side sweep, but just as sexy, and best of all, no hairpins. All Liam has to do is untie the ribbon, and I am one hundred percent certain he will do so. I decide on a simple rose gold necklace and matching earrings and then finish the look with smokey eyes, winged eyeliner, and soft pink lip gloss.
Where my red dress showcased my back, this black cocktail dress is all about showcasing my legs, and when paired with a sexy pair of strappy heels? Well, let’s just say I feel very confident and feminine and leave it at that.
When my doorbell rings at 5:30, I can’t help but tease Liam a little for arriving thirty minutes early.
Me: Impatient much?
Liam: ???
Me: You said six
Liam: Right
Me: You’re early
Liam: What do you mean I’m early?
The man can play innocent all he wants because dressed like this, I am ready to tango with the master himself. I take my time descending the stairs and swing open the door prepared to see Liam’s reaction to this dress, wondering if he’ll drop his phone this time, or if he thought better of it and left it behind in his car.
What I’m not prepared for is to come face-to-face with Derek.
“I see you’re expecting me,” Derek grins, but there’s something off in his expression. His eyes are anything but smiling. They’re cold. Almost menacing.
“What do you want, Derek? I’ve already said everything I have to say to you.” I step back and start to shut the door, but Derek wedges his foot between the door and the door jam and forces it open enough to squeeze inside.
I back away from him, putting distance between us. “Derek, you’re not welcome here, please leave.”
He shuts the door then locks it and throws the deadbolt.
“What are you doing? I told you to leave.”
“Not before I say what I came to say.” He gestures to the locked door. “That’s a precaution. Just want to make sure we’re not interrupted. ”
My phone dings, alerting me to a text message. I move to retrieve it from the kitchen counter but Derek intercepts me.
“Leave it,” he demands.
It dings a second time and Derek swipes his hand against the phone sending it crashing to the floor.
“Say your piece, Derek, and then get out of my house.”
Derek advances on me, but I manage to stay out of his reach. I just need to get to my door. We circle my living room, Derek mirroring each of my moves.
“It wasn’t enough for you to publicly humiliate me last weekend, was it? No, of course not. You had to slander me on social media, too.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t been on social media all week. I’ve been busy.”
“Don’t lie to me, Andie!” he bellows. “Because of you, I’ve had three clients cancel listings this week and sign with one of my competitors. Do you know how that feels?”
I raise my palms in an attempt to calm him. “I swear, Derek. I had nothing to do with that.”
He drops his gaze to the floor and shakes his head, and seeing my chance, I spin around and dash to the door. But Derek is on me before I can manage to unlock the deadbolt. He grabs both of my wrists in one hand and holds them above my head as he presses me against the door with his heavy weight holding me in place.
“You stole my sterling reputation from me.” His mouth sits against my ear as he grits out the words. “The least you can do is hear me out.”
Drawing upon what I learned in the self-defense class I took in college, I silently will myself to relax.
“That’s more like it,” he says against my ear. His breathing quickens, or maybe it’s mine, I’m not exactly sure, but something shifts in the way he’s pushed himself against me, and it’s got every one of my senses on high alert. “It wasn’t that long ago when you used to dress like this for me.” He rests his head against mine and draws in a breath. “You always smell so good.”
I force myself to take three deep breaths, and on the last exhale, I slam the heel of my shoe against Derek’s shin. It’s not a perfectly executed strike because of the awkward angle, but it’s enough to make Derek back away slightly and release his hold on my hands.
“What are you doing?” he barks. I don’t give him a chance to say more. I spin around and thrust the ball of my hand upward into his nose.
His hands fly to his nose and he stumbles backward a few feet. Blood instantly begins to trail from his nostrils, along the side of his mouth and chin, and drips in drops to the floor. I turn back to the door and manage to unlock the deadbolt, but as soon as I open the door, Derek’s bloody hand slams it shut. He grabs both of my upper arms and jerks me away from the door and drags me to the living room. I fight against him, but my heels make it impossible to maintain solid footing. With a growl, Derek shoves me onto the couch and pins me down with his knees and arms.
“Stop fighting me! I only came here to talk to you! You’re making this so much harder than it has to be. Once you hear me out, I know you’ll see reason.”
An object in my periphery catches my attention, and I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier.
“Alexa, call 9-1-1,” I yell. And I really hope Alexa was listening, because as soon as the words are out, Derek covers my mouth with his hand.
