A good day—with the exception of a few minutes.
Justlong.
Having Stefan around feels heavier than it ever has before. Letters and random gifts were easy to ignore. Sometimes I wouldn’t even open the mail before throwing it out.
Now that he’s back in Amada Beach, it’s not as easy to pretend like he doesn’t exist.
It’s exactly why he moved himself and Ruby here.
I know it.
I know him.
Figuring out what his endgame is hasn’t been as easy, though. Stefan could have woken up bored one day and decided to terrorize my life for a few months without any greater reason.
My gut is telling me it is deeper than that.
Knocking his foot against mine, Liam raises his eyebrows in question. I demanded he stop asking if I was okay a few hours ago, and I know he’s struggling to honor that.
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head and push my shoulder against his. “You drive me crazy sometimes.”
“Great movie,” he retorts with a cheeky grin.
Itisa classic rom-com.
“Great idea, Viv,” Lexi calls out. “We should play never have I ever.”
Looking at her, I say in a dry voice, “We’ve played that multiple times now. What else is there to guess?”
“We have a new friend.” She waves her arm in Liam’s direction. “Plus, I can always think of something original.”
“I’m down,” Liam says, looking at me with open curiosity.
I let out a breath and hold up my fingers, surrendering to my fate. They’re all going to target me.
“I’ll go first.” Vivi shimmies her shoulders in excitement.She’s drunk. “Never have I ever… had a three-way.”
Hudson is the only person who puts a finger down. It’s not surprising, since we’ve played this a hundred fucking times, but it’s news to Liam.
Side-eyeing Liam, I clock all ten of his fingers still raised. He catches me and leans closer. “I don’t share my woman.”
A blush touches my cheeks and I hope the firelight hides the evidence. When Liam says that, it feels sexy and possessive. Dominant. Things I have not sought from men in a very long time.
The respect Liam has for me as a woman, as a person, is always evident. He proved it again earlier by listening to my needs instead of his own ego. He’s greedy for his partner because of that respect, not because he views her as a commodity.
It’s getting increasingly harder to pretend my attraction for him isn’t growing stronger every minute we spend together. Sometimes, I can’t remember what the point of it was from the beginning.
“Me next,” Lexi chimes in. “Never have I ever been engaged.” She says it with a shit-eating grin. It’s one of her go-tos since it eliminates half the group.
Grady, Vivi, Knox, Lucas, and I put a finger down.
So does Liam.
So does Liam.
This time, I openly stare at him, confused.
I don’t care that he was engaged, but I want to know why he hasn’t told me—especially when Stefan has been such a nuisance in our lives.
