Chapter 10
He parked on the elevated driveway to keep his car from flooding, and we stepped inside.
I was completely caught off guard. The house was stunning…
marble countertops gleaming, wrap-around floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the stormy coastline, and airy, open spaces that made me feel like I had stepped into a magazine.
Every detail screamed elegance. Liam’s grandmother had incredible taste, and I couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by how perfect everything was, even with the storm raging outside.
“My grandma had a great taste” Liam chimed in, noticing my admiration of the house.
“Yeah, she really did”.
Liam immediately started moving around the house, checking windows, securing shutters, and making sure the emergency supplies were within reach. “We’ll be fine,” he said, tossing me a flashlight with that calm, confident grin he knew would make me feel safe. “I’ve got this under control.”
I watched him, heart pounding a little-not from the storm, but from him. There was something in the way he moved, so commanding, so sure, that I wanted to trust him completely… and I did. But a small, nagging voice in the back of my mind whispered: Remember what Olivia said. Slow down.
“I can help,” I offered, trying to sound useful, not nervous.
“Babe, relax,” he said, taking my hand and leading me toward the kitchen. “I love that you want to help, but your stress won’t make the storm any weaker. Just stay close, okay? We’ll have fun, even if the weather doesn’t cooperate.”
I smiled, leaning into him, but inside I felt that little twist of doubt, like I was falling faster than I should.
I didn’t pull away, though. Liam’s hand on mine, his steady voice, and the warm reassurance in his eyes, it made me forget the warnings, forget the caution.
For the first time in months, I felt like maybe, just maybe, I could breathe again.
But even as I let myself sink into the moment, I couldn’t shake the shadow in the back of my mind: Noah, Sydney, the lies, the heartbreak.
Liam was here, moving closer, asking me to trust him, and part of me wondered if I was stepping into another storm I wasn’t ready for… one I might not escape as easily.
Liam led me into the room we’d be sharing, and I froze. It had incredible-crown molding, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a private balcony that looked straight out over the ocean. The bathroom alone had beautiful pebble-stone tiles and a soaking tub that practically screamed luxury.
“I could get used to this house,” I said, grinning, letting the awe show.
Liam stepped closer, wrapping his arms around my waist, and his voice dropped low. “This is the house I want to raise our family in.”
Our family. The words hung in the air, heavy and intentional. My chest tightened. We were supposed to be having fun this weekend, testing the waters, figuring each other out. Not planning a life together. Not dreaming of a future I wasn’t sure I wanted, or was ready for.
I smiled weakly, trying to brush it off. “Yeah… it’s beautiful.”
He pressed a little closer, his eyes locking on mine with that calm, knowing look he always had. “I know it’s fast, but I want you in my life, Bella. Fully. No waiting. Just us.”
And just like that, the warning bells Olivia had rung in my head flickered louder. Fun. That’s what we were supposed to have. Not us, not a family, not forever.
My chest fluttered, heart hammering, and I melted a little into him. This was exactly why I couldn’t stop thinking about him. But somewhere under all that warmth and excitement, a quiet voice reminded me: he had a way of bending situations to his will, making me want what he wanted.
I swallowed hard, trying to focus on something-anything-other than the magnetic pull between us.
But the storm outside, the ocean crashing, the way he was looking at me…
it made it impossible. I knew, without a doubt, that I loved this man.
But the way he made me feel? That was another kind of storm entirely-one I wasn’t sure I could weather.
The storm hit just as the sun disappeared behind the clouds, winds whipping against the windows and rain hammering while we secured the last of the outdoor furniture. Inside, the house felt both cozy and electric, the kind of place where every sound-every glance-seemed amplified.
We stepped inside, water dripping from our hair and clothes, leaving little puddles on the marble floor.
The storm’s roar outside made the house feel even more cocooned, intimate.
Liam grabbed a towel from a nearby rack and draped it over my shoulders, his hands lingering just a little too long at my neck, while his lips gently brush my ear.
“Well, I can tell you that you would win a wet t-shirt contest”.
“Well,” I murmur with a slow smile, letting my shirt slip from my shoulders, “I suppose there’s no turning back now.”
