Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
ANDIE
I watch as Liam turns and walks away from me. Leaving me to handle Derek on my own, like I said I could. Is it wrong that I wish he would have insisted on staying by my side?
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and try not to cry. What did I expect? I all but snapped at him and told him to mind his own business. His pained expression sent a sharp, searing jolt to my heart. At his very core, Liam is a protector. I’ve always known and loved this about him. He protects those he loves.
Everything inside of me wants to take off after him, but I have unfinished business to tend to first, so smoothing things over with Liam will have to wait until I’ve successfully convinced Derek to stop his very embarrassing, very public, charade of a proposal. The man needs to walk away from me right now and take his gaudy ring with him.
One crisis at a time, please.
“Andie, listen. I know I made some mistakes. I’m so–”
“Don’t, Derek,” I say, interrupting him. I’ve heard his apologies before, and there’s nothing he can say that would convince me to date him again, let alone marry him.
“You’re angry, I get it, sweetie.”
“No! You don’t get it, Derek! If you did, you would walk away right now. Let me see if I can make it more clear. I’m not angry at you. I’m not hurt. I’m not pining. I’m not anything where you’re concerned. Understand? Nothing.”
“I love you, Andie. Please let me make everything up to you. We don’t have to get married, or even engaged, right now. We can wait however long it takes for me to prove myself to you.”
“Derek,” I say with a frustrated chuckle. “I don’t love you. I don’t want to marry you. Or be engaged to you. Or date you. Or even be your friend. The only thing I want from you is for you to take your ring and leave me alone.”
There’s an audible gasp from the surrounding group of people, which normally would make me regret my harsh words. But I can’t regret them, because they’re true.
I take a step forward and speak my next words in a clipped tone, low enough that I pray no one around us can hear. “You’ve made me the pariah here, and that’s fine. But if you persist in making me the bad guy, I will not hesitate to air your dirty laundry in front of this entire audience. Beginning with the first time you cheated on me, and then begged for forgiveness, and continuing through two hellish years of you making a fool out of me–cheating with God knows how many women while I fought to save our farce of a relationship. I doubt the people in this room would appreciate knowing exactly what kind of man they’ve honored tonight as their realtor of the year. Am I making myself clear?”
Derek bends closer and whispers into my ear. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, you just try me,” I whisper back.
Since Derek refuses to take his ring from my extended palm, I stoop and set it on the floor next to his shoe. Then I straighten, giving our onlookers a cursory glance, and walk away.
I’m nearly to the bar when I cross Layton’s path and grab hold of his hand without warning. “It’s time for that dance I promised you.”
Layton’s amused expression tells me he’s unaware of the train wreck that just occurred in the hallway.
“Lead on,” he says as he motions to the dance floor.
Layton is an excellent dancer. I already knew this despite having never danced with him before. Liam’s mom enrolled all five of her children in dance lessons when they each turned sixteen, and those lessons have paid off. I’ve never seen Lloyd dance, but the rest of the Graham siblings cut an impressive figure on the dance floor.
“I had no idea you were such an accomplished dancer,” Layton says with an easy smile tugging at his lips. “Did your parents force you to take lessons too?”
I laugh. “No. I owe all my ability to your mom.”
“How’s that?”
“After each of Liam’s lessons, he would make me practice the steps with him.”
The music ends, and the next song begins. A slow one.
“Shall we?” Layton asks with a grin that tells me he already knows I’m going to say yes. “I assume my brother also schooled you in the art of slow dancing?”
Heat creeps up my neck and onto my cheeks. “You could say that.”
Layton takes my right hand in his left and places his right hand at my waist. He can’t avoid making contact with the skin on my back, but I can tell he’s trying to be respectful in the way he touches me–something that surprises me given his reputation. Still, I hadn’t planned on slow dancing with anyone but Liam, or I might have thought twice about wearing this dress.
“That was some speech, wasn’t it?” Layton asks.
“Right,” I scoff. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“I kind of feel sorry for the guy,” he teases.
“Really? You do?”
“Not even a little bit,” he laughs and flashes me a devastating smile, and I can’t help but laugh with him. A moment passes before Layton speaks again. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
I shrug. “Okay.”
“Were you in love with Liam while you were dating Derek?”
My feet pause their steps, and I blink up at Layton. “What do you mean?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Don’t stall, Andie. It’s a simple yes or no question.”
“I…mean…I’ve always loved Liam, ever since we dated in high school. So, yeah.”
