Chapter 21
I’m exhausted. Completely and utterly exhausted. There’s still no real excuse for getting a coffee this late in the day, when I could just go to sleep in a couple hours and get some rest. But when I have a craving, I have this rule about giving in.
It applies to everything in my life. Well—almost everything.
I’ve been trying to avoid seeing Liam outside of work obligations lately. The last two interactions we’ve had have left me with silly butterflies and confused brain fog, and I refuse to let his kindness and charms cloud my judgment.
This past weekend, I reactivated the dating app I had downloaded out of spite right after my divorce.
I still doubt I’ll actually go on any dates, but swiping left and right on whether or not I’d let random men take me to dinner helped clear my mind of the Liam-sized thoughts I kept finding myself having.
Maybe if I didn’t keep finding him doing kind and generous things, I wouldn’t have been betrayed by my own mind with thoughts of him.
The walk back to the apartment is quick, and I smile at Rob as I walk through the doors.
“Here you go, I added some cold foam to the top this time. I think you’ll like it,” I say as I hand a coffee to him.
He’s been so gracious since I’ve moved into the building, always asking about my day, how things are going. He even shared some of his wife’s chocolate chip cookies with me when I mentioned they’re my favorite.
He works the overnight shift a couple times a week, so when I’m able, I’ve been bringing him coffee and stopping to chat for a few minutes.
“Look at that,” he says, grinning at the cup. “Is that a little sprinkle of cinnamon on the top? Thank you.”
“Sure is.” I tap the counter between us a couple times as I smile back at him.
His blue-gray eyes meet mine as he takes a sip and hums. The pocket of his collared shirt has a pin on it that I always notice.
It’s different every time he’s working. Sometimes it’s something silly, like a banana wearing sunglasses.
Others, it’s a team—like the Knights. Today, it’s a goose that says “silly,” and I can’t help but smile.
“Silly goose, I love it.” I point to his pin.
He chuckles. “Oh, my granddaughter gave me this. She won it from some school fundraiser and gifted it to me.”
“It’s amazing,” I say. “Have a good night, Rob.”
“You too,” he calls back as I make my way toward the elevators.
I enter the hallway and make my way down the short stretch. The doors to the elevators open right away and I step in, taking a sip from my drink. I don’t anticipate anyone else in the hallway and I reach toward the buttons, pressing the close door option, and take a step back into the corner.
My phone dings as I do and I pull it out to see a notification from one of those apps I reinstalled. Before I have time to read the entire notification, I feel the abrupt stop of the doors and watch as they reopen, noticing a gold ring on a familiar pinky finger as the doors spread apart.
Liam.
“Hey, Dem.” The greeting rolls off his lips in a smooth tone.
I feel myself swallow as I look at him for a beat.
He’s infuriatingly beautiful. And not only that, he’s charming and he’s full of life.
He’s quite the opposite of everything I think I emulate these days.
Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to him more and more lately.
Although that’s not something I’m very interested in admitting outside of my own thoughts.
“Liam, hi,” I rush out.
His large body moves into the elevator, taking up half of the space and apparently all the air as my lungs instantly feel constricted.
I inhale a shaky breath as he stands beside me, hands placed over one another in front of him. He smirks as he catches me with a sly side eye and I clench my jaw. Can’t believe I just let him see me react that way.
“How are you?”
I take a tiny step back, forcing myself even more into the corner. “I’m good, how are you?”
A slow smile builds on his face.
“I’m great, thank you,” he says, not looking directly at me.
My fingers fidget on the hem of my shirt as I attempt conversation. “How’s your elbow?”
I saw a recap where he took a nasty sack, and it looked like his elbow took the brunt of the hit.
He turns toward me, hazel eyes staring directly into mine.
The white shirt on his back hugging his shoulders and biceps like a perfectly-sized glove.
He extends his arm to the side, an obvious way to showcase how toned he is, and twists his arm.
He bends it and rubs the outer part of his forearm near the elbow.
“Working great. Thank you for asking,” he says, lifting the corner of his mouth into another smile.
I nod, glancing at the elevator screen. Should I be concerned we haven’t reached our floor yet? I mean, what the hell is taking this thing so long? It doesn’t ever take this long.
“Almost there,” he coos as if he read my thoughts.
“Yeah, doesn’t it seem like it’s taking a long time?” I blurt out.
Liam’s Adam’s apple bobs as he tilts his head down with a chuckle.
“Can’t stand being alone in an elevator with me, Dem?”
Alone in a closed box with the way my brain has been playing dumb when it comes to him—yeah, probably not the place I should be.
“No, this is awful.” I tilt my head at him.
His hand clenches his chest as he makes a pained—yet sarcastic—sound.
My phone dings in my hand, and I attempt to silence it, but it doesn’t deter Liam from darting his eyes to my hand.
He says nothing as it dings for a second time, and I shove it into my bag on my shoulder.
“Popular,” he finally says.
He would be physically unable to say nothing.
I shake my head at him. “You have no idea.”
His scoff is cut short by the sound of the elevator doors opening on our floor.
“After you.” He extends his hand, gesturing for me to walk out first.
“Thank you.”
His footsteps are heavy behind me, and I do my best to walk at a pace that keeps up with his long strides so I’m not holding him up. I pass his apartment on the way to mine, and just before I’m at my door I hear him call my name.
I turn my head to see him standing outside his door, keys in his hands as he looks down at them and then up at me.
“What are you doing for dinner?”
My eyes widen and I freeze in place.
“Uh, I hadn’t gotten that far yet. My train of thought ended here.” I hold up the cup of hot coffee in my hand.
Liam shifts on his feet, taking a few slow steps my way.
“Let me get us dinner.” He tips his chin up in my direction. “You have no plans. I have no plans. Sounds like we need each other.”
“Um.” I nearly stutter the simplest word. “Y-yeah, that would be okay,” I say, scratching a non-existent itch on my neck.
His tongue darts between his lips before he smiles, backpedaling a few steps.
“Have you had Alba’s Kitchen?”
My eyebrows crease. “What?”
“Alba’s Kitchen—have you had their food before?”
“Yes.” I tilt my head.
Honestly, I’m surprised he’s even familiar with Alba’s. It’s a small family-owned Dominican restaurant a few blocks down from here. Incredible mangú and their tostones are so good. Almost as good as my mom’s.
He smiles as he nods. “Meet me on the roof in an hour.” He moves toward his door. “Please,” he says as a follow up.
“Okay. Sure.”
I just agreed to have a rooftop dinner with Liam—from one of my favorite restaurants no less. So much for trying to avoid thinking about him.