Chapter 17
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
LIAM
So here’s the thing. I don’t have a lot of time in my life for laundry, but right now I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but here, loading Sophie’s washer with her clothes, covering them with suds and hitting the start button.
And yeah, I’ve touched her underwear. No, I didn’t smell them.
But I might have thought about it.
After we got home, she showered and put on these cute little shorts that mold to her ass and a t-shirt that kind of hangs over them, with ‘Forecasters Do It Wetter’ emblazoned across her breasts. Her hair is up in one of those messy bun type things that I swear girls do just to make us hard.
And she hasn’t put on any make up, of which I approve heartily.
“Oh God, not so much soap,” she calls out, reaching out to stop my hand. I blink because I’ve been staring at ‘Wetter’ on her t-shirt for a few seconds too long while pouring in the washing powder.
“Sorry. Want me to scrape them out?” I ask, frowning at the white layer on top of her clothes.
She sighs. “No, it’s fine. But if I have a rash next week it’s all your fault.”
I think she’s over the whole seeing her dad naked with another woman in his bed thing, which is good.
For a moment there I thought she was going to faint.
And yeah, I was half looking forward to catching her in my arms, but honestly I think she would’ve ended up getting embarrassed and pushed me away.
The thing is, I don’t want her to push me away. I’m having way too much fun with her. She’s a friend. She’s hot. I know what she looks like when she comes.
And I like that.
She hits the start button and the machine turns on. I can hear water pouring into the drum.
“How long does it take?” I ask her.
“About an hour. I put it on the eco setting,” she tells me. “Better for the environment.”
“You care about the environment?” I’m not ribbing her, I’m just interested.
“Of course. I’m a meteorologist. I see every little change in our weather system. Things are getting bad, we all need to try to make things a little better.”
I nod, but I’m distracted by the way her nose wrinkles when she’s being earnest. It causes three little furrows at the top that I want to smooth out.
“Liam?”
“Uhuh?”
She lets out a sigh. “You need to stop looking like that.”
“Like what?” I’m genuinely confused. “This is the way I look. I’m not sure I can change it, not without extensive surgery anyway.”
Sophie rolls her eyes. “I meant your expression. Stop looking at me like… I don’t know.”
“Like I know your orgasm face?” I suggest.
She blinks and I kind of like that. “That’s not what I was going to say.”
“But I do, don’t I?” And if I’m being honest, I’m kind of obsessed about it. It’s one of the reasons I was pissed this morning. I was hoping to see it again.
Maybe multiple times.
“I don’t have an orgasm face,” she says testily.
“Yeah you do.”
“No I don’t.” She frowns. “And why are we talking about this, anyway? I thought what happened last night would stay in last night.”
“You’re getting last night confused with Vegas,” I tell her patiently. She lets out what sounds like a strangled groan.
“Seriously, Liam. Last night…”
“Was good?”
Her face softens. “It was lovely. And you were lovely. But can we move on now?” She slides the pack of detergent back on the shelf of her laundry room. Not that it’s really a room, more of a closet really. Just the washer, the dryer, and us.
“I was lovely?” I ask. “That doesn’t sound like high praise.”
She starts to laugh. “Is that what you want? Praise? Okay then. You were amazing. The best. Now can we stop talking about it?”
“What if I don’t want to stop talking about it?” I ask her.
For a moment she says nothing. Those little lines appear again.
“Liam, you’re the one with rules. One night, no repeats.
We had our night and I’m really hoping we can stay friends.
That’s what I want. I like you. I like spending time with you.
” She lets out a long breath. “I don’t want to mess things up.
” She puts her hand on my chest and pushes me out of the laundry room.
I step backward and she steps forward, like we’re in some kind of dance.
Then she reaches behind and pulls the door closed, but I still don’t move.
“We didn’t have sex,” I point out.
She’s not wearing any shoes and I’m towering above her. I have to drop my head and she has to incline hers just so we can make eye contact.
“I know. I was there,” she tells me.
“So technically that wasn’t our one night.”
She blinks. “Did I ever tell you that my uncle was an alcoholic?” she asks me.
I lift a brow at the change in conversation. “Um, no.”
“He had rules, too. All kinds of ones. And when they got in the way he’d push them gently until he got what he wanted.
No drinking before six but it was five? No worries, it’s six somewhere, right?
That’s what you’re doing. Pushing at the rules.
Seeing what breaks. But the thing is, Liam, you’ll end up breaking me. ”
It’s like she just punched me in the gut. “I’d never hurt you,” I tell her.
“You’d try not to. But you will. I’m not cut out for one night stands.
I’m not the kind of girl who can walk away from people I care for.
You and I, we’ll have to see each other for Charlie’s birthdays and holidays.
And if I see you there with another woman knowing that she’s having what I had with you at least for one night.
” Her voice cracks. “I’m sorry, it just won’t work. ”
“Okay,” I say, my voice tight.
“Okay?” Her brows lift. “Okay, as in let’s move on and forget this conversation so tonight we can watch the next episode of Grey’s and you can hate on McDreamy?”
I shake my head. “No, not that. Okay as in I understand. You need more. You fucking deserve more. And I want to give you more.” The tightness in my chest is almost painful, but that’s okay. It’s a reminder that I’m still alive because right now I feel like I could be floating away.
“What do you mean?”
I put my fingers beneath her chin, reveling in the softness of her skin. Then I lean down until our eyes are inches from each other. She doesn’t move, doesn’t breathe, just looks at me. “Let me prove that I can give you more,” I say. “That I can be the kind of guy who deserves you.”
“Liam…” She blinks, her thick lashes sweeping down. “I don’t think you can do that.”
“People can change.”
“I know they can. But for themselves, not because they want somebody else. I don’t want you to change for me. I want you to do it for you.”
