Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
"Oh my gosh, what happened to you?" Tori's gaze drops to the brace on Liam's leg as he lets her into his house.
"I was chasing a… squirrel."
"A squirrel? That's weird."
"Weird is certainly a word for it," he mutters.
It explains why he texted her and said he'd be here today. She came in through the garage all last week to dog sit while Liam was at work.
Miss Fancy Pants barks once and wags her tail in greeting. Tori claps her hands in delight when she sees the little dog. "You finally got her coat trimmed!"
"I took her in Friday to that place you recommended."
Tori bends over to pet Miss Fancy Pants, who's a bundle of joyful energy. "You look beautiful," she coos to her. "Just like a puppy again." The little white dog's coat is short all over and really suits her energetic style.
"Your hair's different too," Liam says. "When did you add that?"
Tori touches the blue streak. "Last week."
"For Mable?"
She glances up at him, surprised by his perceptiveness. "Yes, that's right."
After lavishing more compliments on the dog, Tori gets up and follows Liam as he limps into the living room. Miss Fancy Pants, who still has a mild limp of her own, walks behind him.
"You two are a matched set."
He glances at her. "What's that?"
She only shakes her head, though she can't help smiling. There's something cute about them together. "Nothing. Are you okay? That looks painful. Are you able to go into work?"
"It's fine. I'm working from home this week. Can I get you anything to drink? Water or iced tea?"
"No, I'm not thirsty."
He manages to sit on the lumpy couch without bending his leg, then props it up on a pillow.
Tori takes a seat in the nearby chair. She feels the weight of his eyes on her and knows it's because of the kiss. Even though it happened over a week ago, that kiss was still the dancing elephant in the room.
Miss Fancy Pants comes over to be petted some more, but then surprisingly goes over to join Liam on the couch. She sits right next to him, and he scratches her behind the ears.
It does Tori's heart good to see them bonding. "So what really happened to you?" she asks, motioning at his leg .
The television is on some sports station, and he reaches for the remote to mute it. "I have a meniscus tear in my left knee."
She's seen those at the animal hospital. "Those are painful. How bad is it?"
"Not too bad. I've had worse. I just need to rest it for a while."
She notices his open laptop on the coffee table along with an ice pack. There's a bag of tortilla chips, a bowl of grapes, and a glass of iced tea beside it, not to mention a few days of mail piled haphazardly. Looking around, she realizes the place is a mess.
"What do you mean, you've had worse? Is this a common thing for you?"
He shrugs.
She stares at his mouth. The one she kissed, the one she's been trying not to think about ever since.
"I used to play baseball before I was in the FBI." He explains how he was a major league catcher before joining the bureau. "I had to quit because of knee problems."
"Really? I didn't know that."
Her eyes drift lower to his body as he's sprawled on the couch. She's never seen him dressed so casually. He's wearing gray sweatpants and a purple University of Portland T-shirt. His arms are tanned and muscled. His shirt is riding up on one side, and she can tell the rest of his body is tanned and muscled too. She also notices the impressive bulge in his crotch area.
The room seems to be getting warmer. She swallows. An odd daydream comes to her where she goes over to the couch, pushes that shirt up, and runs her hands over his hard chest. "Um… so how long did you play professional baseball?"
"Three years."
She nods, still caught up in her fantasy. "That's… nice."
For some reason he chuckles.
"What's so funny?" Horrified, she wonders if he knows what she's thinking. Quickly she averts her eyes. Was she staring at his crotch? Oh God . She can't remember .
"Nothing." He grins. "I like how the things that impress most people don't ever impress you."
"Oh, you mean the baseball stuff? I'm impressed."
"Are you?"
"I guess so." She thinks about it. "It's just that being an FBI agent is so important. You're protecting people. Making a real difference."
He goes quiet at this, studying her. There's an expression on his face that she can't quite place.
"It must be a really hard job though." She glances at his leg. "Is that how you hurt yourself? Catching a criminal?"
He nods but doesn't elaborate.
She wishes that wasn't so hot. A good guy fighting the good fight. Growing up surrounded by her mom's loser boyfriends, she hasn't been around enough men like Liam.
Their eyes meet and catch hold. Butterflies flutter in her stomach.
