Chapter 1
LIAM
L ondon Walker was somehow both the bane of my existence and the light of my life.
I watched her jogging through the rain to her front door, skyscraper heels in one hand and her keys in the other.
The woman didn’t even look back at me as she unlocked her door and slammed it behind her, not bothering to wave or even shoot me a smile before she disappeared.
She also hadn’t given back my favorite hoodie.
Groaning softly as I tried to wipe the image of her wearing it from my mind, I punched my truck into gear and headed home.
I focused on the rhythmic swish-swish-swish of my windshield wipers and the thwacking of rain against the car to drown out my thoughts of London, James, and the fact we were both single again.
When I got back to my place, my housemates, Zach and Bryce, were still up and sprawled across the couches in our living room watching the Texans game. The lights were turned down low and the coffee tables were laden with half-eaten bags of chips and empty beer bottles.
Flicking the rain off my hair and kicking off my boots, I shrugged out of my slightly damp jacket and went to join them, dropping back into the seat I’d vacated when Lorelei had called. “What did I miss?”
“Where the hell did you go?” Bryce glanced at me, his hair mussed from having grabbed it so often during the game and his Texans’ shirt stained with barbecue sauce. “You bolted like a bat out of hell. Is everything okay?”
“It’s all good.” I cracked open a beer and kicked my feet up between the chip crumbs on the table. “There was just a situation I needed to take care of.”
Zach twisted on the couch to look at me, eyebrows raising slowly as if he already knew the answer. “Let me guess. This situation was a five-foot-four blonde with ocean blue eyes and an attitude that could kill?”
I chuckled, but I wouldn’t deny it. “She was in trouble. Just needed a ride home, is all. Everything is fine now.”
“You need to stop doing boyfriend things for a girl you’ll never date, bro.” Bryce sat up and propped his elbows on his knees after turning to face me. “It’s cute that y’all have been friends forever, but you running to her rescue and dropping everything if she calls? That needs to end.”
“It’s not that I’d never date her. It’s just…” I let air puff up my cheeks and held my breath as I shook my head. I honestly didn’t even know how to finish that sentence anymore.
Thankfully, Zack seemed to know what I’d been getting at.
“Yeah. Yeah, we know. Dating her could ruin your career and your relationship with your second family, and destroy a friendship saturated with dry humor, sarcasm, and mild hatred underscored by more sexual tension than I’ve ever seen before. ”
“Exactly.” I tipped my beer at him. “We can stop talking about this, then.”
“We can ,” Bryce agreed easily, but he didn’t look away from me. “We’re just not going to.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
“Because you’re a good guy, Liam. London’s your friend and you’d never leave her hanging, but while you’re spending all your dang time with her, there’s no space in your life for a girl who’s going to be committed to you . And that’s what you want.”
“Sure, it’s what I want. Eventually, though.
It doesn’t have to be now.” I leaned back against the couch, looking between my two best friends and seeing the concern etched into both of their faces.
“Relax, boys. Thank you for looking out for me, but there’s nothing to worry about.
Tomorrow morning, I’m headed to Miami and there are tons of beautiful women out there calling my name. ”
“Maybe, but are you going to be answering that call?” Bryce asked. “Because the only calls I’ve seen you take lately are from London.”
“Nah, I plan on having some fun between work stuff.”
Zach grinned and leaned over so he could give me a high-five. I smacked my palm into his, noticing that Bryce didn’t seem as convinced as Zach, but he smiled anyway. “Just promise me you’ll spend time with girls who are not London Walker.”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” I assured him, turning my attention back to the game. I cheered with them, but all the while, I had a gnawing feeling in my gut saying that I’d just lied to my best friends.
Lying in my bed later that night, I tossed and turned, eyes closed and lights off, but I couldn’t get to sleep. Instead, my brain kept pestering me about the Miami trip ahead of us and what our time there together would be like.
Last week in our final briefing with Nathan, London’s father and our boss, he’d told us that we’d have a house right on the beach that we’d be sharing. We’d be living there together at least until we were done building out the initial phases of the Miami branch of Walker and Co Marketing.
It was a major project. Their family business was expanding to Florida and Nate had handpicked me and London for the honor of getting the branch off the ground. I was excited for the work aspect of it, but living with her ?
I would need some damn thick skin to survive that. London was feisty as hell and we were around each other a lot as it was. I chuckled when I thought about being that close to her for that many hours every darn day.
God help me. This is going to be a wild ride.
Working together. Living together. Doing our freaking laundry together, her clothes mixed in with mine… Now why does the thought of that turn me on so damn much?
Finally falling into a fitful sleep, I dreamed about her getting sassy with me in the boardroom and submitting to me in the bedroom. We got worked up over spreadsheets and then I spread her out on my sheets.