The pressure in my chest is unexpected. There’s so much sweetness in her expression that it takes everything I have not to drop my head down further until my mouth takes hers.
And I think she’d kiss me back. Despite the protests of rejection if I kissed her, Sophie would kiss me back.
I know how to seduce. I know how to make her melt. I know how to make her come.
But I don’t want those things. I want to make her fall for me.
And isn’t that the kicker? The one thing I do my best to never do yet now here I am, desperate for it.
My brothers would laugh like hell if they could see me right now.
I step back, putting some much needed space between us, ignoring the voice in my head that tells me I’m making a huge mistake.
“Right,” I tell her. “I get it.”
“I’m sorry.” She attempts a smile, but it’s wavering. “I hope we can still be friends.”
I nod. “Friends. Of course.”
This time her smile is true. “Thank you for being so understanding.”
“Oh, I understand,” I tell her. “Look, I should go now. I have to do a few things.”
“Okay.” She nods, her eyes shiny. “That’s fine.”
“But we’ll still watch Grey’s together soon, okay?”
“Sure. I’d like that,” she says softly.
Not as much as I will, I’m certain. But I have bigger things to deal with now.
“I need your help,” I say to Myles and Ava as I walk into their living room. They’re snuggled up on the sofa together, Charlie’s monitor on the fireplace.
“Is everything okay?” Ava asks. “You look weird.”
I do? I frown. “This is my thinking face. I have a lot on my mind.”
Myles sniggers and I give him a pointed look. If I could go anywhere but here for advice I would. But let’s face it, as much as I love Eli and all of my other brothers, they’re single as fuck.
Myles is the only one who’s actually settled down. And to be honest, that’s a minor miracle because he’s one grumpy-assed son of a bitch.
“Take a seat,” Ava says, pointing to the leather chair by the fireplace. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, I’m good.” I sit on the chair and lean forward, looking at their surprised faces. “So here it is. I think I’m in love with Sophie.”
“I fucking knew it,” Myles says, jumping up. He looks genuinely pissed. “I told you to leave her alone. I told you not to mess with her. Of all the damn people in the world…”
“Myles,” Ava says, reaching for his arm to pull him back down. “Did you hear what he just said?”
“That he’s messing with Sophie? Oh yeah, I heard.” He glares at me. “Christ, man, can’t you keep it in your pants for a minute?”
I smirk because I did keep it in my pants. And for longer than a minute.
“Liam said he’s in love with her,” Ava says to him. Then she smiles at me. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“Wait. What?” Myles frowns. “In love? You?”
I nod and he looks at me like he has no idea who I am.
“And she loves you, too?” Ava’s eyes are dancing. I think she’s already picturing what to wear to the wedding.
“Ah, no.” I shake my head. “She doesn’t want me. Or at least the me I used to be.” I run my thumb along my jaw, thinking. “Or that I still am but don’t want to be. Anyway, she’s not interested in being anything other than friends.”
“Thank God.” Myles tips his head back on the sofa. “Finally a woman with some sense when it comes to you.”
“I resent that,” I tell him. “I’m a catch.”
“You are,” Ava agrees. “So what exactly did Sophie say?”
I fill them in on most of the details. Not everything because I’m a gentleman and some things should remain private. But there’s enough for them to understand the situation, and by the time I finish Myles looks stunned and Ava just looks sad.
“She’s the first woman who rejected you, that’s all,” Myles tells me. “You don’t want her, you just want to prove that you can have her if you want.”
I shake my head. “No. I’ve been rejected before. I know how that feels. And it doesn’t feel like there’s some kind of pneumatic drill going off in your ribcage.”
“You make it sound so romantic,” Ava says, smirking.
“I didn’t realize you could physically feel love before now.” I frown. Or that it was fucking painful.
“Oh you can for sure,” Ava tells me. “I felt it for Myles long before I realized what it was.”
He looks at her, his expression filling with warmth. “I felt it for you, too, babe.”
“Can we bring this back to me,” I ask. “I need your help.”
“What do you want us to do?” Myles says. “Force her to fall in love with you?”
“No. I want to know how you got Ava to fall for you. I mean, she’s way out of your league, right?”
Ava sniggers. “That’s true,” she agrees. “I am.”
“Well, it helps if there’s some attraction there,” Myles says.
“She’s attracted to me,” I tell them. “That’s not a problem. It’s the rest I need your help with.”
Myles lets out a sigh. “Can’t you just forget about her? Do us all a favor.”
“No, I can’t.”
Ava runs her finger over her bottom lip. “The thing is, there’s no real way to make somebody fall in love with you. And you wouldn’t want to make them do that anyway. All you can do is be yourself and if they want you, they’ll let you know.”
That tightening feeling happens in my chest again. “But she doesn’t want me. She said so.”
Ava shakes her head. “She said she didn’t want to be a notch on your bedpost. But you’re telling us she wouldn’t be that.”
I’m not sure where she’s going here, but I’m listening anyway.
“So what she really needs is to believe in you. The falling in love will happen naturally if she does.”
“Okay,” I say, my eyes trained on her. “How do I get her to believe me?”
She shrugs. “I’ve no idea.”
“Jesus.” I throw my hands up in the air. “You two are no help.”
“Sorry,” Ava says.
“But not that sorry,” Myles adds, leaning forward to grab the television remote from the coffee table. “Now it’s time to be silent and catch up on Bridgerton,” he tells me.
I decide to leave because being addicted to one television show is enough for any man. “Thanks for everything, guys,” I tell them. “You’ve been great.”
“You don’t need our help,” Ava says, smiling at my annoyance. “You’re a catch, Liam. You just need to realize it.”
“No he’s not,” Myles mutters, turning up the volume. “He’s a pain in the ass.”