AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He was a charming guy. That was a fact. But charm wasn’t necessarily bad. Just because she’d had a lousy experience with a lying good-for-nothing in the past didn’t mean she was going to fall into the same trap again.
A sudden chill moved down her backbone. Why exactly was she thinking about David just now? It wasn’t like there was anything about Liam that reminded her of her ex-husband.
Except there sort of was. The whole charm thing. David’s was all on the surface and all for effect. All to get women to want him, to go to bed with him. That trait of his had ultimately made her life miserable. She didn’t think she’d have the same experience with Liam, but she couldn’t be sure.
As if he knew she was thinking about him, Liam turned to look at her. “You look very solemn all of a sudden. What’s going on?” He ran his fingers through her hair, pushing it back from her face.
“Just…stuff. Family.” Given that there was no way on God’s green earth she’d admit she’d been thinking about her ex-husband.
He raised an eyebrow. “Carol?”
“Yeah, sort of. We’ve got some issues to take care of when she comes back from Brett’s place. And I need to buy her some new clothes for school.” And this time she’d also buy herself a few things. Just because she spent a lot of time in her cheesemaker overalls didn’t mean she didn’t need a few nice things, too.
Especially if she went out with Liam again.
“When’s she due back?”
Ruth sighed. “No telling. She’ll come back when she’s tired of being at Brett’s or when Ginger decides she’s not that lonesome for her sons anymore. That could be any time from tomorrow up until next week.”
Liam’s lips moved into a sly grin. “Which means you might be free during the evening at least until next week, right?”
She shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. “Yeah, maybe.”
“So we could have dinner again?”
“Sure. I guess.” Although she was pretty sure dinner would be the least of the evening’s activities.
“And breakfast?” His grin was broader now.
Ruth’s cheeks flushed again. Dammit. “Sure. Breakfast, too.”
Liam turned on his back, folding his arms behind his head. “I can’t offer you too much in the way of breakfast tomorrow, much as I’d like to impress you. I’ve got cereal, and I might have a couple of eggs, although I can’t promise that. I haven’t had time to hit City Market for a week or so.”
Ruth narrowed her eyes. “You’re talking to someone who owns a deli that does some of the best breakfast pastries in town, courtesy of your friend Peaches. If you can supply enough coffee to wake us up, I can supply a much better breakfast than cereal or even eggs.”
“Ah, Peaches.” Liam sighed. “I’d forgotten about her. And her scones. And her muffins.”
“How do you know about her scones and her muffins? I thought she couldn’t bake at Black Mountain Tavern?”
He turned toward her again, raising his hand to count off. “She managed to bake at her place, even when she couldn’t bake at the tavern. She’d bring stuff in the morning. It was enough to make everybody show up at work early, believe me. Yet another reason Stanton is pissed about losing her. Also, Bec has been sneaking me Peaches’s discards for the past week. The ones she doesn’t eat herself or save for Wyatt, that is.”
“I didn’t know we had any discards. There can’t be many. Peaches doesn’t make that many mistakes, so far as I can tell.”
“She has high standards. She also likes Bec. And me. They may not be discards so much as set-asides.” His forehead furrowed. “You won’t make her stop doing it, will you? That would definitely ruin my morning.”
“As long as Peaches goes on turning out the best pastries in town, I don’t care who gets her seconds. Of course, I’ll need her to save a couple for me, too.” She stretched her arms over her head, feeling warm and luxurious and faintly guilty. “I should probably head home.”
Liam’s smile faded. “Why? We were just talking about breakfast, remember? That requires you to be here when we wake up.”