“That wasn’t very smart, Andie. I said I only want to talk to–”
Derek’s words are suddenly cut off, and the weight of his body disappears.
“What the–” but Derek never has a chance to finish his sentence because Liam has slammed his elbow into Derek’s chin, knocking Derek’s head back and causing him to lose his footing and stumble to his knees. Liam gives Derek a sharp kick to the stomach, and Derek crumples over into a ball.
Liam helps me from the sofa and looks me over quickly. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “I thought he was you or I never would have opened the door. It never occurred to me that it could be Derek.”
“I know, Darlin’. I knew something was wrong when you sent the text. I tried calling you, and when you didn’t answer your phone, I came straight over. I’m sorry I wasn’t faster.”
I wrap my arms around Liam and he brings his hands to my back, massaging in slow circles. “Did he hurt you?” His words are a tender caress against the top of my head.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I knew if I could keep him talking until you showed up at six, I’d be okay.”
“Is that his blood or yours?” Liam gestures to the drops of blood trailing from the door to the couch.
“It’s mine!” Derek curses under his breath. “That witch broke my nose.”
Liam lifts an eyebrow and looks down to where Derek has managed to pull himself back onto his knees. The corners of Liam’s mouth lift in a grin. “That’s my girl,” he says, pride glowing in his eyes.
“Yeah, well, that girl, ” Derek snarls and points his finger at me, “will be hearing from my attorney.”
Just when I think Liam’s about to sidekick Derek in the head to shut him up, two police officers appear in the entryway. Thankfully, Liam left the door ajar when he entered my townhome.
“We’re responding to a 9-1-1 call,” one of the officers says.
“Yes,” I nod, and gesture for them to enter. “Please come in.”
“Officers, these two attacked me,” Derek says, waving his blood-stained hand between Liam and me. “Pretty sure she broke my nose.”
The officers share a glance, but their impassive faces remain expressionless. “Ma’am, is this your residence?”
“Yes,” I nod.
“Do you know these men?” the officer asks as he points to Liam and Derek.
Again I nod. “I do.” I gesture to Derek. “He’s my ex-boyfriend.”
“Can you tell us what happened?”
“Why don’t you take my statement,” Derek complains loudly. “I’m the one who’s injured.”
The officer who’s addressing me tips his head to his partner. “Get him to the car and take his statement.” The partner nods and leads Derek out of the house. Immediately, I breathe a little easier.
For the next few minutes, I relate the events from the time Derek showed up uninvited and forced his way into my house until Liam showed up and pulled Derek away from me. Meanwhile, the other officer has escorted Derek outside, where he now sits in the back of the police car answering questions. The officer taking my statement takes notes and asks a string of clarifying questions. When he is satisfied, he speaks into his radio.
“Are you planning to arrest him?” Liam asks.
The police officer looks between Liam and me. “Unfortunately, as it stands, it’s your word against his. You’re welcome to press charges, of course, but it will be difficult to prove. Especially since he’s the one with the broken nose, and if I’m not mistaken, at least two broken ribs. Regardless, I recommend petitioning the courts for a restraining order. Once that’s on record, if he shows up to your house again, or comes within so many feet of you, we can arrest him for violating the order. ”
It’s long after seven before the police finally leave. As soon as they’re gone, Liam wraps his arms around me and folds me into a hug–a much appreciated one–and rests his chin on my head.
“You okay?”
I answer with a nod against his chest. “I think so.”
“You’ve had quite the day. First you slay the meeting with Landmark and then you break your ex-boyfriend’s nose. I’m not sure which one of those two things is sexier.”
I exhale a shaky laugh. “I’m not feeling very sexy at the moment.”
“Are you kidding me? Wearing this dress? I thought that police officer was going to lose his mind. He was trying so dang hard not to ogle your legs.”
I shove Liam’s chest and back away. “Well, thank heavens this dress didn’t rip and give him a glimpse of my lacy panties.”
Liam tilts his head back and groans at the ceiling. “You really know how to torture a man, don’t you?”
“Speaking of which, you know I don’t like violence, but Liam, I was so relieved when you grabbed Derek and threw him off of me.”
He closes his eyes and gives his head a sharp shake. “You have no idea how badly I wanted to beat that guy to a pulp.”
“I know. Thank you for stopping.”
Liam dips his chin in a nod. “Now tell me, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I think I am.”
