Chapter 21
Emma
Sunshine crept through the curtains, dragging me from the depths of sleep. I was vaguely aware of an ache in my ear, a calm beating sound, and being very, very warm. That’s when it hit me.
I was sleeping on Liam’s chest.
I went stiff as a block of ice, fighting the urge to flip myself out of the bed. I didn’t want to wake him up—or at least that was the reason I kept telling myself. Me not moving definitely didn’t have anything to do with enjoying this—not in the slightest.
Slowly, I tilted my head to look at Liam. His head was leaning back on the cushion, his mouth parted in sleep. How had I fallen asleep on him? The last thing I remembered was watching TV, and now, I was waking up with his arms around me.
Liam is holding me! We’re cuddling!
I did my best to squash the butterflies swarming in my belly, but it was a losing effort. Why hadn’t he woken me up and told me to go to bed? Why had he let me sleep here with him? He couldn’t possibly have been comfortable like that. He’d probably wake up with a crick in his neck.
That warm fluttering feeling returned as I looked at his peaceful, sleeping face.
Not exactly what I had in mind for a wedding night, but I’ll happily take this.
At the thought of our wedding night, my thoughts dipped into dangerous territory, and I knew it was time to get out of his arms. I wanted to kiss him too badly for it to be safe to stay here any longer, and kissing him would make it too hard to keep my feelings at bay—or a secret.
Which was now of the utmost importance. Liam didn’t return my feelings, so I needed to keep boundaries to protect my heart—and what was left of our friendship.
So, no kissing.
Carefully, trying not to wake him, I lifted his arm from around me and tried to roll as quietly as I could off the bed. Liam must not have been sleeping very heavily because he suddenly jumped, putting his arm around me, and pulled me back into him. Our faces were inches apart. I could feel his quick breaths on my lips.
He looked at me through sleepy eyes. “Emma?” he croaked. Liam’s gaze lowered to my lips for a second, but then he seemed to realize how close we were and released his hold on me.
“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” I did a ninja roll to get off the sofa bed. “Go back to sleep, Liam.”
Liam blinked blearily at me. He wasn’t much of a morning person, but it was made worse when he didn’t get enough sleep. How late did he stay up last night? When did I fall asleep?
“Eggs benedict?” he mumbled, his deep morning voice rumbling, and I smiled. Sleepy Liam had always been adorable.
“Avocado toast. You can go back to sleep. I’ll head upstairs so I don’t wake you up again.”
He stretched, his T-shirt rising just enough to show off the defined abs that had been hiding there, and I finally got a good look at the tattoo under his sleeve. It was an arrangement of sunflowers mixed with music notes. I tried to ignore the thump my heart made at the sight of it. Sunflowers were my favorite. Liam knew that. But I was being ridiculous. His tattoo had nothing to do with me. Maybe he simply liked them too.
“Nah,” he said through a yawn. “I’m awake now.”
I averted my eyes from his skin and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll make some coffee.”
Liam mumbled something that sounded a lot like “Hallelujah.”
I headed into the kitchen and grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. Thankfully there weren’t any more newlywed mugs. I expected there to be a standard coffee maker, but instead there was a fancy espresso machine in the corner.
There were knobs and levers and doohickeys that made magic in a cup, but I didn’t know how to use any of them.
“Um,” I started to say.
“What’s wrong?” Liam asked, appearing right behind me, and I spun around—which of course brought us face-to-face. I was tall, a few inches short of six feet, but he still had a good number of inches on me, and I had to tilt my head to see his expression. He was looking at me in that way again—the one I had never seen before until yesterday. His brows were lowered over his eyes.
“Um.” I swallowed. “I don’t know how to use the machine.”
Liam didn’t move for a moment, standing far too close for me to think clearly. Then, finally, he stepped back, and I took a long breath into my air-starved lungs. Why did he affect me like this? I’d always had hidden feelings for him, but I’d been able to keep them buried and ignored—most of the time. But now it was like someone had ripped off the lid and then cut down the sides so that all my feelings were seeping out constantly.
Liam stepped over to the machine, and I watched in awe as he ground the beans and put them in the metal thingy, then pressed a series of buttons before the blessed scent of coffee filled the kitchen as espresso poured into a little glass cup. While it brewed, Liam grabbed the milk from the fridge and poured it in a glass—not the mug—and then poured the espresso shot in and filled it with ice.
He handed it to me. “You like it iced, right?”
I gaped at him, taking the glass in my trembling hands.
“What?” Liam asked, cocking his head as he dashed a little cinnamon on top, then slipped a straw into the drink.
“Why do you remember so many things about me?”
That half-smile was back. “Contrary to what you think of me from the last two years, I haven’t forgotten anything about you, Em. You’re still my best friend whether you feel like it or not.”
