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“I am,leannán. Does that upset ye?”
Does it? I remember the list of names from my apartment building, and bile rises in my throat.
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I don’t want it to. Does that make me a bad person?”
Ronan kisses me softly. “Ye could never be a bad person,leannán. Stay here. Only let Liam in. I love ye.”
He presses one more firm kiss to my lips, and he’s gone. I mechanically move to lock the deadbolt, sliding down the wall, my knees to my chest as I wait for Liam to arrive.
Chapter Twenty-Two
FIONA
Liam has lived with us for four days, and I have no idea how Tiggy put up with him for so long. The woman is clearly a saint. He never cleans up after himself. I shudder to think what his condo looks like because if it looks anything like the kitchen here after Liam has used it… gross. Just gross.
Maybe he has a cleaning service come in? I think Ronan used to, but he canceled them after I arrived. Even if they’d kept coming, I bet he would have canceled them anyway – he wouldn’t trust them when I’m locked up in my ivory tower.
Liam is drinking coffee as Ronan and I come out of the bedroom. Ronan calls out goodbye and leaves. I don’t think the search for Grant is going well because Ronan has been in a grumpy mood when he gets home.
Not that he’d tell me. He probably would if I asked, but I don’t want to know, and I think Ronan has picked up on that. He hasn’t offered a single hint.
I pour myself a coffee and stand across the kitchen island from Liam, who is scrolling through something on his phone. I glimpse a scantily-clad woman, and I guess he’s onTinderor something
He can’t go out to pick up women, so he must match with them on his phone and meets up with them when he leaves at night once Ronan is home.
He says he goes to “give us some privacy,” but I’m pretty sure it’s so he can get laid.
“She’s hot,” I offer. Liam’s eyes dart up to mine, his mouth curving into a knowing smile as they drop back to his phone.
“Yeah, she is,” he agrees, swiping to match with her. I watch him for a moment longer and can’t help but take another jab.
“You know they call you ‘Sinner’?”
Liam’s head comes back up. This time, he’s laughing. “I’ve heard.”
He takes a sip of his coffee and holds my gaze. I tip my head to the side, pursing my lips as I study his face. Liam’s a good-looking young man. I wonder what his life would have been like if he hadn’t tried to jack Ronan’s car. Probably shit.
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
Liam snorts. “I’d rather be known as a sinner than a saint.”
“You know, I used to wonder if they called you that because you were Ronan’s sidekick. You know, the Irish Saint and the Sinner.”
Liam smirks at me like the idea occurred to him as well.
“But since you’ve screwed your way through every woman who works at Oracle, I think maybe you earned it all on your own.”
A smug look flashes across Liam’s face, and I roll my eyes. He grins, winking at me.
“Noteverywoman who works at Oracle. I didn’t touch you or Mellie.”
“Because you don’t want to die strapped to Niall’s table,” I shoot back as Liam’s nose wrinkles.
“I almost did,” he admits quietly.
I start with surprise at the candid confession. I’m assuming he means when Ronan caught him trying to steal his car. I study Liam silently. I’m glad Ronan didn’t kill him. Glad Niall didn’t torture him.
I like Liam. He’s a good kid. He’s almost five years older than me, but I can’t think of him as anything other than a kid. There’s something about him, especially right now. Sometimes I wonder what it will take to make Liam Kelly grow up. Sometimes I wonder if there’s anything in the world that could.
