Chapter Nine
Calypso
We need rules if we’re going to “date”
Liam
I love rules
If I’ve learned anything about you this week, it’s only so you can break them
;)
First rule - no flirting
Let’s be realistic
Plus we’re supposed to be DATING. I’m flirty
And handsy
And clingy
Thursday, June 29 at 6:34 AM
Are you ready to be serious about this?
Did you go to sleep before 9
No you gave me a headache so I took a bath
I could help you relax
You talk WAY too much to do anything other than stress me out
Give my mouth something to do then
Goodbye
Running late but I’ll be by Brighter Daze soon
Drive safe
Friday, June 30 at 9:36 PM
I heard you were going to Grady’s daughter’s birthday party on Sunday
Yeah Knox invited me
As good a time as any to make our debut as two adults who hang out
Is that what we’re calling it? Really rolls off the tongue
Trust me, we both know your tongue can handle it
Could use some practice. It’s been awhile
Three months to be exact
I have something that never needs practice, just a charge
What happened to no flirting?
Is rejection what you consider flirting?
With you? Yes
Meet me at my house and we can drive together
And talk about those rules
Should I bring your mom flowers?
For the love of god, do not do that
We’ll see. Good night, honey
Good night, Liam
Liam lets out a low, appreciative whistle as the garage door lifts open. Getting a man’s reaction to my car is always fun, too.
“I have to be honest,” Liam says, walking around the side of the red Spider. “This is one of the hottest things about you.”
Twisting my lips, I pretend to think it over. “I’m not offended by that.”
He chuckles and comes to my side, helping me load the birthday cake and beach bag into the small backseat—and to my irritation, a bouquet of sunflowers for my mother.
Liam also brought me a simple but pretty bouquet of red roses. They are in a vase inside now. I’ve never given the particular flower much thought, always feeling as if they were overrated.
I’m thinking of them in a new light now.
“How did your sister’s cake tasting go the other day?” he asks. “I should have asked sooner, but I’ve been a little distracted by everything else.” His boyish smile makes an appearance—coincidentally, at the same time the butterflies in my stomach do.
I wave him off and adjust the cake box. “Don’t worry about it—it was fine. Quick.”
“What did they choose?” His curiosity prickles my skin.
“Four tiers with four flavors. Carrot cake, chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet.” My answers sound as mechanical as they feel. I haven’t been able to shake the sticky sensation since Wednesday. I’m caught in a fly trap of my own mind.
Quickly, I start the ignition and buckle. Before leaving, I take a deep breath and look at Liam, finding his intense gaze already on me.
“There’s one rule we need to discuss.”
Liam takes my tone seriously, which I appreciate. His jokes didn’t really bother me over the last few days because I don’t know what the fuck we’re doing or what the rules of “fake dating” someone would even be. This one is important though.
“You’re meeting my family,” I say. “Not only as Lucas and Mia’s cousin, but as my… boyfriend.” I scrunch my nose in distaste. We need to come up with a better alternative to that. “I don’t introduce men to my family, so I’m asking that you, please, do not embarrass me, Liam.”
He shakes his head, not totally following my thought process.
“I don’t care if this is fake or temporary or whatever,” I insist. “What I do care about is not looking like a fool at the end of it. We’re exclusively pretending to be together—and that’s non-negotiable for me.”
Realization floods his features and he leans across the console.
Gently cupping my jaw, Liam tilts my head up so we’re making eye contact.
“Glad we’re on the same page about that, honey.
I don’t share my woman, and until this thing between us ends, that’s exactly what you are.
” His thumb brushes my bottom lip. The same gesture he made under the spray of the hotel shower before we fucked again.
“We don’t have to have sex—hell, we don’t even have to kiss if you don’t want to.
I’m still going to treat you with as much care and respect as I would if I were lucky enough to have a real shot with you. ”
“Okay,” I breathe out. My heart races like I sprinted a mile—I feel just as exhilarated in the wake of his promise. There’s never been a person who enthralls me the way Liam does, someone who draws me into their orbit so naturally, as if we’re meant to share a galaxy. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
He nods slowly, staring at my lips, before adding, “One more thing: I don’t mean that I don’t want to have sex with you, or to kiss you—to touch you again.
I’m just saying that the ball is in your court.
