“I’ll let you two talk business,” she offered. “I’ll make myself comfortable in the living room.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind waiting?” Liam asked, one hand coming to rest on her back, rubbing lightly.
“Not at all. I expected it.” She smiled at him, warmed by his concern, and waved her Kindle at him. “I came prepared!”
He laughed. “Carrying your library around with you again.”
Grinning, she nodded. “Guilty as charged.”
She moved away, heading down the hallway to the den at the front of the house. It was a cozy room, the wood paneling so different from the rest of the house, but it made it feel comfortable. She chose one of the overstuffed armchairs by the front window, curling up on it and tucking her feet beneath her as she opened her Kindle and chose an old favorite, a mystery suspense set in the UK.
She didn’t have any sense of passing time, but she was well into chapter four when Liam came charging into the room. He snatched her up from the chair, and she shrieked as he spun her in a circle.
“I did it! Well,” he amended, “I put in an offer!”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” She beamed at him as he placed her on her feet. His arms were still around her, steadying her as she found her balance… and then he leaned in and kissed her!
It wasn’t at all like that other kiss she’d endured, after that awful dinner date last year. His lips were warm, compelling, and instinctively her lips shaped to his, parting for him as he lingered, exploring, tasting. She pressed closer to him, her arms sliding about his waist. The rightness of it crept into her, the feeling of coming home. Inside, her cat purred.
Her cat! She remembered, in flash, and terror filled her. She tore herself from Liam, pushing herself away in a panic.
“No! No, Liam, we can’t!”
Her eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t meet his gaze as she stood trembling, one hand pressed against her mouth.
“Naomi.”
He stepped forward, hands coming to rest lightly on her shoulders.
“Naomi. Look at me.”
She raised her gaze at his insistence, his warm hazel eyes steady and confident as they held hers.
“Nothing happened, Naomi. I’m fine.”
“B-but… I could have hurt you!”
“You didn’t. We kissed, and I’m fine. You’re fine.”
She swallowed hard, the fears of a lifetime not easily abandoned.
“But she could have…”
“She didn’t, though.” Liam gave her a little shake. “What is she saying now?”
Naomi blinked at him, then sought out her cat, inside. She had to both laugh and groan, and for the first time, she actually understood what the term “facepalm” was about.
“She’s not saying anything. She’s purring and rolling around,” she reported, scowling. “The hussy.”
“See?”
Naomi bit her lip, unable to help worrying. “Yes, but what if she, I don’t know, suddenly loses it and comes after you?”
“First off, it’s not going to happen,” he said confidently. “Secondly, even if it did, you’d Change. Then I’d change. I don’t know if you remember, I mentioned it before, but a Great Pyrenees is pretty big. All I’d have to do is lay on her.”
She choked on a laugh. “Oh, my gosh. I remember you saying that before. I thought you were nuts then, and I still think you’re nuts now.”
“Not so nuts that I’d pass on what’s right in front of me.” Liam slid his hands down to clasp her fingers. “You’re it for me, Naomi. My Chosen. Seeing you here in this house, walking through it together, it feels so right. Like we’re meant to be here. Together. You and me.”
