Chapter 29 Liam #3
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she said.
I looked at her quietly. She was a silhouette against the fading sun now.
“It is.”
I wasn’t used to anyone stepping in like that.
Not for me.
My arm itched to reach for her, to pull her close, but I wasn’t sure if I should.
“I think I am cold after all,” she said. The sky was clouding over, and a couple of spots of rain were starting to fall. I stepped toward her, but before I could offer her my coat, she’d slipped her shoulder under my arm.
No one was watching. Nobody could see.
So why—?
I pulled her tight, feeling her body soften against me.
“Warhammer guy, huh?” she said.
“Ah, yes, I’m afraid so.”
She laughed, the sound soft in the cool air. “That tracks.”
The light was almost gone, but she didn’t look up. Didn’t pull away.
And I wouldn’t be going anywhere.
For the first time that night, it didn’t feel like we were pretending.
*
By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were both drenched, her dress completely soaked through. It clung to her in ways it wasn’t designed to do. I tried not to look, but—fuck.
How did she still look so sexy with her hair slick like that against her scalp, makeup smudged under her eyes?
The lift rose slowly. My arm was around her shoulder, and she pressed her cheek into my chest. She was laughing at something she’d said.
“You know it’s not polite to laugh at your own jokes?” I said, laughing.
“I’m sorry, Liam. I just can’t get over the idea that you ran a multinational company, but your real passion is tiny plastic soldiers with more backstory than most people I’ve dated.”
“Yeah?” I tried fake grumpiness. “At least my hobbies don’t involve listening through people’s walls and pretending I’m not.”
She threw her hands over her mouth. “Oh my God! That’s completely untrue. What are you talking about?”
“Right, that’s why you’re blushing.” I smirked. Fuck, she was hilarious when she was like this. It made me feel like I was, too.
“You know, you’re way less intimidating now that I know about this,” she said.
That was a win. Had to be.
“I like this version of you. More paint on your fingers, less terrifying corporate power moves.” She laughed again, but when she teased me, it wasn’t like Toby. It was just … fun.
Not something I had to manage.
“Well, glad to hear that,” I said.
“So Liam,” she said, “if we dated properly, would I have to learn the Warhammer rules … or could I just sit there and look supportive?”
My brain stopped.
If we dated … properly?
She stopped giggling and stood straight quickly, smoothing her dress down against her legs with both hands.
“Sorry, Liam,” she said. “I didn’t mean—”
Didn’t she?
I laughed because I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want this to end, for the strange, stilted gap between us to grow back again.
Say something, Liam. Anything …
“Well, in the fantasy realm in which we dated properly,” I said, “I imagine the rules would become … flexible.” I didn’t look at her. “They usually do when you like someone.”
“Fantasy realm,” she said softly, a small huff of a laugh escaping her nose. “Okay.”
We both stared at the lift doors. When they opened on level four, she slipped off her heels and carried them with her as she walked ahead of me to our suite, barefoot.
*
“I’m hopping in the shower,” she called, already walking through the salon and into the bathroom.
Rain hammered the balcony.
Oh fuck. The rollaway. I’d put it out there as soon as it had been delivered to our room, conscious Andrea deserved to know she had privacy.
And now it was sodden. I went out to check but … nope. No chance. The couch for me, then. Small, but it would have to do.
When Andrea came out, I’d set up the spare bedding and tried to make it as comfortable as possible.
I could have requested another rollaway from reception, but it was late.
If anything was going to draw attention to the fact we didn’t share a bed, it was requesting emergency rollaways after midnight.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Sorry, Andrea.” I threw a thumb in the direction of the balcony. “The rollaway’s soaking. I thought I could sleep on the couch … if you don’t mind—”
Her face dropped. Fair enough. That wasn’t what we’d planned when she’d agreed to share the room.
“If it’s a problem, I’ll go to Ben’s room,” I said quickly. I’d take the risk of someone finding out if I had to. It wasn’t fair to put this on her.
“Oh … no, that won’t do.”
“No problem.” I picked up my phone and started texting my brother. He probably wasn’t even back yet. He hadn’t brought a date, but he never seemed to need one—there was always someone happy to volunteer.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Just letting Ben know.”
“No, Liam, I didn’t mean that …”
I looked at her.
“You can’t sleep on the sofa … that’s all I meant. You’re what, six-foot-three?”
“Two,” I said. “But it’s okay. Dealt with worse in basic training.”
She looked at me like she thought I was mildly brain-damaged and folded her arms. “Don’t be silly. The king bed’s huge. We can just … make it work …”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”