Layton’s grin widens. “That’s twice you’ve stalled.”
“What was the question again?” I say nervously.
Layton tosses his head back and laughs. “Oh, man! You’re three for three, Andie.”
“Stop teasing me, Layton, or I’ll be forced to step on your toes and–”
“Uh oh. Incoming.” Layton cuts me off.
“What?”
He leans closer, his breath brushing against my ear. “Your fake boyfriend,” he emphasizes the word fake, “is headed this way, and he does not look happy.”
I take a deep breath and release it with a sigh. “I’m sure it’s not you,” I say. “I snapped at him earlier when all he was trying to do was help me.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Layton squeezes my hand. “He’s a big boy.”
Liam approaches, his crystal eyes brewing up a tropical hurricane, as he taps Layton on the shoulder. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to dance with my date,” he says. His tone holds a challenge in it Layton chooses to ignore.
Stepping aside, Layton gives me a wordless nod of thanks and mouths, “Good luck,” with a sly wink.
Liam wastes no time gliding both my hands around his neck–dancing lessons be damned, apparently. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he tucks me snugly against him. We sway to the music, our steps small and slow. Neither of us speak for several moments. There’s nothing but the melody of the music and the lifting and lowering of our chests as we breathe. My fingers reach for the hair that falls to the base of Liam’s neck and I cannot resist the urge to tease the silky strands where they bend and wave.
Liam has always loved it when I play with his hair, combing my fingers through it, tugging on the ends, scraping my nails against his scalp, so it’s no surprise when his contented moan vibrates quietly against my cheek. The sound of his soft “hmm” threatens to awaken the smoldering coals that I have forced to remain dormant within me for over a decade. With his hands splayed across the bare skin of my back and his cheek warmly pressed against mine, the soft murmur of my name on his lips is my complete and utter undoing.
“Liam,” I whisper in response to his murmur, and it’s all the invitation he needs as his lips find mine.
His kiss is slow and unhurried, as if we have all the time in the world and aren’t standing in the middle of a dance floor flooded with people. His tongue teases the seam of my mouth, but I wonder whether or not deepening this kiss would be wise. My heart can only take so much, so despite how badly I want to allow him to deepen the kiss, I can’t. My emotions are already on a slippery enough slope where Liam’s concerned. Besides, the last time we kissed on a dance floor, he pulled away suddenly, bringing the kiss to an abrupt halt. Even so, it takes every bit of strength and self-preservation I can muster to pull away from his kiss and find my voice.
“Liam,” I whisper.
He responds with a low murmur and a tender touch to my chin.
“I know we need to sell this fake relationship, but this feels like things are about to get complicated,” I pause, then reluctantly add, “and very real.” At least for me . But I don’t voice that last part.
Liam takes a small step back, and my hands drop from around his neck. I think he’s about to put his foot on the brake and agree to stop things before they venture into murky waters, but he surprises me when, without a word, he threads my fingers through his, and leads me off the dance floor, past the tables where guests are enjoying their drinks and desserts, and down one of the side halls where the conference rooms are located.
When we are near the end of the hallway, Liam clicks open the door to a small, darkened room–similar in size to my office. It must be a signing room because the only furniture is a desk and two chairs. The door has barely shut behind us when he spins me around and backs me up against it.
One by one, he begins to slowly dismantle the hairpins holding my side sweep in place. The feel of Liam’s fingers in my hair is sweet torture. I release a pleasured sigh when the last pin drops to the floor, freeing my hair, and another when he sinks his fingers into my hair and begins massaging my scalp.
“Andie,” he says as he gently tugs on my hair and lifts my gaze to his. The sound of my name on Liam’s lips, spoken in a low, raspy voice so full of awe and wonder does something to my insides. “I want to complicate the hell out of things, because this,” he gestures between us, “isn’t about the people out there on the dance floor or Derek or my parents or the members of the board of directors at Graham Development, or even Santa Claus. This is about you and me.” He presses a light, sensual trail of kisses along my jaw. “In fact,” he says as he brushes his lips against the skin below my ear, “nothing about the past few weeks has been fake for me.”
He pulls back just enough to look into my eyes. “If you have any doubts, anything holding you back, say the word, and I’ll stop, because what we have is good, and the last thing I ever want to do is jeopardize our friendship. But make no mistake, I’m out-of-my-mind crazy about you.” His eyes search mine, questioning, pleading. There's no denying the longing there.