His words were like aloe on a sunburn, soothing the pain that I had carried since he moved away. Lost for words, I took a sip of the latte and closed my eyes as the heavenly liquid filled my mouth.
“Good?” he asked, smirking at me.
“Perfect.” I met his gaze, suppressing a shiver. “Thanks, Liam.”
I tried to ignore the way he was staring at me as I took another long drink, focusing on the sweet, smoky taste of the coffee. I was doing an excellent job at tuning him out. At least until he said, “It looks good on you.”
My eyes snapped to his. “What?”
Liam nodded at my hand. “The ring. It suits you.”
Heat crept into my cheeks as I looked at it. “Oh. Yeah, it’s stunning. Bridget did a good job picking it out.”
Liam made a weird face that had his nose scrunching and a crease appearing between his brows. “Bridget didn’t pick the ring.”
I was confused. Bridget had done everything for the wedding, so I had just assumed that this was one more thing she’d handled.
But if she didn’t choose it, who—
“I picked it out.” He cleared his throat. “It reminded me of you.”
Liam chose my wedding ring? My heart grew wings and threatened to burst out of my chest, joining the party of butterflies taking flight in my stomach. The fact that he cared enough to want to pick it out instead of letting his manager handle it meant everything to me. It made the ring so much more special.
“It’s beautiful, Liam.” It was all I could say as unexpected tears threatened to spill onto my cheeks.
His green eyes studied me for a long moment, and I couldn’t read his face. I wished I could tell what he was thinking. Finally, Liam smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m glad you like it, Em.” Turning to fix his own coffee, he asked, “What do you have planned today?”
I took a seat at the island, not taking any chances about my knees getting weak in his proximity, watching him masterfully make another cup of coffee.
“There are forecasted supercells headed over southern Iowa today,” I managed to say. “I was going to christen my new equipment.”
I grinned at the horror on Liam’s face. I couldn’t help it. I loved the thrill of severe weather. I loved the beauty of nature running its course. He had always thought I was a crazy nerd for liking such things, but I was okay with that.
“You’re really going to chase after tornadoes?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes wide and confused.
“There are worse things I could chase after,” I replied, meeting his gaze.
Did he feel the double meaning in my words?
After a tense few seconds, his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Well, I’m coming with you.”
I laughed. “Excuse me?”
“Someone’s got to protect you,” he said matter-of-factly.
I burst out laughing. “I’ve shadowed plenty of experienced storm chasers, Liam. I know what I’m doing. Besides, you’re terrified of storms.”
He scowled. “I’m not terrified.”
I arched a brow, challenging that blatant lie.
“Not terrified,” he reiterated. “I just don’t like them. They’re loud and destructive.”
“But they’re also beautiful forces of nature,” I retorted. “They’re less scary when you understand how they work. That’s the point of chasing them. To understand them. To learn from them.”
He gave me a skeptical look.
I waved a hand in dismissal with a chuckle. I needed to get moving if I had any chance of catching a tornado. “I’m going to get ready. Thanks for the coffee.”
Liam wouldn’t be caught dead in my truck chasing a tornado. That I knew for certain.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” I said, my breaths coming quicker. I was sitting in the garage where I had set up my computer and equipment in a temporary, haphazard way. The radar was going nuts. Big storms were heading for Iowa today. The conditions were perfect.
I needed to leave now if I was going to meet them. Grabbing the portable radar and my camera, I packed them in their cases and stuck them in Bluebell’s cab. Maybe I could snap a few videos and finally start that YouTube channel I kept putting off. I ran inside and grabbed a bottle of water and a protein bar out of the pantry, nearly running smack-dab into Liam as I headed back to my truck.
“Where are you going?” he asked, blocking my way. His hands were hot as they landed on my shoulders.
“I’m going to go drive into a tornado,” I deadpanned.
He blinked at me as if he were trying to figure out if I was joking or not. “That’s not funny.”
“Have a little faith, Liam.” I patted his shoulder and then slid around him.
I was almost back to my truck when his big, warm hand landed on my shoulder. My sneakers squeaked on the garage floor as I came to a stop.
“I’m coming with you.”
I scoffed, shoving his hand from my shoulder. “No, you’re not.”
Ignoring me, he climbed into the passenger seat of my truck.
“Liam,” I scolded. “I’m not going to bring you and put you in danger.”
“You admit this is dangerous then.”
I groaned, rolling my eyes. “Of course it is, but it’s only dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. I know what I’m doing. You don’t. You’re going to be a distraction.”
He shook his head, buckling his seatbelt and giving it a tug as if to say he wasn’t going anywhere.
What was he thinking? He was going to hate this, and I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the chase because I’d be worried about him the whole time.
I climbed into the driver’s seat and buckled my seat belt, reversing the truck out of the garage as I said, “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”