He doesn't move a muscle, but his voice softens. "I've been thinking about you, Tori."
Uh-oh. Here we go. The dancing elephant in the room.
"I'd like to take you out," he says.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, on a real date. Just the two of us, so we can get to know each other."
She takes a deep breath and leans forward. "We need to have a talk. I can't go on a date with you."
"Why not?"
"You already know why. In fact, I'd like to pretend that kiss between us never happened."
He studies her, clearly not liking this.
"It's for the best. You and I are too different. In the end, it would only lead to misery. Just look at the past."
"Not this again." He rolls his eyes.
"We don't belong together. We have nothing in common."
He doesn't reply, but his gaze goes back to hers. Steady like always. His brown eyes are doing that thing where they look all smoldering and sexy. His mouth is doing it too.
She takes another breath and tries to clear all lustful thoughts. This is ridiculous.
Unfortunately, she can't use that kiss with Dr. Adrian as a distraction because, let's face it, that kiss was weird. It felt like she was making out with a locked door.
The great news is Dr. Adrian asked her out to lunch this week. They’re going to that new vegetarian restaurant. She knows he’s still hurting over Renée, but she hopes he’s ready to put it in the past and give their relationship a chance.
Though obviously they're going to have to work on his kissing skills.
She sits up straight. "Look, you're my client, and I'd like to go back to keeping things strictly professional between us."
Liam's expression turns flat. "Is that so?"
"Yes. I appreciate all your help with Mable, but I need to focus on the new man in my life now."
He snorts. "I take it you mean Dr. Adrian?"
"Yes, I do."
"Tori—" He shakes his head and sighs.
She already knows what he's going to say, so she cuts him off. "You can stop right there. I know why you’re doing this, and it’s not going to work." She’d told Peyton what Liam said, and her friend didn’t believe it either. "My date with Dr. Adrian was great. In fact, he asked me to lunch this Thursday."
There’s a grunt from Liam, but no reply.
"You’re definitely wrong about him."
He shifts on the couch to get more comfortable. "All right, fine. Let's hear about this wonderful date of yours."
She hesitates. If this relationship is strictly professional, should she be sharing details like that? But then she notices the skeptical look on his face .
She crosses her hands over her knee. "Well, we went to the Arts Festival at Seattle Center."
"Alone?"
"No, his sister was there, but it was nice to meet her. In fact, I have a feeling we'll be good friends in the future." Kind of stretching the truth, but she's sure things will change once Gina learns they’re a couple.
"And what did you guys talk about?"
"Lots of things. The art at the festival, of course. We also discussed books, politics, vegan food, calculus, and he's even helping me learn how to play tennis."
"Calculus?"
She nods. "Yes, Dr. Adrian loves math, and so do I."
"I'd never have pegged you for a math nerd."
She shrugs. "I guess I'm full of surprises. Obviously there's a lot about me you don't know."
"What area of calculus?"
"Um, multivariable calculus." She's relieved she remembers the name of it.
Liam seems astonished. "You're interested in multivariable calculus?"
"I am."
He studies her. "So what are your thoughts on Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness?"
"My thoughts?" She shifts uncomfortably in the chair, wishing she hadn’t thrown in that bit about calculus. She was on a roll and it sort of came out. "Well, I think it's great." She waves her hand around. "You know, very smooth."
"Personally, I find the relationship between kinematic viscosity and external volumetric force interesting."
She stares at him.
He gives her a smug smile. "Did I ever mention I was a math major in college?"
"No, you didn't. "
He grins, and it's obvious that he knows she's full of it. "I still enjoy solving a good system of equations problem. How about you?"
"All right, fine ." She rolls her eyes. "I admit I know nothing about multivariable calculus."
He chuckles.
"But Dr. Adrian and I had a great time. We really did. The sparks between us were flying."
"If you say so."
Clearly he still doesn't believe her. She leans back in her chair and decides to pull out the big guns. "In fact"—her voice turns coy—"Dr. Adrian made his intentions toward me very clear, if you know what I mean."
"No, I don't know what you mean."
"He made a move."
A skeptical brow shoots up. "A move?"
"Yes." She presses her lips together and then smiles. "That's right. A romantic move."
