“Oh, you were talking about lunch.” He aimed one of his signature mischievous smiles at her over the desk.
“What were you talking about?” she asked in a rush. That smile always made her heart race in anticipation.
“I,” he said as he started to prowl to her side of the desk. Taking her hand, he pulled her up. He then sat down in her desk chair before sliding her onto his lap in one smooth movement. “Was talking about dessert.”
Running his hand into her hair, he pressed her lips to his. She moaned when he deepened the kiss before remembering where they were. She pushed away to stand back up. Liam held firmly onto her hips, keeping her from making it to her feet.
“Liam, someone could walk in or see us on the way up the stairs.” She liked her job and was in no position to lose it.
“What time is your next appointment?” he asked.
“It’s at one,” she answered, still wrestling with him to stand up. He checked the clock she hung on the wall when she moved into this office.
“We have fifteen minutes,” he said. “And I promise to keep it PG-rated.” He squinted his eyes and tilted his head slightly like he was considering something.
Chiara stilled, waiting to see what that overactive mind had come up with now.
“Maybe PG-13, but not higher than that,” he added. A grin spread across his face right before he pulled her back against him. This time when his tongue slid against her lips, she decided to go with the plan. Dessert just so happened to be her favorite part of the meal anyway.
“Damn, Miss Scaletti. You really should hang a sign or something,” a voice said.
Chiara pushed off Liam, smoothing her skirt back down. She heard him chuckling at the red creeping across her face.
“Hello, ladies,” he said, turning his attention to the girls that kept coming back for help in dealing with a difficult roommate. “You might need to find a better roommate next year.”
“And miss the ongoing softcore porn in here? No way.” This time he let out a full belly laugh. “Come on, walk me out,” he said, pulling Chiara strategically in front of him before heading toward the door. With a quick kiss, he started down the stairs.
“You know we’re not twelve. We enjoy seeing a good chub as much as the next woman,” one of the girls yelled after him.
The slowly receding blush quickly came back in full force as she listened to Liam laugh the entire way out the front door. Leaning against the wall outside her office, she placed her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for counseling college students after all. Taking a deep breath, she walked back into her office.
* * *
Liam was still chuckling over the girls in Chi’s office as he climbed down the steps to the bar. Normally Parker would have tended bar with her on a Friday night, but Liam had insisted he do it one last time before he headed back. He wanted to spend every second near her before he had to leave.
Walking out of the hallway that separated the offices from the main bar, he spotted Chi as she tied one of the aprons around her waist.
He greeted the two old bartenders from the early shift. Parker had been forced to realize he couldn’t continue to work every shift when the bar expanded to include lunch.
Opening at ten, Parker had been surprised by the business crowd that was interested in hanging out for an hour over lunch. He had been approached by several older bartenders near retirement that wanted a slower pace than the weekend evening shifts.
“Hey gorgeous,” Liam whispered in Chiara’s ear as he walked behind her to take over the server's orders at the end of the bar. He smiled, watching the goose bumps rise on her arms. Damn, he liked having that effect on her.
“Hey yourself,” she answered. She smiled back at him from her place by the taps.
He already knew it was going to be impossible to keep his hands off her tonight. Hell, if he had his way, he would throw her over his shoulder and carry her upstairs to his bed. Or even better, carry her back to Oklahoma with him. But that wasn’t a possibility. Her world was here, so he had best not dwell on that.
He shook his head and turned back toward one of the servers to concentrate on the orders she was giving him.
He had managed to work an entire hour with only brushing against Chiara a few times as they passed when her brother and his wife walked in. Plastering on a friendly smile, Liam managed to shake Max’s hand in greeting. After receiving a quick peck on the cheek from Karlie, they both headed for the table Parker had reserved for the evening. Soon Ronan and Aubrey joined them.
“Hey Pop,” Liam called, seeing his dad enter from the back hallway. He was accompanied by one of the volunteers from his senior living community center. If Liam had to guess, the pretty older woman was volunteering for more than just driving his dad around. But some questions didn’t need to be asked.
He walked down to the other end of the bar so his dad could ruffle his hair, a habit that the older man had done since Liam could remember. Soon Ronan would get his ruffled too, and even Parker stood a very good chance. Liam had caught his older brother doing it to his sons several times, so he guessed it was also a trait that ran in their DNA.
“Mr. Donnelly, would you like me to trade with Liam so you can visit with him while he works?” Chiara asked.
“Now, why would I want to put up with his mug when I can stare at a pretty girl all night?” he answered, the slight slur in his speech still evident.