Liam scrutinizes my gaze for a moment before nodding. “Okay.”
“For what it’s worth, Liam, I don’t think Derek would have hurt me.”
“Andie, he was forcing–”
I throw my palms up. “I know. I know how it must have looked.”
“Do you? Really? Because how it looked when I came in was that Derek was pinning you down on the couch and forcing himself on you against your will.”
“Yes. You’re right. I just mean, I don’t think he meant to hurt me. At least not at first.”
Liam shakes his head. “How can you defend that piece of–”
“I just don’t want to believe the guy I dated for so long would do something like this.”
Liam shakes his head. “Come here.” He pulls me into his arms. “I know you don’t. You always want to believe the best about people.”
“I do,” I sag against Liam’s chest.
“Here, let me look at your hand,” Liam reaches around him and gently peels my hands from his back. He inspects them both, a puzzled expression in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was afraid you hurt your hand when you punched Derek in the nose. How’d you manage that, anyway? Your knuckles aren’t even red.”
I flex my hand back and point to the ball of my palm as I mimic the way I struck Derek. A sick feeling forms in the pit of my stomach, knowing I inflicted that kind of pain on someone.
“Looks like that self-defense class paid off.”
“Please don’t smile at me like that.”
“Like what?” Liam asks, confused.
“Like you’re proud of me. Liam, I really think I broke Derek’s nose.”
“Darlin’, I am massively proud of you!” He bends so he’s looking me directly in the eyes. “I would be proud of any woman who defended herself against the unwanted actions of a man. I don’t care what his initial intentions were, he was clearly attempting to manhandle you, and that is never okay. I’m also proud of you for having the presence of mind to tell Alexa to call 9-1-1. You really are Wonder Woman.”
I release a heavy sigh as I exhale. “Thank you, Liam. I needed to hear that.”
“Okay, how about we change the subject.”
“Yes, please.”
“Are you hungry? Feel up to getting out of here for a little while?”
I nod. “I would like that.” I offer Liam a faint smile. “Just give me a minute to freshen up.”
Later, as Liam and I share several plates of appetizers, the events of earlier finally begin to wane, until they’re all but forgotten. Almost.
Liam rests his arm on the table and opens his hand for me to slide mine into his. “Did I ever tell you how beautiful you look tonight? No, scratch that.” I widen my eyes at him. “Beautiful isn’t the right word. Gorgeous? Nah,” he shakes his head. “Ravishing,” he nods. “You look ravishing–on a bone-tingling, mind-blowing level.”
A small grin spreads across my face. “I take it you like the dress?”
Liam smiles. “I do like the dress, but it’s not the dress that’s ravishing. It’s you.” His grin falters. “Why are you sitting so far away from me?”
I raise my shoulder in a shrug. “Maybe I wanted to look at your pretty face.”
“Yeah,” he nods, “that makes sense. Can’t blame you there.” Liam removes the napkin from his lap and sets in on the table. He stands and moves to my side of the booth and scoots next to me. Lifting his fingers to my chin, he gently turns my head so our faces are mere inches apart. “That’s much better.”
His eyes scan my face and hair, and they land on the ribbon holding my hair together at the side. “This has to go,” he says, slowly tugging on the ribbon until it drops to the floor. He sinks his fingers into my hair and brings his lips to mine.
Liam’s kiss is unhurried and deep, as if he plans for it to never end. There’s so much tenderness in his touch, and I lean in, wanting to receive everything he’s offering. When he begins to pull away, he allows his lips to linger on mine brushing gently from side to side.
“Ravishing,” his mouth whispers as the corners of his lips lift into a smile.
“Liam,” I say, pulling back slightly.
“Hmm?”
“Do you think we could go home and watch a movie together?”
Liam’s brows lift in surprise. “Are you not enjoying yourself?”
“I am.”
“Why does your face say otherwise?” Liam asks. “What’s wrong, Darlin’?”
“I just…I don’t want to be alone tonight. Would you stay with me? Please?”
Liam lightly trails the backs of his fingers along my jaw. “I’ll stay with you for as long as you’ll have me.”
Forever.
There’s no teasing lilt in Liam’s tone. No flirtatious wink or mischievous twinkle in his eyes. There’s only tenderness and a raw vulnerability that makes me fall even deeper in love with him than I already am.
And that’s when I realize with sudden clarity that when it comes to my relationship with Liam, I have reached the point of no return. Forever.