CHAPTER THREE
JESSIE
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“When was the last time you got laid?” I ask, nestling into the delicious leather of the passenger seat in Liam’s Jeep Wrangler.
It’s so very LA with the top down.
And he looks very Top Gun with his short dark hair and sunglasses.
How was it possible for the man to get hotter each year? Because he does.
A shame he no longer wore a uniform and my dream of him taking me up in a fighter jet was over, but to me, no matter what he did, Liam would always be the sexiest man alive.
“What?” He shoots me an irritated look; one I’m very familiar with. “You did not just ask me that. And didn’t I tell you to dress decently? That skirt is...barely a skirt.”
I roll my eyes and flick my hair over my shoulder, letting the warm breeze catch it, then tug on a pink baseball cap.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Have you seen how most of the women dress in this town? Anyway, despite your dress code, which I might add was restricted to the kitchen, I am a grown woman and can dress how I like. In case you haven’t realized.”
I’m sure I hear a moan. “I did notice. Back to your question, that’s not something you go around asking people.”
Liam leans on the gas as we pull onto the highway.
Hello LA!
I take a selfie and send it to my friend Naomi. She’s the only person I messaged when I left Texas and is awaiting a phone call and explanation.
Which I will do.
Soon.
“You aren’t people. You’re Liam.”
Leaning his arm on the door, he shoots me another unimpressed look.
I ignore it and tug my lip between my teeth, then let my eyes drift down, taking in his muscular biceps and deliciously thick chest. If I dared to look further south—which I do—I’d wonder what he’s packing inside those tan shorts.
Oh, how I’d love to find out.
I notice a new tattoo on his leg.
“Moving on...what do you want to see?” Liam indicates and we turn off the highway. “Beach. Shops. Theme Park.”
This is my first time in California and despite running from what happened back home, I’m looking forward to seeing LA... but more so about spending time with Liam.
Alone.
I had no idea that Jayden was going away.
Today sort of feels like a date, although obviously it’s not.
But it could be.
If he’d stop being such a stubborn ass. I know he cares for me and I know he’s attracted to me. So surely if my brother is a concern, if we fell in love then we could talk to him.
It seems so stupid that we’ve done this dance for so many years.
Liam has played the protective second brother since forever, but during certain moments that facade has disappeared, and he’s shown me the truth.
We both know he has.
Yet today he’s back to treating me like Jayden’s annoying sister.
While I’m frustrated and impatient for him to work it out, underneath my own bratty facade is the fear he might not. I can’t imagine myself with anyone else but Captain Liam Rutherford.
My pilot.
The first time I saw Liam in uniform, I swear my panties were soaked in three-point-five seconds. My god, he looked sexy.
Even mom commented.
“Doesn’t Liam look nice?” she sighed.
“Patricia, really?” Dad chastised.
“I’m just saying, he’s a good-looking boy.” Mom winked at me as Dad walked out of the room, shaking his head.
“He could be your son-in-law if you play your cards right.” I bumped my arm against hers.
“Jessie. Liam is too old for you—much too old—and he’s your brother’s best friend. Focus on dating boys in your year.”
I honestly had looked. The problem was, I hadn’t been interested in anyone.
Miles Scott had kissed me the year before that day, and I’m almost certain it was his first time. He bit my tongue and dribbled.
God, it was horrible.
Now here I am cruising with the top down in Liam’s Jeep and have his full undivided attention. I’m so giddy I want to throw my arms up and sing.
Sure, part of that attention is thanks to my black skater dress, which barely covers my butt. Hashtag, not sorry.
A girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do.
Then again, perhaps showing off my long legs is likely what got me in trouble back in Texas?
Bullshit, we shouldn’t have to walk around in potato sacks to be safe in this world.
Stifling those thoughts and the feel of my bruises, I twist in the seat to face Liam.
“Can we cruise down Rodeo Drive and then head down Santa Monica Boulevard to the beach?”
“This is Santa Monica.” His eyes flick to me, hovering for a moment on my cleavage, then back at the road.
“Oh.” I glance around.
He laughs, and I smile back at him.
It’s like he’s defrosting before my eyes.
“I get it, darlin’. The first time in the City of Angels is fun. Soak it up, Jessie.” Liam grins and turns up the music.
I throw my arms into the air and let out a howl.
Liam lets out his own howl as he rests his wrist on the steering wheel, and we both start singing. The warm California breeze whips my hair around me, filling me with all kinds of hope.
I close my eyes, still singing, and imagine we are in love. That I have his ring in my hand and...maybe his baby in my belly.
Californian dreaming.
I’m dreaming the man next to me finally—finally—reveals how he feels about me.
Then perhaps all my nightmares will vanish.
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I HANG OUT the window as we cruise down Rodeo Drive, Wilshire Boulevard, and all the other famous spots I’ve seen in the movies. Then we head to West Hollywood and the Sunset Strip.
This town is insane.
“Never would’ve pictured you living in a place like this,” I say over my shoulder.
“Why not?” Liam asks.
I sit back in my seat.
Liam and Jayden met when they were young. I don’t remember a time when he wasn’t in our lives, and that only increased after his dad died. They did everything together: learned to ride bikes and horses, started dating girls, played on the same football team.
“Growing up in Fort Worth, riding horses, going to rodeos? I don’t know, I guess I never saw you living in la-la land.”
Liam gazes around him, slowing for traffic and turns the stereo down a little.
“It’s where the work is, Jess. Sure, some days I wish I was living on a ranch, but being in the Air Force changed me. I’ve seen the world. Some of it, anyway. One day I may return.”
“Your mom misses you,” I say quietly, resting back in the seat.
His eyes dart to me. “You talk to my mom?”
“Of course I do. She visits Mom and Dad all the time.”
“Right,” Liam nods and focuses back on the road. “I just figured since you left home you wouldn’t see her.”
Surely he realizes I visit my parents regularly. Which...well, I didn’t tell them I was leaving Texas. I didn’t have a good enough explanation and pretty much hightailed it.
I wasn’t going to tell them the truth.
I’m not telling anyone the truth.
“I guess she’s lonely now you aren’t there.”
He lets out a bark of a laugh. “Christ, did she send you to guilt trip me?”
“No,” I frown, annoyed with his attitude. I like his mom, and fine, I wish he’d come back to Fort Worth.
We’re quiet for a little while, then he slows for another set of lights.
“Why are you here, Jessie?”
My eyes dart around the streets, looking for an answer. The only reasonable explanation I came up with on the bus ride here was me being an actress.
It’s believable, so I go with it.
“Work. My last gig finished up, and I figured it was time to come to Hollywood.” I meet his eyes and hope he can’t tell that I’m lying.
He doesn’t believe me, I can see it in his eyes.
We know each other too well.
“What do you do exactly now?” I change the subject slightly.
“Private security, for the guys you met last night. Josh and Aidan.”
“The big guys?”
He glares at me darkly. “They’re the same size as me.”
I grin to myself. “I mean, not really.”
“The fuck you on about, Jessie. I’m slightly taller than Aidan, my guns are...fuck you. I see what you did there.”
I giggle.
“Get out,” Liam says, pulling into a random parking lot. “We’re going shopping.”
When I hit the sidewalk and he joins me, pulling me in close, protectively, I almost lose my mind, I’m so happy.
Which is a far cry from the state I left Texas in.