Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
LIAM
One taste of her would never be enough.
That thought had hit Liam the moment his mouth touched her. She had gasped and squirmed, hesitant and unsure. He’d wanted to go slowly and gently, show her she could let go, that she was safe with him.
Cassidy was shy and more reserved than he’d expected, which only made him want her more. She looked at him like she wanted to trust him, like she wanted to believe this could be different.
When she’d confessed that she’d never climaxed with anyone, it had sucked the air from his lungs. He suddenly wanted that for her more than anything. He wanted to be the one to show her how it could be. Not just good, but transcendent.
Three years. She was with Jean-Paul for three years, and he never made her orgasm? Did the man even try?
She deserved to know what that kind of release with a partner felt like.
She deserved someone who cared whether she got there.
He didn’t care how long it took. He had time. He had patience. And he was more than willing to earn every soft sound, every trembling sigh, every ounce of trust she offered him.
When they stepped out of the pine tree forest, fresh snow was falling, blowing effortlessly through the cloudless blue sky. She was bundled back into her coat, fingers laced in his, and he still wasn’t ready for the morning to end.
“You hungry?” he asked, brushing his thumb gently over her gloved knuckles.
“I’m starving,” she said, smiling up at him.
Real-life Liam was a lot like fantasy Liam, and he wanted to take her home.
Liam could do a lot of things—he could woodwork like a master, grow the biggest pumpkin you’ve ever seen, and make a baby stop crying in five seconds flat—but cooking wasn’t one of them.
His go-to was eggs, toast, and a black coffee.
If he wanted to get fancy, he could swing pancakes.
He offered her both options.
“Ooh, pancakes,” she said with a grin as they climbed into his truck. “But only if there’s maple syrup. And bacon. Or sausage. Or both.”
Back in town, they stopped by the grocery store.
They grabbed a carton of eggs, a box of pancake mix, bacon, and a bottle of the good syrup from the local maple farm.
She added blueberries and whipped cream, saying they needed something sweet “to balance all that farm-boy protein.” He tossed in fresh orange juice and a bag of coffee beans.
She added holiday blend tea. It was easy.
Domestic. It felt like they’d done it a dozen times before.
“What?” Cassidy asked, catching him looking at her. She glanced down at her outfit, puzzled. “Do I have pine sap on me still?”
He smiled. “No. Just… I was thinking about how unexpected this morning has been.”
She grinned. “You could say that again. I was just trying to go ice skating.”
“Oh yeah? How’d that work out for you?”
She leaned in, dropping her voice so only he could hear, a playful spark in her gaze. “Best morning ever.”
Liam’s smile lingered, but inside, he was watching her closely, looking for any flicker of doubt in her eyes. Making sure she didn’t regret what they’d shared. Making sure he hadn’t pushed her into something she wasn’t ready for just because the pull between them was too strong to ignore.
He knew about her vow, and he understood why she’d made it. From everything she’d hinted about her ex, the guy sounded like a real piece of work. Liam could understand needing space, needing to find your own footing before letting someone else in.
He didn’t want to be another guy who took more than he gave.
Liam pulled into his driveway. He lived in a small, two-bedroom house on the outskirts of town, not far from his family’s farm.
The house had had solid bones when he’d bought it three years ago.
“Charming, cozy bungalow” had been the real estate description.
It had conveniently left out the popcorn ceilings and a family of raccoons living in the attic.
Zoe had helped rehome the raccoons, and Zach had helped with renovating the rest.
Liam tried not to watch Cassidy too closely as she took in the space—worn leather furniture, a woven rug he’d picked up at a market last fall, the empty dog bed still sitting in the corner like it was waiting for Chance to come back.
She didn’t say anything about the lack of Christmas decorations.
But he could feel her noticing.
Her gaze lingered just a moment too long on the bare mantel. The undecorated windows. The stretch of wall where a tree might go, if he’d put one up.
He waited for the question. For her to ask why his house looked like December hadn’t even arrived.
But she just smiled a little, soft and understanding, and carried the bags into the kitchen like she hadn’t seen a thing.
He was sure then that she knew about Avery. Or, at least, she suspected. And she gave him the space anyway, to tell her in his own time. No pressure. No digging.
Liam swallowed hard and busied himself with unpacking the eggs.
“You want me to do pancakes or bacon?” she asked, pulling her hair into a loose bun.
“You do pancakes. I’ll tackle the bacon.”
She got to work with the confidence of someone who knew her way around a stove, humming quietly as she whisked. He brewed coffee and set the bacon sizzling. It was warm in the kitchen, the windows fogging slightly from the steam, the smell of maple and sugar filling the air.
After the pancakes were done and the bacon perfectly crisp, they sat at his tiny kitchen table, knees brushing, sharing bites and pouring too much syrup.
Midway through breakfast, the conversation shifted.
“So… tell me more about Paris. Do you miss it? Your friends?”
She paused like she’d hit an unexpected wall inside herself.
He poured her a glass of orange juice and handed it over gently. “What’s wrong?”
Cassidy took a sip before answering. “It sounds awful, but I don’t miss them. Any of them.”
She looked up at him, eyes wide like she was only just realizing it.
“All my friends were Jean-Paul’s. Before that I had a few close friends—Claudia, Noah—we met in culinary school. But once I started dating Jean-Paul, I kind of drifted away from them. They didn’t like him. Said he was controlling. And I just stopped hanging out with them.”
Liam’s grip tightened on the table.
Her voice cracked, and she looked away. “I didn’t even question it. I thought he knew better. That I was the problem.”
A slow burn started in his chest.
“I didn’t see it then, but now…” She exhaled shakily. “He pulled me away from everything that made me feel like me. He constantly cut me down. Never made me feel seen. Not in bed, not in life.”
He clenched his jaw.
“Sounds like a real narcissistic asshole,” he said.
What he didn’t say was that he wanted to punch Jean-Paul in the face. That he wanted to find him and make him pay for what he’d done. For the pain he’d caused Cassidy. Thank God she’d found her joy back. He couldn’t imagine her not being the bright, beautiful Cassidy he knew.
Cassidy gave a sad laugh. “I was with him for three years. Three years of thinking I wasn’t enough. That I needed to be smaller. Quieter. Easier to love.”
She looked up at him then, vulnerable and brave all at once.
“But I’m starting to remember who I was before him. And I like her.”
Liam reached across the table, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I like her too.”
She held his gaze for a moment, then smiled.
They didn’t say anything else. Not right then.
It was quiet. Warm. The kind of morning he hadn’t known he was missing until it was here.
He wanted to slow it down, for her sake. He didn’t want to push her. He wondered if she’d realized she’d been in an abusive relationship. He didn’t need to know any more than she’d already said to call it like it was.
Part of him didn’t want to know more, afraid of what he might want to do to the man.
But he would still listen, if that’s what Cassidy needed.