Chapter 14 Liam #2
At Sabrina’s bidding, I stayed after the concert to greet the fans in the VIP room. I’d truly gotten a reputation for never going, because the fans seemed startled that I was even there. After my obligation was met, I helped Sabrina carry Samuel out to the car, and we climbed inside.
When we got to the hotel, we walked together to the elevator, and then I held the door open to our room.
My body was exhausted, but adrenaline was still pumping through my veins as I moved.
I was on a high from the concert, but also from the shy way Sabrina kept glancing over at me and the open way she laughed at my jokes as we worked together to bathe Samuel and get him dressed for bed.
I sat on the bed with Samuel on my lap as Sabrina made him up a bottle. When she came back into the room, I extended my hand and wiggled my fingers, expectantly. She hesitated, but I brushed her off.
“I’m already comfortable and so is little man. I’ll take care of getting him to sleep. You go relax. Do something for yourself.” I smiled and winked at her. “You deserve it.”
Thankfully, she didn’t fight me. After she handed me the bottle, she grabbed her tablet and headed into the living room.
With Samuel happily guzzling down his bottle, I leaned my head back against the headboard and closed my eyes. I took in a deep breath as I let my body relax into the soft mattress.
It didn’t take long for Samuel to finish his bottle and zonk out.
I could feel his body still, and I knew he was out for the night.
Not wanting to miss any opportunity to spend time with Sabrina, I slid off the bed, keeping my arm under Samuel until I could lift him up in one swift movement and carry him over to the bassinet in the corner.
With him tucked in, I headed out to the living room in search of Sabrina.
Just as I cleared the doorway, I paused. I could hear my lyrics playing softly in the living room. It wasn’t a Fading Atlas song. It was Drifter’s.
Sabrina was a fan.
That revelation did something to me. It was one thing to see Sabrina moving to the music from Fading Atlas, it was a whole other thing to see her listening to music that I wrote and created solely by myself.
And that she was enjoying it without knowing that I was Drifter… it made her the perfect woman.
I stepped into the room, not knowing what I was going to say or do, but knowing I wanted to be closer to her. Even though I knew, logically, that I should stay away. That there was so much more at stake than I cared to admit. I couldn’t help myself.
She was the flame and I was the moth.
I was willing to risk getting burned.
I rounded the couch to see her sitting cross-legged on the middle cushion. She was hunched over her tablet, the glow from the screen illuminating her face. Whatever she was looking at had her undivided attention.
When she didn’t acknowledge me, I contemplated my next move. Did I just sit down next to her? Should I clear my throat? This was the first time I hadn’t known what to do with myself around a woman. Normally, I didn’t think this hard about what I should do. I just acted.
But with Sabrina, I didn’t want to mess this up. The last thing I wanted was to misinterpret her feelings and ruin the relationship that we were building together. I may want more out of this, but that didn’t mean she did. One wrong move and this whole arrangement could blow up in my face.
Suddenly, her gaze was on me. Her eyebrows were knit together as she studied me. “Samuel asleep?” she asked as she returned her attention back to the tablet.
Deciding that I looked like a fool standing there, staring at her, I pushed away my fears and plopped down next to her, extending my feet out in front of me and resting my arm on the back of the couch. “Out like a light,” I said as I sighed, tipped my head back, and closed my eyes.
When she didn’t respond, I opened one eye and looked at her. She was completely engrossed in whatever she was looking at. Sitting in silence was akin to torture, so I decided to engage her in conversation.
“Who are you listening to?” I already knew the answer to that question, but for some reason, I wanted to hear it straight from her lips. Was Drifter just a musician that she found in a random shuffle, or did she go out of her way to listen to his songs?
Sabrina glanced over at me and met my gaze. The pure joy in her eyes told me everything I needed to know. She loved Drifter.
“His name is Drifter.” She shifted her weight and turned until she was facing me. Her eyes were twinkling now. “No one knows who he is. A lot of people have theories, but no one has been able to prove any of them.”
“No one knows who he is?” I asked, loving that she was so invested in this.
She nodded. “I kind of like that. The mystery.” She fiddled with the case on her tablet.
“And you like his music?”
Her cheeks flushed as she met my gaze. I could tell from her expression that Drifter held a special place in her heart. And that realization made my entire soul sing.
“It’s the best music ever,” she whispered.
Needing to tease her to release some of my pent-up energy, I leaned forward. “Better than Fading Atlas?”
Her face fell as she stared at me. “I—er…” She pinched her lips together as if she suddenly realized what she’d said.
