Chapter 4
CHAPTER
FOUR
LIAM
“That smells delicious. What is it?” Ava leans over the huge vat of ragu I have simmering on the stove top.
My overbearing family should be arriving for Charlie’s christening weekend soon and if I know my brothers they’ll be hungry.
Back when we were kids it was my job to feed them and it’s a habit I haven’t quite gotten out of.
“Making some meat sauce for Spaghetti Bolognese,” I tell her.
She’s holding Charlie in her arms, and he’s sleeping peacefully against her chest. Ava, on the other hand, looks anything but peaceful.
Her hair is askew, her eyes have bags under them and she’s still wearing her pajamas.
“Go back to bed. I’ll feed the family when they arrive.
Put Charlie in his playpen here and I’ll keep an eye on him,” I tell her gently.
“Do I know you?” she asks, tipping her head to the side. “Because you look exactly like my annoying brother-in-law, except he’s probably still in bed. With a beautiful woman he met on a night out.”
“I’m not that bad,” I say lightly, stroking Charlie’s downy scalp. I’ve literally never touched anything so soft as this kid. Never smelled anything as sweet either.
“Who’s not that bad?” Myles asks, stumbling into the kitchen.
“Liam’s cooking for your family,” Ava says, stifling a yawn. “He’s going to feed them when they arrive.”
“You put celery in there?” Myles asks.
“Yep. And carrots.”
“Good.” He nods. “Tastes better that way.” He grabs a spoon from the side and dips it into the pan, then lifts it to his lips.
“Careful, it’s ho—”
Myles screams before I can finish the sentence. “I just burned my tongue.” He sticks it out and it is a little red.
“Should have asked,” I tell him.
“Should have warned me.” He shakes his head. “Why are you cooking anyway?”
“Because somebody needs to feed the family when they get here,” I tell him. “And you two are new parents with no sleep. So I thought I’d take care of it.”
The truth is, I’ve been reading advice websites. I take my role as godfather seriously. All of them say the best thing you can do for new parents is to pick up the slack in the house.
They have a housekeeper so I can’t clean the place. And to be fair, my cleaning skills aren’t exactly great. But I can cook so that’s what I’m doing.
And now I’m kind of regretting it because they both think it’s weird.
I open my mouth to repeat my offer of looking after Charlie, but the kid gets in first, letting out an ear-piercing wail. Seriously, how can something so little scream so hard? Do they come with fully grown lungs?
“He’s hungry,” Ava murmurs. “I’m gonna give him the boob.”
I try not to smirk. But Myles notices anyway.
“Not in here,” he says, lifting a brow at me.
“I wasn’t going to look,” I point out. Not least because I’m not an asshole. Well, not a complete one.
“Sure. And the sun didn’t rise this morning.
” Myles grabs a bottle of water from the refrigerator, pouring some into a glass.
“Let’s take it to the nursery,” he suggests to Ava.
“If we’re in luck he’ll go to sleep and we can catch a nap together.
” He kisses her cheek softly and she closes her eyes for a moment.
“Are you okay to stay here for when everybody arrives?” he asks.
“Yep.” I keep stirring the sauce. “You guys go. And enjoy your… horizontal time.”
“It’s a fucking nap,” Myles growls. “We’re not all sex mad.”
“Of course it is,” I agree lightly. “Enjoy your fucking nap.”
SOPHIE
I pull into Ava and Myles’ driveway just after two.
It’s full of expensive shiny cars and I try to not get vehicle envy.
Myles’ family arrived at some point this morning, ready for the christening tomorrow, and of course they’re all speed mad.
I spot a Jaguar, a BMW, and two Mercedes.
Even his mom drives an Audi. Like the house they’re parked outside, they reek of money.
Myles’ dad is scarily rich, and his brothers are all successful in their own right.
I’d say Ava landed on her feet, but I think they’re the ones lucky to have her. And she’d truly be just as happy if Myles was a poor fisherman.
That’s just how she is.
I put my car into park and climb out, my heels scrunching on the gravel. As I walk toward the house I shoot a text to Lauren, the third of our group of friends telling her I should be at hers in twenty minutes.
Because us girls have plans.
We’ve booked a spa day for the afternoon. Or rather, Myles has. When we told him we wanted to surprise Ava with some self-care he kind of took over and paid for us to have exclusive use of the place.
And yeah, he’s relationship goals. He’s ruining me and Lauren for anybody else.
As I walk up the stairs to Myles and Ava’s house I take a moment to admire it.
Built in 1899, it has nine bedrooms – enough for all his family – plus a huge guest bungalow that they offer to his brothers when they stay.