I rest my palm against his cheek, unable to control the trembling in my fingers as I brush them along his jaw. “It’s real for me too,” I whisper. The pounding rhythm in my chest reverberates so fiercely that I’m certain Liam must hear it, that he can feel it against his own chest. We’re teetering on a dangerous edifice. All it would take is one tiny nudge…
And then his mouth crashes down on mine. Hot and hungry and greedy, as if he’s making up for fifteen years of suppressed need. His lips claim mine over and over, sending tendrils of heat swirling straight into the base of my belly.
Snaking my arms around his neck, I pull him closer to me. His hands slide down my sides and along the curve of my waist until they find the small of my back. I moan softly as his hands move along the skin at my lower back, and he answers with a low growl and presses against me. Our tongues tangle together in a desperate desire for more. It’s too much, it’s not enough. It’s every single nerve ending in my body electrified and on fire. The smoldering coals dormant for so many years have ignited into roaring flames.
It’s hours or minutes or weeks or days before we breathlessly break the kiss to come up for air. I have no idea how long we’ve been making out. Our clothes are rumpled, our hair in varying stages of disarray, our lips swollen, and our eyes drunken and dazed. We’re out of breath, and it’s all I can do not to whimper at the loss of Liam’s mouth on mine. He rests his forehead against mine while we slow our breathing and give our racing hearts a chance to quiet.
“Andie,” Liam’s words come out winded. “I don’t want you to be my fake girlfriend anymore.”
“No?”
He shakes his head, rolling his forehead against mine. “I don’t want to be your fake boyfriend either.”
“Okay.”
Resting the backs of my fingers against his cheek, I ask, “What are you saying, Liam? Because I need to know this is more than a promise made in the heat of the moment. That you and I are on the same page. That being together means the same thing to you as it means to me.”
“I’m asking you to be mine.” He presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “I don’t want anyone else but you. Not now. Not ever. I only want you.” He brushes his lips along my jaw until they rest at the base of my ear, and then he whispers, “Would you be my girl again?”
His vulnerable question unravels whatever lingering resolve I had to protect my heart. This could all go south and destroy the friendship Liam and I have cultivated for more than a decade. Or, it could be the beginning of something entirely new. Something amazing, and beautifully and uniquely us.
“To what end, Liam?”
He closes his eyes and inhales. “Andie, I’m not being flippant here. I know being with you means being all-in. You’ve always wanted the white picket fence, and I get that.”
“I don’t need a white picket fence, Liam. I only need you.”
“You’ve got me.”
“But how do you know I’m what you really want?”
Liam drags the back of his fingers down the line of my jaw, causing a shiver to slink its way down my neck and arms. “I know I’m crazy about you. More so now than ever before–and I was pretty crazy about you before. I know there’s nobody else I’ve ever wanted to be with the way I want to be with you. I think about you all the time, and when we’re apart, I miss you. When we’re together, I want to hold you. I know when I think of my future, I can’t imagine it without you in it. I know that the five years you spent with Derek were the absolute worst kind of torture for me, and when I saw him down on one knee earlier, I nearly went feral. I wanted to knock him clear into Sunday, and then toss you over my shoulder and carry you as far away from him as possible. I know if you’re going to wear anyone’s ring, it should be mine. That even though I may not have all the answers, I know you are my future and I want to be yours. And I know I was wrong to ever let you walk away from me in the first place.”
He bends down and presses a tender kiss to my lips. “How am I doing?”
I lean into his touch. “In an epic nod to Jerry McGuire, you had me at ‘I’m crazy about you.’”
Liam laughs and folds me into a hug, and for the longest moment, we just stand there holding onto each other and allow ourselves to absorb the moment.
“Tell me the truth, Liam,” I say, finally breaking the long silence.
“Always.”
“Was it the dress?”
Liam presses his forehead into his palm and chuckles. “I’m not gonna lie, Andie, this dress made me lose my ever lovin’ mind!” I laugh, and Liam pokes my sides, causing me to squirm. “It’s not funny. This dress is the reason I lost my phone.”
I lift a dubious brow. “How is my dress responsible for you losing your phone?”
He shakes his head, and if I’m not mistaken, his cheeks have reddened.
“Are you blushing?” I tease. Liam’s grin widens, and the color in his cheeks deepens. “Oh my gosh, you are! You’re totally blushing! I can’t believe I have done the impossible. I have made the king of flirting actually blush!”
“Technically, Layton’s the king. I’m only a prince.”