Liam seems dubious. "What exactly was this move?"
"Well, if you must know, he put his hand on my knee." She looks at him for his reaction. Unfortunately, he isn't as impressed as she hoped, so she continues. "During one of the exhibits, I sat on a bench to rest and felt something. When I opened my eyes, it turned out it was Dr. Adrian's hand." Now it's her turn to give him a smug smile.
"Opened your eyes?" He looks confused. "You were asleep on your date?"
"No, of course not. I was just… lightly dozing."
"You were lightly dozing on your date?"
"It was nothing. You're missing the point."
He chuckles. "Maybe he put his hand on your knee to wake you up."
"It was only a few minutes," she says crossly. "And as you may recall, I had a long night that Saturday and didn't get much sleep."
He nods, but there's a gleam in his eye. "I do recall. "
She knows he's thinking about the dancing elephant again. "My date was plenty exciting, trust me. In fact, it ended with a kiss."
He goes still at this. "Are you saying Dr. Adrian kissed you?"
She nods, enjoying his surprise.
Technically, she kissed Dr. Adrian, but does it really matter? All that matters is there was somebody kissing somebody else, and it involved her and Dr. Adrian.
"Where did he kiss you?"
"What do you mean?"
"What part of you? The cheek or forehead? Where?"
She smiles. "The lips."
"That makes no sense."
She sits up straight. "It does make sense. It's like I said before, we’re getting involved with each other."
Liam’s expression is puzzled.
"In fact, I see this relationship with Dr. Adrian getting serious. Very serious."
He considers her words, but then his gaze turns sly. "How was the kiss?"
"What do you mean?"
"Were you moved by it?" His voice drops low. "Did it turn you on?"
Her traitorous body quivers with pleasure at his tone. "That's none of your business. How dare you even ask me that!”
She tries to turn away, but to her chagrin, the memory of Liam kissing her comes back in a full blaze. God . It was wicked. A part of her wants to relive it, wants to explore that muscular chest while she's at it.
"You're trying to confuse me again," she says.
"There's nothing confusing here. I like you. And I think you like me too."
She shakes her head. "Just stop it, okay? I've had enough. Stop undressing me with your eyes!"
"What?" He seems taken aback. "I'm not doing that. "
Oops. That's right. She's the one doing it to him.
She pushes up from her chair. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Just let me do my job. I'm your pet nanny, remember? That's all."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm taking Miss Fancy Pants out for a walk."
"Now?"
She snorts. "Isn't that why I'm here? You were begging me to walk her before, and now you don't want me to?"
He frowns and his mouth looks so deliciously sullen that she wants to bite it. Lick it too.
I need to get out of here.
Tori walks Miss Fancy Pants around Liam's bizarre neighborhood, where all the houses look identical and the lawns are all the same shade of green. It's as quiet as a cemetery.
She shivers. She can't imagine living here voluntarily.
It's one more example of how they're too different. Totally mismatched. And is she really supposed to forget what he did to her in high school? How even now, he’s trying to undermine her feelings for Dr. Adrian?
I don't think so.
Though she has to admit he helped her a lot with Mable and then with Wayne. She can't dismiss that as much as she'd like to.
But why did he have to kiss me?
He's ruining everything. She should be thrilled right now. Jumping for joy. Dr. Adrian was finally making some romantic moves toward her, but all she can think about is this terrible attraction to Liam.
She sighs, and Miss Fancy Pants looks up at her.
"I don't know how my love life got so complicated," she says to the little dog.
Miss Fancy Pants makes a small huffing sound as if to say, Silly humans .
As they explore the neighborhood, the dog squats daintily and pees on the corner of one of the perfectly groomed lawns. Tori glances around. She hopes the Stepford police don’t jump out and arrest her. Luckily she brought a plastic bag for any poop.
She praises Miss Fancy Pants the whole time they walk, telling her what a great dog she is and how she didn't deserve the way Rachael abandoned her. The little dog sniffs along the sidewalk, then goes over to one of the neighbor's bushes. Tori wonders if any other dogs live here. She suspects Miss Fancy Pants might enjoy a playdate.
By the time they head back to Liam's house, there's a gold SUV parked in his driveway. A dark-haired woman gets out and goes around to the back to open the rear.
