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Legs scrambles about, excited to get inside, and I take a moment to assess the house. Look at the door that I’m about to open into another part of Liam’s life. I realize that I can’t remember the last time I had this much anticipation for a Friday night.
Oh, wait. I do remember.
It was last Friday night. In the bathroom at the hotel, about to share a bed with a stranger.
A stranger who’s no longer a stranger… and I’m glad for it.
* * *
“Took you long enough!” Luke’s cheerful voice echoes as we walk into the living room.
I stop in my tracks. It looks like Pinterest exploded in here... in a good way. The room is small, but sparkling clean and gorgeously decorated in warm, earthy tones.
Lana Mae has good taste.
Luke is seated on the couch and Legs barrels towards him. He swings her onto his lap. “How was dance class, rockstar?”
While Legs regales him with the stories she told Liam and me in the car, my eyes glance around the room. Take in the framed art prints on the wall, the plants, the tall, overflowing bookcase. My eyes then land on the pretty woman sitting next to Luke on the couch. She has fair, sandy hair and is holding a glass of red wine. She’s also wearing cut-off jean shorts that show off killer legs I’d, well, kill for.
Her gaze zeroes in on me. “Hiiiii, you must be Annie.”
She practically bounces off the couch with excitement. I’m not sure exactly what I’ve done to spark so much joy, but I’m sure Marie Kondo would be proud.
“Hi!” I say as peppily as possible, trying to match her energy. “You must be Mindy.”
“Sure am,” she twinkles.
At that moment, a huge, orange cat comes out of nowhere and brushes my legs, purring loudly.
“Oh, hi there!” I lean down to pet him, and as he saunters away, orange patches of hair cover my pants. I brush them off.
“Don’t bother,” Liam grunts. “You’ll be covered in orange by the time we’re finished eating.”
“Mommy calls them gifts,” Legs chimes in. “Special gifts from Harry Styles that make her late for work.”
My eyes swivel to Liam and he gives me that closed-lipped smile again, his eyes glinting.
Well, that clears up a few things.
“He doesn’t usually take to people so quick,” Liam says, watching Harry Styles the cat come back my way.
“He must know I’m a big fan.” I kneel so I can pet him better, then throw Liam another look from beneath my lashes. “Even if he is too young for me.”
Liam snorts with laughter and looks away. I grin, happy that I elicited that reaction.
Mindy watches the whole interaction with an open mouth, like she’s observing an alien life form.
“Annie, take a seat.” She pats the chair beside her and I oblige. Then, she starts plying me with a million questions, which I happily answer. She’s exactly what I would’ve expected for Luke’s fiancée: sweet, warm, chatty and funny.
Meanwhile, Liam leans against the doorframe, looking around the scene as if it’s entirely unfamiliar to him. I get a sudden uncomfortable inkling—Luke kind of put Liam on the spot, andhehad no opportunity to say “no” if this was awkward for him.
“You okay?” I ask him when Mindy gets up to grab something, giving me a momentary pause in the barrage of questions on the nitty-gritty details of my life in Boston.
Liam’s eyes flicker, laced with caution. “‘Course. Why wouldn’t I be?” It’s apparently a rhetorical question, because he then straightens and announces to the room, “I’m going to get changed.”
I can’t help but feel a little bit thrown off. Liam should be his element here, but he’s reverted to his stiff, formal self. Distanced Liam. It’s a bit of a reality check. Liam is the man I should be complaining about to my colleagues by the water cooler. Not having dinner with and thinking about his inked bare chest.
My cheeks warm at even a hint of that memory.