Liam freezes, caught mid-step, his gaze lifting to meet mine and then lingering-unguarded, breath held, like the world has narrowed to just this moment.
I slide the zipper of my shorts down, lace peeking out as I shrug them aside. “I think I’m going to warm up in the shower,” I say lightly, already turning away.
“Not without me,” he calls, laughter and promise woven together as he bounds after me, taking the stairs two at a time.
He catches me before I reach the bathroom, lifting me effortlessly and laying me back on the bed instead.
In one smooth motion, his shirt is gone, tossed aside like it never mattered.
I don’t rush him. I just watch-heart steady, eyes slow, realizing that somehow, impossibly, the view is even better now than it was before.
He kisses me, breathlessly, like this moment will slip away. He slides down my shorts, leaving me in my matching panties and bra.
“You look amazing,” he mentions while his breath catches in my ear.
I roll him onto his back and straddle him as his hand moves effortlessly to undo the clasp as he takes my nipple into his mouth in one brisk movement.
“I need you right now,” I whispered, my breath catching as our lips met, the world around us fading into something warm and unspoken.
He rolled me onto my back and before I knew it, he was inside of me, thrusting with the rhythm of the waves crashing on shore.
Before I realize it, a quiet, overwhelming sense of belonging settles into my heart. This is it. This is how love is supposed to feel.
I look into his eyes and the words spill out before I can stop them. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone else-even myself.” He smiles, and we lean into a kiss that feels quiet and certain, as we ride the waves of pleasure together.
We’re still tangled together when it hits me all at once, like the floor dropping out from under me. My chest tightens. My mind starts racing. I didn’t pack any condoms.
“You okay?” he asks softly, his arm settling around my waist.
“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine,” I say too quickly, my voice betraying me anyway.
He shifts, studying my face. “Isabel. Talk to me. What’s going on?”
I sit up, running a hand through my hair, my heart pounding now. “We didn’t-” I swallowed hard. “We didn’t use a condom, Liam.”
The words spill out and suddenly I’m spiraling, a thousand what-ifs crashing into each other, fear written all over my face as I look at him.
“Liam, I just paid for my entire first semester-room, board, everything. Non-refundable. That’s a ton of money to just throw away. And a baby right now? Do you really want to be a dad at twenty-one?” My voice wavers, panic rising.
He tilts his head, a slow, amused smile curling across his face.
“You’re acting like this is about me ruining my life.
But it’s not, is it? I already told you, I’m not leaving.
I never leave. You’re the one making it sound like a crisis.
I want you. Baby or no baby, that doesn’t change a thing.
” He cups my face, thumb brushing lightly over my lips, eyes locking with mine.
“Honestly… are you doubting me? Aren’t you on birth control?
I’m the one who keeps us safe, remember? You should trust me.”
And just like that, I feel my worry twisting, unsure if it’s really mine or if he’s just making me feel guilty for thinking at all.
“Yes, but birth control still fails”.
“Listen, Isabel,” he says, voice steady, almost soothing.
“If, by some miracle chance, there’s a baby, you won’t even start showing until after the first semester.
So you finish the semester. Nothing changes.
” He pulls on his pants, unhurried, like this conversation isn’t heavy at all.
“After that, you move in here.” He pauses at the doorway, then adds casually with a shoulder shrug, “Actually, either way, you move in here after the first semester.”
“Move in here?” I follow him, my chest tight, trying to keep up.
He opens the fridge, scanning it like this is just another logistical detail.
“It’s easier this way. You won’t have to stress about money, housing, decisions.
” He finally looks at me. “I’ll take care of it.
Of you, of us.” There’s a beat. His tone softens-but something underneath it hardens.
“You don’t really need to involve anyone else.
They’ll just complicate things, make you doubt yourself, doubt us, tell you we’re moving too fast. You trust me, right?
” The question hangs there, not really a question at all.
The moment is interrupted by the buzzing of a phone.
Mom.
“Hi, mom,”
“ Hi, honey. Did you see the storm just increased to Category 2?” she asked with a concerned tone.
“The storms a 2?” looking at Liam, shocked because I totally forgot there was even a storm coming, turning on the TV for confirmation.
“Yeah, Dad and I think you should come home,”