Chapter 32
LONDON
First thing on Thursday morning, Liam and I were packed and ready to head out to Orlando.
Throughout the course of the week, our appointment there had turned into a big meeting today to introduce ourselves to the client, but we’d also be spending the weekend watching their operations, learning about the company, and getting to know the owners.
It had become such a huge thing that Olivia had sent out one of her seasoned managers from the Houston branch to run the office here in Miami so we could be out for the next few days. Anticipation was coursing through my veins as I buckled up in the passenger seat of Liam’s truck.
The sky was still a soft blue gray up above and there were fluffy clouds drifting across it, the morning quiet and without even a breath of wind. I exhaled slowly, leaning back and taking in the tranquility of the morning.
Then Liam climbed in and slammed his door, shattering every tiny bit of peace I’d managed to scrape together for myself. “I’m so pumped for this. I feel like Olivia must have when she went out to the Anderson Ranch for the first time. This could be as big for us as Carrington, if not bigger.”
My eyelids drifted shut and I reached deep inside, desperately searching for that little glimmer of serenity I’d felt just a moment ago. “I was in the process of mentally preparing myself, so thanks for messing that up for me. Don’t look at me if I mess up later. You screwed with my process.”
He didn’t even skip a beat. “Me screwing with your process is the most important part of said process, so you’re welcome.”
Winking as he slid his seat belt across his body, he clicked it into place and started his engine with the press of a button.
As one hand came down to his gearshift, the other wrapped around his steering wheel and he smirked as he glanced at me.
“We’re going to rock this, Walker. I need you to believe that. ”
“Oh, I believe it. I was just trying to visualize the extent of the rocking, but thanks to you, we’ll never know.”
He chuckled. “We will know. Once we’ve rocked it, we’ll know exactly. No visualization needed.”
“You’re a caveman.”
“You’re a yogi.”
“And proud of it.” I slid my sunglasses over my eyes even though they weren’t quite necessary yet.
Then I turned my gaze to the window and watched as we rolled out of the drive.
“We have the meet-and-greet at dinner tonight and then, over the next few days, we’ll have the opportunity to spend some time on the premises and familiarize ourselves with the company and—”
“I know. I was there when this was all hammered out, London. We’ll go to the hotel first, check in and drop off our stuff, and then we’ll prepare for the meeting.”
“Excuse me for trying to make sure that we’re on the same page about our schedule.” I sniffed and wondered why I was still feeling all prickly toward him.
As much as we’d had a great time at the office this week, for some reason, I was a little bitter about the whole thing with Mindy.
I knew I shouldn’t have been and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why this was bugging me so much.
It was beyond annoying me at this point that I couldn’t seem to just let it go and I knew I was taking it out on him.
But I didn’t know how to stop. Why did he even follow through and take her out if he didn’t want to? Why didn’t he want to? That’s not like him at all.
His voice interrupted my thoughts. “Olivia is calling you.”
I blinked hard and realized he was right. The gentle chime of my ringtone for her was playing through the cab, and I grabbed the device out of my handbag, sliding my thumb across the green circle as I brought it to my ear.
“Hey, you. You’re up early.”
“I live on a ranch. With a baby. Trust me, this is late.”
I chuckled. “True. I keep forgetting that you guys get moving with the chickens. Literally.”
“Hey, Liv,” Liam called out, smiling as he glanced at me like he was expecting her to see him. “How’s everything going?”
“Tell him we’re doing fine,” she said, her voice soft and gentle, like she was smiling. “How is he doing?”
“Did you call to talk to Liam or to me?”
“To you, but I’m not rude, and since you’re always together, I think everyone knows that calling one of you is the same as calling both.”
“That’s not…” I caught myself and sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell him to butt out.”
Twisting in my seat to narrow my eyes at the intruder in question, I lifted my sunglasses specifically so he’d see how serious I was. “Butt out. I’m talking to my sister.”
“We’re stuck in a car together. It’s impossible for me not to be part of the conversation. What did she say? How are they?”
“They’re fine. She asked how you were doing, but you can call her yourself later.” I turned my attention back to my sister. “I swear, he’s like a little brother who just won’t leave me alone.”
“That’s not what you were saying a few nights ago,” he whispered.
Heat flared across my face and I reached out to smack his arm, terrified that my sister had heard him. Deciding that the best thing to do was to keep talking and ignore the comment, I rubbed the stinging back of my hand against my thigh and did my best not to notice how freakin’ hard he was.
“So, uh, thanks for sending Andy out here. We really needed someone we could trust to be in charge while we were gone. I wasn’t expecting to have to leave so soon, but Dad said it was urgent for us to get out to this client. I promise we’ll appoint a manager of our own as soon as we can.”
She chuckled. “It’s no problem. This client sounds like a big get. Dad was excited, and even more so when he realized you guys could get out there in person.”
“I miss you.” I knew it would seem out of the blue to her, but damn.
I’d gotten used to seeing Olivia almost every day and it struck me now how long it’d been since I’d last even had a conversation with my oldest sister.
“Living so far away from you sucks. I liked it much better when we were on the same street.”
“That’s the other reason why I called,” she said. “We’re planning a trip to come see you. I wanted to find out if Lorelei and Jerry are still staying with you guys and if you have any idea yet when would be a good time?”
