“Four tiers with four flavors. Carrot cake, chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet.” My answers sound as mechanical as they feel. I haven’t been able to shake the sticky sensation since Wednesday. I’m caught in a fly trap of my own mind.
Quickly, I start the ignition and buckle. Before leaving, I take a deep breath and look at Liam, finding his intense gaze already on me.
“There’s one rule we need to discuss.”
Liam takes my tone seriously, which I appreciate. His jokes didn’t really bother me over the last few days because I don’t know what the fuck we’re doing or what the rules of “fake dating” someone would even be. This one is important though.
“You’re meeting my family,” I say. “Not only as Lucas and Mia’s cousin, but as my… boyfriend.” I scrunch my nose in distaste.We need to come up with a better alternative to that.“I don’t introduce men to my family, so I’m asking that you, please, do not embarrass me, Liam.”
He shakes his head, not totally following my thought process.
“I don’t care if this is fake or temporary or whatever,” I insist. “What I do care about is not looking like a fool at the end of it. We’re exclusively pretending to be together—and that’s non-negotiable for me.”
Realization floods his features and he leans across the console. Gently cupping my jaw, Liam tilts my head up so we’re making eye contact. “Glad we’re on the same page about that, honey. I don’t share my woman, and until this thing between us ends, that’s exactly what you are.” His thumb brushes my bottom lip. The same gesture he made under the spray of the hotel shower before we fucked again. “We don’t have to have sex—hell, we don’t even have to kiss if you don’t want to. I’m still going to treat you with as much care and respect as I would if I were lucky enough to have a real shot with you.”
“Okay,” I breathe out. My heart races like I sprinted a mile—I feel just as exhilarated in the wake of his promise. There’s never been a person who enthralls me the way Liam does, someone who draws me into their orbit so naturally, as if we’re meant to share a galaxy. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
He nods slowly, staring at my lips, before adding, “One more thing: I don’t mean that Idon’twant to have sex with you, or to kiss you—to touch you again. I’m just saying that the ball is in your court.” A small sense of relief rushes through me at the confirmation he’s still as attracted to me as I am to him. “I’m ready to play whenever you are.”
Rolling my eyes and snickering, I push his chest and add some needed distance. I’m not afraid to make the first move with a man. I’m worried about what the potential outcomes of getting more tangled up with Liam would be. And how badly they will hurt come Christmastime.
“Should we go?” I ask, turning forward and putting the car in gear.
He nods and asks if he can play music. There isn’t anything I don’t like, so I hand him my phone.
The drive to Asher’s house—where the party is being held—is quick, but at the last second, I decide to go straight to the main road down Amada Beach’s coast instead of left at the stoplight. It adds about ten minutes to the drive, each one more precious than the last as we get closer to seeing my family.
The sea salt breeze is pulled in from the ocean, cooling the sting of the bright sun beating down above us. That, plus the soft melody of Hayley William’s voice in the background, is a balm to my fraying sanity.
Liam either doesn’t know the town well enough to notice my wrong turn, or he’s choosing not to say anything. Mostly, he shuffles through my music library, commenting on what he likes along the way. Liam has as wide of a range of taste as I do, adding another begrudging mark in the “pro” column.
Our conversation doesn’t stray far from music and lingering questions Liam has about the town, but it’s the perfect distraction whether he knows it or not.
Once we get to Asher’s house, I’m far from calm, but less anxious than expected. Though, if locking Liam in the car and driving far,faraway was an option, I wouldn’t be opposed. Sighing, I get out of the car and subtly shake my arms out.
“What does your man have to do to drive this?” Liam asks behind me. Turning slowly, I raise an eyebrow and I’m metwith a cheeky grin. His gaze is intense despite his light tone, assessing me.
Leaning into the backseat, I give him an unimpressed look and grab my beach bag. “Not happening.”
I don’t mention that the car was one of the last gifts our dad gave our mom before he passed away. She had always wanted a bright red convertible but felt like it would be frivolous when she had three—almost four—kids to think about.
For her birthday that year, when she was still pregnant with Vivi, he surprised her with the classic car. It was her prized possession for over a decade, even when she couldn’t bring herself to sit in it again. With the help of my brother Asher and one of his friends, they were able to completely replace the engine and restore it to its former glory.
She gave it to me when I was twenty-three and had graduated from my culinary program. It’s beenmyprized possession since.
He laughs easily, holding the large cake box. “I’ll share my perfect driving record with you.”
I tilt my head back and forth as I meet him at the hood. “I have to be dating someone for a minimum of six months before they can even sit in the driver’s seat.”
His smile takes over his handsome face. “I’ll drive us to the winter recital then—it’s a date.”
I scoff. “You seem pretty confident with your chances.”
He stops a couple steps ahead of me, and gives me an appreciative once-over. “I warned you, I’m a clingy fucker.”
I bite my cheek to stop myself from smiling at his flirting. Looking at him, someone wouldn’t expect that from him, but I don’t think he’s lying. At first glance, Liam comes off rough, intimidating. He has a large, beefy frame that’s covered in tattoos, and can wear a mean scowl as well as he does any grin. That image is usually shattered withinseconds of him opening his big mouth anyway, unless he’s standing between me and a creep at a bar… Or Stefan.
Through Vivi’s love of reading, I know all about the different types of book boyfriends of the world. We even reinstated our monthly book club recently, and her choices are always romance. I know a thing or two about thegolden retrievertype, and in a lot of ways, Liam fits that archetype. People don’t assume he’s as friendly as he is though, plus he has a bad rep around here. I think a Rottweiler or Doberman would fit him better.