Miss Fancy Pants tugs on the leash toward her. When she gets close enough, she barks and puts her paws on the woman’s pants. She looks familiar.
"Well, hello there." The woman pets the little white dog. She glances at Tori but doesn't say anything.
And that's when Tori recognizes her. "You're Liam's sister, right?"
Elena turns back to the car. "Yes, I am."
"I don't know if you remember me. We went to high school together."
"I know who you are," she says in a cold voice. "I graduated with your brother."
Tori remembers the way Elena bad-mouthed her to everyone and is guessing she remembers it too.
"Can I give you a hand?" Tori asks as Elena pulls out a couple bags of groceries from the trunk.
"There are just two, so I've got it. The rest are mine." She slams the rear shut.
The three of them walk toward the front door.
"I'm surprised to see you still working for my brother. I thought he fired you."
"What?" Tori glances at her. "Why would he do that?"
Elena sniffs. "Well, I don't think he really needs a pet sitter anymore. Miss Fancy Pants seems to be doing just fine now."
Tori tries not to get annoyed at her dismissive tone.
They enter the front door. Tori crouches to take off the dog's leash as Elena breezes past her. She can hear the television on in the living room.
After hanging up the leash, Tori goes to get her purse and sees Liam and his sister in the kitchen. They're speaking in low hissing tones and appear to be having an argument. As soon as they see her, they abruptly stop.
She goes over to them. "I just wanted to let you know I'm leaving now."
"How did the walk go?" Liam asks. There's an air of frustration around him, and she suspects they were arguing about her.
"It was fine. I still have you scheduled for Friday, right?" He tried to schedule her all week, but Tori's only been able to squeeze him in two days.
"Actually, your services won't be needed anymore," Elena interjects. "I'll be coming over and helping my brother with the dog."
Liam’s brows slam together. "Please ignore my sister. I absolutely need your help on Friday."
She glances over at Elena standing next to him. Tori can see the family resemblance. They both have the same hair and eye color, and even the same skin tone. Elena didn't inherit Liam's sensual lips though. Hers are just ordinary.
Tori's glad.
She doesn't deserve lips like that. She's too mean.
"Listen, I was thinking about bringing Miss Fancy Pants over to my house for a playdate next time," Tori tells him.
Elena snorts. "A what?"
Tori ignores her and keeps her eyes on Liam. "A playdate is just what it sounds like. You bring your dogs together to play with each other like kids do. "
He glances down at Miss Fancy Pants, who's drinking from her water bowl. "I've never heard of that."
Tori isn't surprised. People new to having a dog usually don't know about them. "I think she'd enjoy it. My boys have done them a lot, so they're very easygoing around other dogs."
Elena is glaring at her like she's just announced plans to kidnap Miss Fancy Pants. "I don't think that's a good idea."
But Liam is obviously of a different mindset. His eyes go back to Tori. "Sure, let's try it. It might be fun for her."
"That's what I was thinking."
They smile at each other, and Tori feels a rush at how handsome he is. His short hair is usually groomed, but today it's kind of rumpled, with some of it falling across his forehead.
"Let me walk you to the door," he says.
She glances down at his leg brace. "You don't have to do that. You should be icing and taking care of that knee."
She senses Elena’s disapproving eyes on the two of them.
Despite her protests, he walks her to the door anyway.
"I'm sorry about my sister," he says after they step onto the porch. "I'm not sure what's gotten into her."
Tori shrugs. "Elena doesn't like me. She never has."
"She doesn't know you."
She's tempted to tell him how his sister said terrible things about her in high school but decides not to get into all that. Especially since she's trying to keep this relationship professional.
As soon as Tori's gone, Liam tears into his sister. "Have you lost your mind? I can't believe you treated her like that."
"No, I haven't. But you've lost yours. Are you really starting up something with her , of all people?"
"What the hell are you talking about? "
"Please." Elena rolls her eyes. "Do you think I'm blind? It's obvious you still have the hots for her, despite everything that happened."
"Give it a rest. That was a long time ago."
"She made your life hell for a whole year of high school. I was one of the few people who defended you back then, or have you forgotten that too?"