I woke up frustrated, which had been a running problem recently. Too many nights alone had me ravenous for a woman’s touch. I was going to explode in my pants the first time a Miami girl walked by in a bikini.
Rolling out of my bed, I stripped the bedding and shoved it into a bag for Bryce to take to the laundromat with the rest of our stuff. Then I tossed everything I needed to live for a few months into a bag and packed my truck.
Nathan had told us the house we’d be sharing was furnished, so we were just bringing clothes and such.
Even so, we’d decided to drive to Florida so that we could bring multiple suitcases—which London had insisted she needed to do.
She claimed women needed more options than men.
I told her it didn’t matter, that she didn’t look good in anything, and she slapped me on the arm hard enough to leave finger marks.
“Good luck, man,” Zach said, fist pounding into my back as he hugged me. “Remember not to get too caught up in all things London. Find yourself a beach babe and keep your life simple.”
I laughed. “You got it. I’ll do my best.”
Bryce took my hand in a firm grip after Zach had released me, shaking it before he pulled me into a much less painful bro-hug. “Don’t fuck your new roommate, yeah?”
I laughed at his bluntness.
“I’m not planning on it.” I let go of him and breathed in the thick, humid air of my hometown. Houston would be here when I got back, but I sure would miss it while I was gone. “Okay, losers. I’m heading off. Send me the bill for my laundry.”
The guys chuckled and waved goodbye as I climbed into the truck and backed out of our driveway. I’d really enjoyed living with these fools and growing up together for these last couple years—sort of—but at least my room in the house we shared would be waiting when the job in Florida was done.
It would simply be an adjustment from coming home with London to London, but soon enough, I’d be back with my friends and the torture of knowing she was sleeping in the bedroom next to mine would be over. I just had to hold on to that.
As I took in the sunrise over the wide, oak-lined streets of the neighborhood that had been mine since we’d moved down here from New York, I put in a quick call to my sister.
Isabella worried. If she didn’t hear from me before we left, she’d be calling me soon, and by then, London would be in the car and she’d hear every word my sister said over the speakers.
“Liam!” she said happily when she picked up. “I was just wondering if you were up yet. Are you excited about the move? Are you packed? Don’t forget?—”
“I’m excited.” I cut her off before she had a chance to spiral and list off everything she thought I needed to bring. Once a protective sister, always a protective sister. “It’s going to be a real kick getting a whole new branch set up in a city I’ve never spent much time in.”
“We’re so proud of you.” Her voice gentled. “Personally, I couldn’t be happier that you’ve proven Dad wrong. You really have made a success of yourself without needing their money.”
I chuckled. “Let’s hope I keep proving him wrong. You know the deal I made with him. If I fail and Nathan fires me, I’ll join the family business and I really don’t want to do that, so keep your fingers crossed for me that this goes well. The stakes have never been higher.”
I knew it was ironic that I had a thriving, multi-million dollar family business of my own that I could’ve been working my way up in, yet I was choosing to do it in one of my dad’s friends’ businesses, but I was stubborn that way.
My grandfather and my father had worked their fingers to the bone building up the Jones’ empire, and I hadn’t wanted to ride their coattails for the rest of my life. Coasting through life on their wealth and on the backs of their hard work just hadn’t appealed to me.
So I’d gone and got a degree in marketing, then I’d begged Nathan Walker to give me a chance.
Dad had gone to college with him and I’d practically grown up in the Walker household.
Although they’d lived in Manhattan and we’d been in Texas, we’d seen each other almost every holiday and we’d vacationed together often.
Nathan had checked in with my dad and then he’d said yes, inviting me to join the New York branch of their company.
I’d gone and never looked back. Now, he was trusting me with his daughter to get a whole new branch set up.
Frankly, I was fucking thrilled. It didn’t get much better than this—unless we screwed up.
“Don’t worry about that, Liam,” Bella said, reminding me that I was still on the phone with her. “My fingers are always crossed for you, but Nate would never let you go.”
“He’s like a second father to me. I’m not worried about him so much. It’s London I have to keep my eye on.”
My sister laughed. “Well, that should be easy seeing as how you’re going to be living together.”
“Yeah, if I go missing, you know who’s responsible,” I joked, chuckling as she burst out laughing again, but the fact was that if I didn’t make it at Walker and Co, it would almost certainly be because of London.
And I wouldn’t tank a career I desperately loved, was truly good at, and had spent my entire adult life building just because of a girl who, most days, couldn’t stand me.
As much as she drove me crazy and as often as I had dirty dreams about her, I needed to keep my eyes on the prize—and my hands off of the boss’s daughter, who also happened to be one of my best, oldest friends.