” A small sense of relief rushes through me at the confirmation he’s still as attracted to me as I am to him. “I’m ready to play whenever you are.”
Rolling my eyes and snickering, I push his chest and add some needed distance. I’m not afraid to make the first move with a man. I’m worried about what the potential outcomes of getting more tangled up with Liam would be. And how badly they will hurt come Christmastime.
“Should we go?” I ask, turning forward and putting the car in gear.
He nods and asks if he can play music. There isn’t anything I don’t like, so I hand him my phone.
The drive to Asher’s house—where the party is being held—is quick, but at the last second, I decide to go straight to the main road down Amada Beach’s coast instead of left at the stoplight.
It adds about ten minutes to the drive, each one more precious than the last as we get closer to seeing my family.
The sea salt breeze is pulled in from the ocean, cooling the sting of the bright sun beating down above us. That, plus the soft melody of Hayley William’s voice in the background, is a balm to my fraying sanity.
Liam either doesn’t know the town well enough to notice my wrong turn, or he’s choosing not to say anything. Mostly, he shuffles through my music library, commenting on what he likes along the way. Liam has as wide of a range of taste as I do, adding another begrudging mark in the “pro” column.
Our conversation doesn’t stray far from music and lingering questions Liam has about the town, but it’s the perfect distraction whether he knows it or not.
Once we get to Asher’s house, I’m far from calm, but less anxious than expected. Though, if locking Liam in the car and driving far, far away was an option, I wouldn’t be opposed. Sighing, I get out of the car and subtly shake my arms out.
“What does your man have to do to drive this?” Liam asks behind me. Turning slowly, I raise an eyebrow and I’m met with a cheeky grin. His gaze is intense despite his light tone, assessing me.
Leaning into the backseat, I give him an unimpressed look and grab my beach bag. “Not happening.”
I don’t mention that the car was one of the last gifts our dad gave our mom before he passed away. She had always wanted a bright red convertible but felt like it would be frivolous when she had three—almost four—kids to think about.
For her birthday that year, when she was still pregnant with Vivi, he surprised her with the classic car.
It was her prized possession for over a decade, even when she couldn’t bring herself to sit in it again.
With the help of my brother Asher and one of his friends, they were able to completely replace the engine and restore it to its former glory.
She gave it to me when I was twenty-three and had graduated from my culinary program. It’s been my prized possession since.
He laughs easily, holding the large cake box. “I’ll share my perfect driving record with you.”
I tilt my head back and forth as I meet him at the hood. “I have to be dating someone for a minimum of six months before they can even sit in the driver’s seat.”
His smile takes over his handsome face. “I’ll drive us to the winter recital then—it’s a date.”
I scoff. “You seem pretty confident with your chances.”
He stops a couple steps ahead of me, and gives me an appreciative once-over. “I warned you, I’m a clingy fucker.”
I bite my cheek to stop myself from smiling at his flirting.
Looking at him, someone wouldn’t expect that from him, but I don’t think he’s lying.
At first glance, Liam comes off rough, intimidating.
He has a large, beefy frame that’s covered in tattoos, and can wear a mean scowl as well as he does any grin.
That image is usually shattered within seconds of him opening his big mouth anyway, unless he’s standing between me and a creep at a bar… Or Stefan.
Through Vivi’s love of reading, I know all about the different types of book boyfriends of the world.
We even reinstated our monthly book club recently, and her choices are always romance.
I know a thing or two about the golden retriever type, and in a lot of ways, Liam fits that archetype.
People don’t assume he’s as friendly as he is though, plus he has a bad rep around here.
I think a Rottweiler or Doberman would fit him better.
At the end of the day, they are all dogs who can’t help but chase a bone.
If Liam and I are going to be spending time together for the next few months, I need to get used to his constant presence and protection.
Maybe it should bother me more but it doesn’t. I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum with men—begging them for scraps of attention and leaving at the first hint of disinterest. What I haven’t experienced is a man who would willingly give me his time and respect.
I have no idea what to expect today. Aside from a few of Stella and Daisy’s friends, it’ll be our usual group—my mom and Grady’s parents, with Lexi’s parents sometimes joining in.
Then there are my three siblings, Grady, his sister and her husband, and Lexi, Knox, and Lucas.
