Page 68 of Landing Liam

“Jack and Ava,” Mia announces, nudging me forward like a parent introducing their kid at show-and-tell. “This is Maggie.”

Jack offers me a polite nod, his expression skeptical. “A fellow journalist. Nice to meet you.”

Ava snorts, rolling her eyes as she swats Jack lightly on the arm. “Ignore him. He’s not usually this formal.”

I smile, feeling a little more at ease. “You’re Liam’s cousin, right?” I ask, hoping to ease into the conversation.

“I am,” Ava replies, motioning toward two middle-aged men standing by the coffee maker, bickering over how strong to brew the next pot. “Our dads are brothers.”

“Ah,” I nod, glancing at the men, who both look like slightly older versions of Liam in different ways. It’s easy to see the family resemblance.

“And I’m Jack,” Ava’s husband chuckles before shifting the conversation with a pointed question. “Do you have anything that might help us?”

I take a deep breath, feeling the weight of their attention. “We received an anonymous tip a few days ago,” I begin. “My editor handed it to me because he had to deal with some personal issues. At first, I wasn’t sure there was much to go on, but as I started digging into Liam’s online presence, I noticed a pattern.”

Jack leans forward slightly, his journalist instincts clearly kicking in. “What kind of pattern?”

“Stories about Liam’s personal life started leaking about a year and a half ago,” I explain, my voice steady. “Right around the time…”

“When you started dating Lyla,” Ava interjects, glancing at Liam with a knowing look.

Liam corrects her immediately, his tone firm. “When Lyla and I started having issues in our relationship.”

Ava arches an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “So, you had issues the whole time then?”

I step in quickly to redirect the conversation before it veers too far off track. “What we need to figure out is whether there’s any correlation between those leaks and the anonymous tip,” I say. “I have one of my coworkers reaching out to his contacts to see if they can trace where the tip originated.”

As I finish speaking, I feel Liam’s hand settle lightly on my lower back. At first, my body tenses, unsure of his intentions, but then his thumb rubs slow, soothing circles against my spine. The small gesture steadies me, and I find myself leaning into his touch, drawing strength from his quiet reassurance.

Jack exchanges a look with Ava before turning back to me. “If you’re onto something, we might be able to help dig deeper. Ava and I have access to a lot of local records and sources. Between all of us, we should be able to piece this puzzle together.”

“Let’s get to work, then,” Ava says decisively, her tone leaving no room for argument.

“I have to get back to the lodge,” Liam interjects. “I have to take a drug test and I have one final run down the mountain.”

“Go, go!” Ava waves him off dramatically, shooing him like a mother hen.

But Liam doesn’t budge. “I need to speak with Maggie for a moment,” he says. “Then she’s all yours.”

The room erupts with teasing whistles and exaggerated kissy noises. My cheeks burn with embarrassment, the heat crawling up my neck.

Liam, however, lets it roll off his shoulders like it’s nothing, flashing a lopsided grin as he grabs my hand and leads the way back to the front door. He opens it, stepping aside for me to pass through first. I step onto the chilly porch, the crisp air nipping at my cheeks and the sounds from inside muffled as the door clicks shut behind us.

“Are you going to be okay here?” he asks, softer now, his hands shoved deep into his pockets as if anchoring himself.

I nod, wrapping my arms around myself. “I’ll be fine.”

“They’re a lot,” he says with a faint smile, glancing back toward the door. “But I trust them with my life.”

“Then so do I,” I reply despite the fluttering in my chest.

For a moment, there’s silence. The kind that feels thick with unspoken words. Liam’s eyes catch mine, deep pools of warm chocolate, drawing me in like a secret I want to uncover. He takes a step closer, and the world narrows to just the two of us.

“I’m sorry,” he says suddenly.

“Sorry for what?” I tilt my head, caught off guard.

His throat bobs as he swallows. “For looking through your phone. The messages started popping up when I plugged it in, and… I just reacted. I shouldn’t have. Just because they were about me doesn’t mean I had the right.” He exhales heavily, his breath clouding in the chilly air. “I was wrong.”