“That’s a bunch of baloney and cheese, Liam. So how, exactly, did my dress cause you to lose your phone?”
“It was in my hand when you walked out the door. I was appreciating how stunning you looked–not just the dress, the whole picture. You took my breath away. And then you turned around and, well, let’s just say the view from behind sucked all the air from my lungs andIdroppedmyphoneinthegutter.” He says that last part with his hand shielding his mouth so it sounds like muffled nonsense.
I reach up and pull his hand away from his mouth. “You what?”
“I dropped my phone in the gutter.”
“And, what? Did it break or something?”
Liam shakes his head. “Nope. It fell into the catch basin. It’s probably in California by now.”
“Oh nooooo!” I squeal. “Oh my gosh, Liam! That’s the worst!”
“Yeah, it’s gonna be a hassle to replace it, but you know what? I don’t even care.”
“Why not?”
“Because you, Darlin’, were a complete vision! Not just your back, which has been admired by many men this evening, including my a-hole brother, but you, the whole package. Andie, you are gorgeous.”
“So, what you’re saying is that my dress had something to do with you wanting to murky the waters?”
“It might have had a little something to do with it.” He pinches his thumb and forefinger together. “Just a little.”
“And what happens when I take the dress off?” Liam’s eyes widen into two giant orbs. “Stop it! You know what I mean. What happens the next time you see me and I’m wearing sweats and a t-shirt?”
Liam threads his fingers through mine and brings my hand to his lips. He kisses my fingers, then grows uncharacteristically serious. “Andie, if I’d have had half a working brain and a single ounce of courage, I would have complicated things and murkied the waters years ago. The truth is, I never got over you. I mean, sure, I moved on, but there’s a reason I haven’t been in a committed relationship during the past fifteen years. I’ve spent years chasing the spark I felt with you, hoping to find the same magic. Every once in a while, I would meet someone and feel an inkling of something, but the magic never lasted more than a few weeks. With you, it never died. And every time I see you, I feel that same little zing of electricity and swooping sensation in my gut. I’ve been an idiotic fool for not recognizing what’s been right in front of me all along.”
I’m stunned into utter silence–wholly incapable of speech. So I respond in the only way I can. I step onto my tiptoes and brush a kiss to his lips. He responds in kind, and well, one thing leads to another, and before we know it, another thirty minutes have passed.
“Andie,” Liam mutters against my mouth.
“Hmm?”
“If we’re not careful the night crew is going to walk in on us.”
I push against Liam’s chest. “What time is it?”
“It’s almost ten.”
“What? That can’t be right.” It takes less than a second to realize my phone and purse are still in the dining hall. “Liam, my things are still at our table.”
“I’m sure they’re fine, but we better get back.”
Panic suddenly seizes me. “Liam, look at me! I can’t walk out there looking like this! People will think…we’ve been…you know… ”
“Making out?”
“No! Well, yes. But, no. Liam, they’ll think we’ve been…you know,” I roll my hands in front of me, not wanting to spell things out, but I can see by the teasing expression on Liam’s face that he is dying for me to say it. “You know exactly what they’ll think. I mean, look at me. I’m a disaster.”
Liam takes a step back and assesses me. A devious grin spreads across his face. “This has just become my new favorite look on you.”
I try shoving him in the chest, but he captures my hands with his and pulls me to him. “I’ll go snag your things and bring them to you. But…” his eyes roam over my hair. And then his grin is back. Insufferable man! “Your hair might be a lost cause. Sorry about that,” he says guiltily.
“No you’re not.”
“I’m really not.”
“Okay, let’s think this through. I can’t go back out there. It’s going to look fishy enough with you going out there. Can’t you shake yourself or something? You know, make yourself look all smooth and sexy?”
Liam barks out a laugh. “Please tell me you did not just tell me to shake myself!” He tries but fails to compose himself. “And make myself all smooth and sexy!” He says through his laughter.
“Stop laughing, Liam! I’m serious.”
For the record, telling Liam to stop laughing is not the way to make him stop laughing. If anything, it makes things worse.
I ignore him, hoping he’ll see the precarious position I’m in right now. “We need a plan. There’s no way I can go back to the dining hall. Is there a back entrance?”
Liam sobers slightly, but his laugh continues to tug at his lips. “There is, but you’d have to walk past the dining hall and the restrooms to get to it. ”
“Dang it! Then I’ll just have to sit it out and wait here until everyone leaves.”