Mentally checking everyone off is confusing for me, but Liam follows me into Asher’s house with the same confidence he adorns every morning.
Asher’s small cottage is a beachfront property that leads straight to the shore.
Daisy quickly became a little water bug when Grady moved them from Phoenix to Amada Beach last summer, so her party will be outside.
As I hoped, there are a few people in the kitchen, breaking up the large group a little.
Lexi told me yesterday that my entire family was aware that I was “bringing someone.” Just as suspected, she doesn’t buy into our vague excuse. I didn’t admit anything to her, but out of everyone in town, I never expected she would.
“Lyp, you’re here.” My mom claps her hands together at the sight of me, as if I would miss this.
I give Liam a look that says, don’t call me that. It’s more serious than when he calls me honey. Lyp is one of those things that is mildly annoying but affectionate from my family. Asher and Hudson started calling me Lypie when they were learning to talk, and it stuck thirty years later.
Mostly, I don’t want to hear the way my childhood nickname rolls off Liam’s tongue. Not when I’m starting to love the way he says my full name more than anyone else.
Turning around, I smile at my mom and Selena. Along with Pippa, they’re the women who have shaped me, for better or worse.
Out of my siblings, I share the most features with my mother—strawberry-blonde hair, high cheekbones, and warm brown eyes.
We even laugh the same, though it’s more of a snicker than anything else.
In our souls, we’re similar too. So much so that it’s impossible not to see my worst traits mirrored back at me some days.
There’s no one better at empathizing with me, and misunderstanding me, all in the same breath.
Selena, on the other hand, has light brown skin and dark mocha curls with gray eyes. She has the same complexion as Grady, but Blake inherited her looks and silver eyes.
“We just got here,” I say and hug each of them. Deciding to bite the bullet, I hold a hand out in Liam’s direction. “This is Liam—Stanley’s nephew.”
Selena’s smile blooms across her face, but my mother’s eyes bounce between us curiously.
“I was wondering when we would meet,” Selena greets him warmly. “I’m Selena, Grady’s mom.”
As far as I know, he still hasn’t met Grady, but he doesn’t correct Selena. There’s a split second of nervousness when his eyes meet my mom’s. It’s gone so quickly, I must have imagined it.
“This is my mom,” I quickly add. “Mrs. Davies.”
My mom snorts and shakes her head. “It’s nice to meet you, Liam, but call me Bonnie.”
“Bonnie,” he repeats with a smile and nod.
Rolling my eyes, I pop out my hip and point at her. “That’s not what you told my high school boyfriends.”
She tilts her head and assesses me before asking, “Is Liam your boyfriend?”
“That’s not what I said,” I retort, feeling like a teenager again under her attention.
Before she can ask anything else, Liam steps in. “We’re friends—at least until I can convince your daughter to give me a chance to take her out on a real date.”
“Is that so?” my mom asks with a raise of her eyebrows, coming off far too impressed for my liking.
I appreciate Liam taking the heat off of me more than he probably realizes though. He did it in a way that leaves room for assumptions and rumors but feels casual, new.
“Oh,” Liam blurts out and holds the bouquet toward my mom. “These are for you. I hope sunflowers are okay.” There’s an unexpected shyness to him, and it grows when he looks at Selena. “I’m sorry, I didn’t kn—”
She waves him off. “No apologies. These are beautiful.”
“They are,” my mom agrees. “Thank you, Liam. I’m sure Asher has a vase around here.” The last bit is more to herself, but Selena helps her check the cabinets.
As Tim walks through the back door, I catch Liam’s eye. He winks, seeming to imply, don’t worry, I’ve got this.
Stepping forward, he introduces himself to Grady’s father, who is protective but fair in his judgment of people.
We grew up joking about Tim’s feelings, ranging from mundane declarations of encouragement to supposed prophecies.
The man told his adolescent son he was basically destined to marry Vivi. No pressure, right?
None of us have ever doubted Tim’s keen sense of character, regardless of how whimsical his mind can be. When Tim throws his head back in a deep laugh at something Liam said, I’m more certain that he was being sincere in my garage.
“Liam,” Tim directs, “grab that tray of burgers, will you?”
Glancing over his shoulder, I nod once, reassuring Liam that he should go with Tim. Maybe he’ll even take over a few of the introductions for me. I doubt I’ll be that lucky.