“I’d love that. They’re still with us, but their rental will be ready any day now. I’ll have to get back to you on timing, though. Things are still a little chaotic and very much subject to change right now.”
“Of course.” She chuckled softly. “Okay, keep me updated and tell Liam to drive safe, alright?”
“Will do.” I said goodbye and turned to look at him, unable to miss how happy and relaxed he seemed, a slight grin etched onto those full lips and his strong, sharp features open and soft.
There was no trace of that look he gave potential conquests or the honey-voiced smooth talker right now, and I liked that. “She said not to drive like a jackass.”
“I never drive like a jackass.” He rested his elbow on his window and briefly met my gaze before he turned his eyes back to the road. “Besides, you could get your own car. That way, you wouldn’t have to drive with me all the time and I wouldn’t have to listen to your whining about it.”
“It’s a new city,” I said vaguely.
I knew what everybody thought about me, not wanting to take Ubers by myself or go jogging alone. Part of the reason why Liam and I were living together was because they’d all known I wouldn’t be comfortable living by myself and I hadn’t even looked into getting a car of my own here.
Liam understood where I was coming from. My sisters simply knew that was how I was and my parents sometimes still coddled me a little because of it. The reality of the matter was that I’d simply never learned to be by myself.
As the baby in a really close knit family, there had always been someone—or multiple someones—around when I’d been growing up. When Abi and Liv had gone off to college, leaving me alone in my parents’ house, I’d always had Mom, Grammy, or my friends around.
As a result, I was simply more comfortable being by myself in the vicinity of other people. Plus, maybe I was a little scared of putting myself out there all by my lonesome and being left to my own devices if something happened.
While I was really good at pretending to be fiercely independent and self-sufficient, part of me was still and always would be the true baby of the family.
Liam was probably the only person in the world who truly understood that I could be bad ass and fierce while still feeling vulnerable and uncertain in some situations.
“It’s freezing here.” A shiver ran down my spine and I reached for the temperature controls, but he caught my hand and shook his head.
“We’re going to cook if I let you adjust that. Didn’t you bring a jacket? You always bring a jacket.”
“Of course, I brought a jacket, but not one that’s good enough for the Arctic Express. This is Florida, for God’s sake. I didn’t bring my snow gear.”
“I already agreed to your playlists for this trip. Don’t make me have to literally sweat that decision. I’m already regretting it.”
The music was so soft, I could barely hear it, but I supposed he was right. He had compromised on the music. Instead of arguing more about the temperature, I reached into my bag and pulled out a light jacket I’d packed just in case.
As I shoved my arms through it, a new song came on and Liam pulled a face at me. “Seriously, is this playlist going to get any better? It has more emotion than a Nicolas Sparks novel.”
“Well, yours are just country songs and heartbreak, so you’re welcome for the upgrade.”
“Upgrade?” He scoffed down laughter. “My music doesn’t make me want to journal about my childhood, Walker.”
“Maybe you should journal. Entry number one: Why do I flirt like a feral golden retriever?”
“Feral?” he echoed, his head shaking. We hit the highway and he pressed down gently on the gas. “How am I the feral one when you pushed me into the one and only date I’ve been on since we’ve been here? You don’t see me pawning you off on other guys.”
“That’s only because your masculinity is too fragile to try,” I said sweetly.
He groaned. “Or maybe it’s because I respect you enough to make your own decisions about who you’d like to go out with. I might just die while I’m waiting for you to make that decision, but it’s still yours to make.”
“Well, do you blame me? Look at how it turned out the last time I made that decision. James was not a prince, Liam. He wasn’t even the court jester. He was… a peasant.”
He made a face at me. “I think it’s frowned upon to call people that.”
“I didn’t mean literally.” I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “I meant he was as close to being a prince as a peasant is in a monarchy—” I shook my head and decided to give up. “You know what? Never mind. Just forget about it.”
“Okay.”
As I pulled my hands away from my face, Liam had turned forward again, and for just a moment, I took advantage of the fact that he was distracted by driving.
I hadn’t been able to help but notice how good he looked on a normal day, far away from the office and in casual clothes, but I hadn’t allowed myself to really notice until right then.
In one of his “Road Trip” outfits, he had on a backwards, navy blue cap with white insignia embroidered on it, a tee that showed off his toned muscles, and jogging shorts with a pair of sneakers. How he looked so good in something so simple, I’d never know, but damn.
“I know you’re lost in thought over there about me, but do you want to play a game?”
I sniffed. “I wasn’t thinking about you and no.”
“Ahh, you’re always such a joy,” he teased. “Okay, so let’s find a sign that has a word on it that starts with an A.”
I huffed out a breath. “Nooooo, not the sign game. We’re not ten anymore, Liam.”
“C’mon, we always play this game on our road trips and we always have. It’s tradition.”
“A tradition I’ve always hated, but I suppose it’s better than trying to keep a conversation going with you.”
“Gee, thanks.” He smirked and pointed to a sign. “There, I found an A. Your turn, and try to smile, Walker. With your face as sour as that, people driving past us are going to think I kidnapped you.”
I dropped my sour face into my palms and briefly contemplated screaming into them.
This guy drove me absolutely insane and yet, I also had to fight a smile.
Or maybe he’s not just driving me insane.
Maybe he’s already driven me all the way there.
Yep. That’s about the only thing that makes sense right about now.