“Wait. I have an idea.” He walks over to the window, and after fiddling around with the latch, manages to open it. He pops the screen from the window frame and carefully lays it beside the wall.
“Sneak out of windows much?” I ask.
Liam looks over his shoulder at me. “I seem to recall sneaking out of your window once or twice.”
“I’m sure you’re thinking of some other girl.”
“Uh, uh,” he shakes his head. “I’ve got the right girl.”
“Okay, never mind. Focus, Liam. Tell me your plan.”
“I’m going to help you crawl out the window. You’re going to take my fob and wait for me inside my truck. I’ll go grab your things. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them that after the scene with your crazy ex, you needed to get out of here.”
I raise my brows in approval. “Wow! That’s actually not a bad plan.”
“If anyone sees you in the parking lot, tell them you’re not feeling well and you’re waiting for me to bring your things. I mean, unless you have a better idea, I think this is the best we can do.”
“You’re a genius, Liam!”
“I’ll be happy to let you thank me later,” he says as he waggles his eyebrows. “Now, get your sexy butt over here and let me help you climb through the window.”
Fortunately, the dining hall and conference rooms are located on the first floor of the venue. Unfortunately, the building is a split-level building, so the first floor is not at ground level. Liam helps me onto the windowsill, but negotiating the space is harder than it seems. I remove my shoes and let them fall to the ground.
“It’s too high, Liam. I’ll never make it without breaking something. ”
Liam thinks for a minute. “Okay, what if you turn around and hang from the windowsill? Then let yourself drop.”
I nod. “Okay, yeah. I think that'll work.” I do as instructed, and with a silent prayer, allow myself to drop to the ground. I land with a hard “thud,” but the terrain is uneven, so instead of landing gracefully, I topple over, rolling onto the grass. A loud ripping sound peels into the night air, and I bite down a curse. I’m not sure which part of my dress has torn, so I do a quick assessment and confirm the tear is at the zipper.
“Andie,” Liam whisper-yells from the window. “You okay?”
I give him a thumbs-up. “I think so. Which way is your truck from here?”
He points to his left. “That way, and around to the front of the building. I’ll meet you there in just a minute.” He ducks his head back into the room and slides the window shut. I locate my shoes and begin walking to the parking lot.
“You know,” a smooth voice croons from a few feet away, “usually it’s the guy climbing out of the window, not the girl.”
“Oh my holy handkerchief! You have got to be kidding me!” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “Of course, it’s you.”
“Me?” he says with an amused laugh. “I’m not the one who just did an ungraceful version of stop, drop, and roll.”
“Why are you out here, skulking around, Layton?”
He chuckles. “Who’s skulking? I’m just getting a little fresh air.”
“Mm hmm. What’s her name? Or did you even bother asking?”
“Ouch! Sweet Andie’s got a vicious bite. Who knew? I like it,” he says with a wink.
“Oh, never mind. I don’t have time to squabble with you. I need to get to Liam’s truck.”
Layton’s low chuckle should irritate me more than it does, but right now, I’m grateful he’s the one who caught me jumping out of the window and not someone else, because this plan had the potential to go south in a heartbeat if I’d have been spotted by the wrong person.
“Am I correct in assuming Liam has finally pulled his head out of his nether regions and admitted to you how he feels?”
“Can we not talk about this for like, ever? I really need to get to Liam’s truck.”
Layton holds out his hand. “I’ve got your back, Andie, which, for the record, is dangerously alluring.”
“Ugh!” I groan. “Don’t make me hit you, Layton. I really hate violence.”
Layton laughs. “Here, take my hand, and I’ll help you to the pavement. Otherwise, you risk twisting your ankle.”
I hesitate for a moment before placing my hand in Layton’s. “Thank you.”
We’re only a few steps from where the pavement begins when an obnoxious cackle splits the night air.
“Looks like you’ve traded in your high school sweetheart for the upgraded model. Tsk, tsk, Andie. Guess that clean and wholesome image of yours was just an act after all. But seriously? Brothers? That’s a new low.” Derek’s words are slurred, clear evidence he’s had an excessive amount to drink.
“Keep moving, Parker,” Layton’s words have an unmistakable bite to them.
“What, you gonna make me?” Derek spits at the ground and raises his chin to Layton.
“You’re drunk, Derek. Give me your phone and I’ll call an Uber for you.”
“I’m never too drunk to take down a Graham.”
Layton groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You do not want to go there with me, buddy.”
“Didn’t take you for a coward.” Derek takes a step toward me but Layton steps between us.