Her cheeks were bright red and her eyes was wide. She was desperate to find a way to walk her words back.
“I like Fading Atlas,” she finally managed out.
Was it wrong that I was enjoying watching her squirm?
Especially since, no matter what she said, she loved my music whether it was Fading Atlas or Drifter.
Then I realized that Sabrina and I had been connected before we even met.
That I’d been a part of her life without even knowing it. That did something to me.
I was fighting my feelings for Sabrina, but this realization pushed me over the edge.
Suddenly, I wanted to touch Sabrina. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to hear her beautiful sighs and feel her heart beat in time with mine. I was tired of hiding how I felt, and I needed to know if she felt the same.
So I leapt. I took a chance. I reached out and wrapped her delicate fingers with mine.
“It’s okay that you like this Drifter guy’s music more than you like Fading Atlas,” I said, my voice coming out deeper than I’d anticipated.
Her gaze had dropped down to our hands and, after I spoke, she slowly brought it up. Her eyes were wide as she studied me.
“I like Fading Atlas,” she repeated, her voice hushed.
I narrowed my eyes like I was studying her before I offered her a smile. “I believe you.” I kept my hand wrapped around hers. If she didn’t want this, she would pull away, right?
When she didn’t move, I didn’t pull back. Needing something else to talk about than bands and music, I glanced over at her tablet. “What were you looking at?”
She followed my gaze with hers. When she looked back at me, her cheeks were pink. “I don’t want to say.”
I quirked an eyebrow, and she just shook her head.
“Clothes. I was looking at clothes.”
“Yeah?” I asked as I reached over and grabbed the tablet—all the while keeping her hand clasped in mine. I hadn’t been expecting the goth/emo girls that she’d been scrolling through. When I glanced back up, her gaze was downturned.
“I may have misjudged my outfit today,” she said, nodding toward her shirt and skirt.
I leaned over to return the tablet. “I think you looked cute,” I said as I turned my attention back to her.
“Cute?” Her tone made it sound like she was choking on the word. “I don’t want to look cute.” She shook her head. “I want to look smoking.”
“Smoking?”
“Hot. Like, smoking hot. Like the girls at the concert.” She dropped her gaze as if she were embarrassed for admitting that.
I shook my head. The last thing I wanted was for Sabrina to look like the girls who came to my concerts. I didn’t want her to change any of the things that I loved about her. She was different. She wasn’t from my world. And I wanted to protect that with every fiber of my being.
“I don’t want you to look like them,” I said as I dipped down to catch her gaze. “You don’t need to do that. You’re beautiful and perfect just the way you are.”
From the angle of her head, her hair had fallen forward to her cheek.
Out of instinct, I reached out and collected it with my fingers before I brushed her cheek and tucked it behind her ear.
I lingered, reveling in the warmth of her skin as I slowly dragged my fingertips down to her jawbone until they rested just below her chin.
My thumb was dangerously close to touching her lips and I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her mouth. Her pouty bottom lip. Her perfect Cupid’s bow. The way her lips slightly parted as she stared up at me. Her gaze hazy and wanting.
Did she want this too?
I flicked my gaze from her mouth, to her eyes, to her mouth, and then back to her eyes. She wasn’t pulling back. If anything, I swear I felt her lean in.
Taking the invitation, I moved closer as well.
And then I paused. I would wait here until she was ready.
If she moved again, I would take that as my sign to close the gap.
If not, I’d brush it off as my out-of-control flirty side taking over.
But I wasn’t going to ruin our agreement by acting recklessly.
“Liam,” she whispered as she met my gaze once more. “I…” Her lips remained parted as she stared at me. Like she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what.
And then I felt selfish. I’d pushed her too far. I’d acted only on what I wanted. I didn’t think about her. I knew she was struggling. I knew that she wanted to do a good job. And kissing your boss was most definitely not in an assistant’s job description.
So I smiled at her as I dropped my hand. “Sorry, I promised to reign in flirty Liam,” I said as I let go of her hand and collapsed back against the couch. I rested the arm closest to her against the back of the couch. “Can you forgive me?”
She studied me, her gaze unreadable. I didn’t want to spend too much time trying to dissect her expression. After all, the last thing I wanted was for her to be disappointed in me, so I went with aloof.
“Why don’t you show me what you’re thinking about,” I said as I nodded toward the tablet.
Sabrina paused before she reached over and grabbed her tablet. I waited, wondering where she was going to sit, and my heart sang when she moved to sit next to me with her back against the couch so I could see over her shoulder. “This is the look I’m going for.”