The bathrooms are to die for – all marble surfaces and gold taps.
I’ve only stayed over once – when Myles went away a few weeks ago and Ava wanted some help with Charlie – but it took a lot to drag me away.
When I knock on the door it opens almost instantly and I’m assailed by the loud sound of laughing and deep male conversation escaping from the hallway.
Myles’ brother Eli smiles at me. I’ve only met him once before – at Myles and Ava’s wedding – but he’s a nice guy and a successful ice hockey player.
“It’s Sophie, right?” he asks.
I smile, pleased that he remembers. “That’s right. I’ve come to steal Ava away.”
“Oh yeah, Myles said you’re going to a spa.” He stands aside to let me in. “I think she’s upstairs. Or maybe in the kitchen.”
“I’ll find her,” I reassure him. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You, too.” He gives me the once over. I’m feeling pretty good today. I’m wearing a summer dress and a pair of heels because we’re having a late lunch before our treatments.
And yeah, I’m also aware that a certain other brother of Myles will also be here. And there’s no way I want him to see me in a pair of sweats and a tank. Let’s not make it awkward, right?
Ha.
Ava isn’t in the kitchen, but Myles is, along with his mom and stepmoms, as well as his two youngest brothers. Like Eli, I’ve only met them once before at the wedding, but they remember me and greet me like a long lost friend. I get hugs from all of them.
“Your dress is beautiful,” Linc, Myles’ second-to-youngest brother tells me. “You heading out on the town or something?”
“She’s going to the spa with Ava,” Myles says, shaking his head at Linc.
“What about after?” Linc asks. “You want to do something after?”
“She’s out of your league, Linc,” Myles tells him. “And out of your age range, too.”
“Age is just a number.” Linc winks at me. Damn, Myles has good looking brothers. “Let’s catch up tomorrow at the christening.”
His words trail off and I feel goosebumps break out on my back and bare arms. And when I turn my head I’m not at all surprised to see who is standing there.
Looking stupidly attractive in a pair of jeans and a tight black t-shirt, Liam Salinger’s dark brown eyes catch mine.
And my heart skips a beat.
“Sophie.” He nods at me.
“Liam.”
He says nothing for a moment but he also doesn’t pull his gaze away either. My cheeks redden but I refuse to be the first to blink.
Then he runs his tongue along his bottom lip and I swear my body reacts to him.
Ignoring it, I lift a brow and he finally looks away. There’s a smile playing at the corner of his mouth and I don’t feel the victory I expected to feel.
It’s aggravating.
“Is Ava ready?” I ask Myles, ignoring the way my heart is slamming against my chest.
“She’s just finishing getting ready. I’ll go get her,” Myles tells me.
“Thank you.”
“I hear you’re off to the spa,” Myles’ mom says. “That sounds lovely.”
“You can come if you’d like,” I suggest. “We have the whole place to ourselves.”
“Oh no.” She shakes her head, but looks pleased at being invited. “I think the plan is to give Ava a break from all us Salingers.”
There are a lot of them. Before her wedding, Ava sat down and patiently described Myles’ family to me and Lauren.
It’s complicated, but basically his dad has been married four times, but nobody speaks of the first wife or knows where she is.
So for all intents and purposes Linda, Myles’ mom, is Rupert Salinger’s first wife.
Together they had four boys, Myles, Liam, Eli, and Holden.
They divorced and he married Deandra – who’s also here because for some reason she and Linda are as thick as thieves.
Deandra and Rupert had two boys. Lincoln and Brooks. And now Rupert is married to Julia and they have a little girl together.
And all of them are friends. And here right now.
Ava rushes into the kitchen, grinning when she sees me. She’s wearing a navy dress with spaghetti straps and she looks beautiful and glowing. She’ll complain that she still hasn’t lost her baby weight, but I ignore her. She always looks amazing.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she says breathlessly, then looks at Myles. “Are you sure you’re okay with Charlie?” she asks him.
“It’s all good.” He kisses her softly. “Now go relax. We’ve got this.”
She cups his cheeks and nods. Their eyes catch and something I can’t quite understand goes on between them.
And then she pulls away and grabs her purse. We say goodbye, which involves more hugs, and then somehow I find myself in front of Liam again. He towers over me even when I’m in heels.
I wish he wasn’t so good looking. And that we hadn’t spent the night together. It would be much easier to ignore him then. At least he’s only here for the christening. When he’s in New York it’s much easier to imagine him as being something close to the devil.
His full lips twitch. “Try to not make anybody cry live on air today.”
So he knows about that.