“Take one step closer to her and you’ll be kissing the pavement. You understand? ”
By now, a small number of people have gathered nearby to watch the altercation between Layton and Derek. A few have begun recording it on their phones. With my free hand, I reach up and wrap my fingers around Layton’s arm, drawing his attention away from Derek.
“He’s not worth it,” I say in a hushed tone. “Please, just get me to Liam’s truck.”
Layton gazes down at me and nods. We step around Derek, but Derek grabs my arm and yanks my hand out of Layton’s. Layton spins around but stops short when he sees Liam come flying through the crowd. The corners of Layton’s mouth lift in approval and he steps aside allowing Liam access to Derek.
“Liam, don’t,” I whisper.
His eyes flash quickly to mine and then back to Derek. I think he’s going to ignore me, but he takes a deep breath and growls, “If you want to keep all your fingers, you’ll let go of her arm this instant.”
I silently will Derek to comply. I’ve seen what Liam’s capable of in a fight, and the last thing the Graham’s need is to have their son arrested for assault. Thankfully, Derek does as he’s told and lets go of my arm. Layton reaches for my hand and moves me out of Derek’s reach.
“Get her to my truck,” Liam says to Layton, but his eyes are laser focused on Derek.
“Liam, let’s just go, okay?” I plead.
“Make up your mind, Andie,” Derek spits at the pavement. “Which brother do you have the hots for? Or wait. Maybe you’re doing them both. Tell me, which one’s better in the–”
Derek never has a chance to finish his question because Liam’s fist slams into Derek’s face with so much force that Derek flies backward and drops to the ground. Liam is about to go after him again, when Layton reaches up and clamps a hand around Liam’s arm.
“Let’s go, little brother. Let him sleep it off. ”
Liam’s eyes dart between Layton and me and then down to my dress. With all the excitement, I forgot about my dress being torn. I hazard a glance down at my traitorous zipper and immediately wish I hadn’t, because where my zipper used to hold my dress together at the hip, there’s now a gaping hole that gives everyone in the crowd a great view of my silky black underwear. It’s only a blessed act of mercy that I decided at the last minute not to wear a thong tonight.
“You okay?” Liam asks as he steps to my side, shielding me from the group of onlookers. Not that it matters at this point. Because there is no doubt in my mind my silky black underwear have already hit the meme market, and are now trending on TikTok.
“Let’s just say, this has been a night to remember.” I shake my head against Liam’s chest as he walks me to his truck. Someone from the crowd runs up to me and hands me my purse and phone.
“I thought you might need these,” Lady Jo says with a commiserating look. At least, I think it’s a commiserating look. It’s difficult to tell with all the botox.
“Thank you,” I offer her a sincere smile. “Oh, and JoAnna?”
“Yes?”
“Congratulations on having such a successful career. It’s obvious our community adores you.”
Lady Jo sighs and rests her hand on my arm. “Thank you. That’s very sweet of you to say.”
“Just stating the facts.” With that, Lady Jo makes her exit.
When I turn back around, both Liam and Layton are staring at me with their mouths gaping open.
“What?” I shrug my shoulders. “I’m an expert in marketing, what can I say? ”
Liam helps me into his truck and jogs around to the driver’s side. Layton signals for Liam to roll down my window.
He bends down so he’s eye-level with us. “Andie, you might want to have Liam take a couple photos of the marks on your arm, in case that idiot thinks about pressing charges.”
“Do you think he might?” I ask, suddenly fearful for Liam.
Layton’s gaze flashes back to where the onlookers have begun to disperse. He looks back to me and lifts his shoulder. “It wouldn’t hurt to have a couple photos for insurance. If Lenny were here, he’d tell you to hold up a newspaper with today’s date on it.”
“Sounds almost as though you’re speaking from experience,” Liam says.
Layton gives me a slight side nod. “Take pictures, Andie. Just to be safe.”
I swallow and then dip my chin. “Okay.”
“Thanks for your help, brother,” Liam says as he puts his truck into gear.
“All in a day’s work,” Layton says with a roll of his hand. When he peers through the window again, his teasing expression has returned. His eyes snap from me to Liam and back again. “Given how things played out, it might have been easier for you to have let everyone see you in your disheveled state. Although, watching you climb out that window certainly made my evening a lot more interesting.”
“Goodnight, Layton,” Liam and I both say at the same time.
Layton laughs, then slaps his hand on the hood of Liam’s truck and waves goodbye.