He makes it over to the living room and plops down awkwardly on the couch. Tori was right about his knee. He should be elevating and icing it. The damn thing was aching again. "I haven't forgotten," he mutters. "It's all in the past."
Elena comes around and stands in front of him. "Has she even apologized for any of it?"
He grunts but doesn't reply. Despite what he just said, it does still bother him that Tori thinks he poured a milkshake over her on purpose. Not to mention that business with her brother.
"Her whole family is nothing but lowlifes. How does she even get in here when you're not home? Please tell me she doesn't have a key to your house."
"She comes in through the garage door. I gave her the code." They tried it last week, and it worked great. Tori texted him when she arrived. By remote, he turned off the house alarm for her, then turned it on again after she left.
Elena’s mouth drops open. "So she's alone in your house? With free rein to do whatever she pleases? Are you crazy?"
"She's a pet sitter."
His sister crosses her arms. "Well, I don't trust her. And you shouldn't either."
He picks up the bag of ice. "I don't want to listen to this anymore."
"What is it about her? She comes in here with her long blonde hair and flirty blue eyes, and all your common sense goes out the window?"
He settles the ice on his knee and leans back, wondering if he should take the painkillers from his doctor. The problem is he dislikes feeling loopy .
Elena takes the chair Tori was in earlier, and her tone turns earnest. "I know it was hard when Rachel left, but think about what you're doing."
"I'm not involved with Tori, and even if I were, it's my own business."
"I don't want to see you chasing after her and making a fool of yourself. And I don't want to see you getting hurt again either. You don't exactly have the greatest track record with women."
He turns toward the television, trying to tune out this conversation. The last thing he wants is to have a discussion with his sister about his lousy track record with women.
"We all want to see you happy. Look how great you are with my boys. Somewhere out there a good woman is waiting for you."
Maybe I should open up my computer and get some work done. He's been combing through Rizzo's financial records. When he joined White-Collar Crime a few years ago, he discovered an interest in forensic accounting. It's detail-oriented and requires a lot of patience—exactly the kind of thing he enjoys.
"You deserve better than a weirdo like Tori Church."
He clenches his jaw, still staring at the television. Grabbing the remote control, he’s tempted to blast the volume and drown her out.
"You need to be thinking about your future. You have nothing in common with someone like that. We're just different kinds of people than they are."
He snorts. Ironically, she's saying the same thing Tori did earlier.
He turns to his sister. "Are you hearing yourself? When did you become such a snob?"
"I'm being realistic." She sighs, studying him. "Did you know Mom and Dad worry about you? We all do."
Liam doesn't like hearing about his parents worrying. He knows they were disappointed when he and Rachel decided to live together. They're old-school Catholic and couldn't understand why he didn't marry her.
"We want you to find someone you can build a life with. Someone decent. Do you really think Tori Church is that person?"
"Stop it, Elena. You don't know what you're talking about. Tori is decent."
"She and her whole hoodlum family. They're nothing but poison."
"I said stop."
His sister scoffs. "You really think she's not like them? That she's so different? I'm sure she'd love to get her trashy hooks into you."
"Dammit, just shut the hell up! "
His sister glares at him. "Don't raise your voice at me. What's gotten into you?"
“Do you ever quit?"
"I'm trying to talk some sense into you."
"How about you mind your own business instead?"
"I just brought you groceries, you ungrateful ass!"
"Yes, thank you. I didn't realize the cost of your help was a nasty lecture."
His sister throws her hands in the air. "Excuse me for trying to stop you from making another huge mistake."
In a huff, she goes off to the kitchen.
He stares at the television, trying to calm down. He looks around for Fancy, concerned he might have scared her. Luckily she's outside in the yard.
He rarely loses his temper. And he feels bad for yelling at Elena. He knows life has thrown her some curveballs, and she’s only trying to look out for him.
On the other hand, he can only take so much. Bad enough that he has to deal with an injured knee bringing back unpleasant memories. There's no way he wants to listen to Elena talk trash about Tori.
Maybe her family isn’t exactly full of upstanding citizens, and maybe he should care more about that, but he doesn't. All he cares about is how he feels when he's around her. Like summer sunlight is shining on him, like a coldness inside of him is warmed for the first time in a long time.
He sees who she is, and that's all that matters.