I wanted to believe he meant something by this. That he wasn’t just flirting with me like he flirted with every woman. I wanted to hope that he cared for me like I so obviously cared for him. But I’d spent the last five minutes trying to get myself together. The last thing I wanted was to negate that hard work.
“Yes. That’s my job. I need to know what you want and how you like things.” I swallowed against my emotions. “That’s what you hired me for. That was what we agreed on.” I held my ground. I wasn’t going to melt every time he looked at me anymore. I was here to do a job, and I was going to be the best damn assistant I could be.
Liam paused as he searched my gaze once more and then took a step back. “Your job,” he repeated.
“My job. You can’t lie to me anymore. I need to know these things so I can assist you.” I forced a smile, hoping he’d think I was relaxed and not the emotional mess that I felt. “It’s my job to take care of you, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Liam held my gaze a moment longer and then nodded. “Okay. I’ll be honest with you.”
I grinned at him. “Perfect.” I switched Samuel to my other hip and nodded in the direction of our table. “Now, let’s go eat.”
I spent all of breakfast engaging Katie in conversation. She kept it surface level, which I was fine with. I didn’t really desire to be buddy-buddy with her. But I was going to be polite because that was what assistants did.
Once breakfast was paid for, I buckled Samuel back into his car seat and moved to pick him up, but Liam beat me to it. I glared at him, but if he noticed, he didn’t acknowledge me. He kept his focus forward as he lifted Samuel high enough so the car seat wasn’t knocking into people’s chairs as we navigated through the restaurant.
I kept to the back of the limo with Samuel while Liam and Katie sat next to each other. I tried not to notice how perfect they looked together. Katie was exactly who I’d pictured Liam being with. She looked like a rock star’s wife.
While I looked like I was playing dress-up for a role I was never meant to fill.
When we got to the mall, Liam insisted on wearing Samuel. When I tried to fight him on that, he just waved my worry away, stating there was no way I could babywear and try on clothes at the same time. Since he was tagging along, he said he’d do the hard work while I picked out clothes.
It frustrated me, but I eventually relented. He got a little turned around with all the straps and buckles, but with my help, he was set up and ready to go in no time. Samuel was all giggles as I helped slide him into the harness facing out. I gave him a few quick kisses and then followed Liam and Katie as they followed behind Liam’s bodyguards who led the way into the mall.
Liam had been right. A rock star and a baby were a lethal combo. We only got a few feet into the mall before he was completely surrounded by fans. Katie and I kept to the outskirts of the crowd while Liam stood in the middle, signing items and taking pictures.
It was cute, seeing him interact with fans. They were gushing over him and Samuel, and Liam took it in stride. Before this week, I’d never been around famous people, but I’d heard horror stories about how they treated their fanbase. It was nice to see that Liam wasn’t that kind of guy.
“I’ll never get used to this.”
Katie’s voice had me turning in her direction. She was leaning against the wall, watching Liam.
“Get used to what?” I knew that she was probably talking about Liam. I just wasn’t sure what part she was talking about.
“The fame. The popularity. The women.” She glanced over at me. “Everywhere Liam goes, women flock him.” She frowned. “Haven’t you noticed?”
Truth was, I had noticed. Last night at the concert. At the restaurants. At the library in Harmony. Liam was a woman magnet. And from the look on his face right now, he didn’t hate it.
“Yeah. His love of women was one of the reasons for our breakup.” She sighed as she reached up and grabbed a section of her hair. She inspected the strands for split ends, every so often breaking an end off.
My brain was trying to process what she was hinting at. “Are you saying he…cheated on you?” Was that possible? Maybe. After all, Liam was a flirt. But the guy I’d been spending so much time with didn’t seem like the type who would jeopardize his relationship with his daughter’s mother.
He told me he was different. Had he been lying to me?
“There’s a lot you don’t know about Liam Carmichael,” Katie said.
I glanced over to see her attention had returned to Liam. I was beginning to realize how true that statement was and how ridiculous I had been. I’d only known the guy a few short days. Sure, we’d spent every hour of those days together, but that didn’t mean I knew him.
And I’d been a fool to think I did.
“I’m starting to realize that,” I whispered, more to myself than to Katie.
As if he sensed that I was talking about him, Liam’s gaze found me. He studied me for a moment, his normal flirty smile softening. After a few seconds, he told the crowd he was done, and his bodyguards stepped in to keep the crowd from following him.
“Sorry about that,” he said, his gaze locking with mine. “Are you ready to do some shopping?”
I nodded.
He stared at me for a moment longer before he turned his attention to Katie. “You good?” he asked. It was hard not to miss the sharpness in his tone as he spoke to her.
