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“And then...” Margaret slid her hand lower to trace the defined ridges of muscle on his abdomen. “Then the botany professor took him back to her hotel room and was so blinded by his godlike physique, she decided it didn’t matter that he wasn’t smart or interesting.”
Liam gave her a warning look and slid a hand teasingly over her rib cage. He let it hover just over her ribs with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Margaret’s mouth twitched as she struggled to keep a straight face. “And she didn’t care that his hair was a shaggy mess, either.” Margaret shrieked with laughter as he began to tickle her. “Because his hot body was—was—” she gasped for breath “—all that really mattered.”
He flipped her onto her back with expert precision and rolled on top of her, until her laughter eased and she began placing sinfully delicious kisses along his neck.
“That’s quite a story, Professor,” Liam murmured, trying to focus. It wasn’t easy when she was sliding her talented hands over his backside. “How does it end?”
She wrapped her long legs around his waist and rolled until she was on top again. “I could tell you, but I’d rather show you.”
Liam was just about to throw caution to the wind and embrace his new life with passion and enthusiasm, when a shrill ringing sound came from the bedside table. He tried to ignore it, instead focusing on Margaret’s mouth as she lapped her way down his chest. The ringing continued, and Liam muttered a curse under his breath.
Margaret giggled. “Did you just say, ‘bollocks’?”
He blinked down at her. “No.” If he was going to fit in, he’d need to adapt his manner of speaking. The angels had undoubtedly taken care of most of it, but they wouldn’t be instilling modern curse words in his head, which was a pity because curse words were often quite useful. Those, he’d just have to learn on his own.
“You should probably answer that,” she said, rolling away and sliding from the bed. “And since we’re both up now, let’s go get breakfast.”
Liam watched her rise, gloriously naked, to tread lightly across the plush blue carpet. She flicked on the bathroom light and it highlighted the enticing curves of her body. Before, he’d never actually seen her naked in full light. They’d always had clandestine meetings late at night when her husband was away.
“Liam?”
He dragged his gaze up to her face. “Mmm?”
“Your phone?” She pointed to the still-ringing phone, then closed the door behind her.
“Right.” He fumbled for it, automatically knowing which buttons to press. That was convenient. For a moment he just stared at the device in his hand, testing its weight and marveling at the vivid, flashing lights. He wondered what other skills the angels had bestowed on him to navigate this new world. The ringing continued until he finally swiped the screen and answered. “Yes?”
“Liam, it’s Hugh McLeod.”
Liam’s hand trembled as he held the phone to his ear. The squire. This was unexpected. He needed to tread lightly to figure out his role here.
“I told Cora,” Hugh continued. “She knows about you needing a place to stay.”
Liam struggled to sound neutral. It was disconcerting to hear Cora’s father speaking so plainly in his ear. Squire McLeod’s voice still held that quiet ring of authority. Liam fought for composure. “Hello...” My lord? Sir? Best just to skip it. “How are you?”
Cora’s father made a guttural sound of dismissal. “I’m fine, Liam. Fine as can be, but it’s your situation we need to figure out.”
“All right.” Liam stared around the room as if the floral curtains and dainty objects could give him answers.
“I think you should live with my daughter,” Hugh declared.
Liam choked a little, uncertain if he’d heard the man correctly. “Come again?”
“It just makes sense. You’re new to Providence Falls. You’re both police investigators. Heck, you’ll even be working at the same station together. And Cora’s been looking for a roommate for a while now, so I say, why not you?”
Liam struggled with the knowledge that he was now supposed to be an officer of the law. The irony there was laughable, but first things first. “You want me to move into Cora’s house,” he said, incredulous. “To live and eat and...sleep there under the same roof? With your daughter?”
“Of course, Liam, what else would I mean—”
“Sounds great.” Sounds bloody damn well fantastic. He grinned like a lunatic, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He was beginning to like this assignment more and more. “When can I move in?”
“Well, that’s the problem,” Hugh continued, “Cora’s not on board yet. I brought up the idea with her yesterday and she flat out refused. I asked her to take you in as a special favor to me since your father and I were partners, but she doesn’t think that’s enough justification for her to have to... How did she put it? Ah, yes, ‘bring a potential creep-a-zoid under her roof.’”
Liam flinched. He felt as if he’d been hit over the head with a river rock. Cora thought he was a creep. He’d almost forgotten. They were complete strangers in this life.
Hugh chuckled, then added, “I assured her you’re a fine upstanding man, just like your father, but she’s not convinced since she’s never met you.”
