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I’d be living in the den of the lion. Was my unease because I didn’t trust him, or didn’t trust myself?
We finished putting my things away. I ended up with a toothbrush, toothpaste, some face-cleansing wipes, and a hairbrush in the bathroom across the hall, along with some underwear, T-shirts, a pair of sweatpants, and a nightgown in two drawers in the other bedroom.
“What time did you say he's coming over?” I asked.
“Seven o'clock,” he yelled from the other room.
That didn't give us a lot of time. I opened up the large refrigerator. “You know if you're going to cook dinner for somebody you have to have something to cook,” I called.
The fridge was even emptier than I’d expected for a bachelor: no vegetables, no fruit save three apples and some moldy strawberries, and no meat. The freezer section had the real stash. It was chock full of frozen pizzas and ice cream.
Liam joined me to view the disaster. “Pretty pathetic, huh?”
I frowned at him. “You can’t seriously eat this shit on a regular basis.”
He pulled out a package of Green Giant frozen broccoli and cheese. “At least I have my vegetables every day.”
Pathetic is right.
“Where's the nearest market?” I asked.
“Lambert’s is a few blocks north.”
“You’re coming with me.”
His phone rang as I collected my purse. He answered it and waved me over.
“I'm so sorry to hear that, Hue,” he said into the phone. “Amy and I would love to have you over another time… Okay, I’ll wait to hear from you.” He ended the call with a simple goodbye and smiled at me. “You're off the hook. No chef duty tonight. Hue said something came up and they couldn’t make it. He’ll reschedule later.”
“But we still need groceries,” I told him. “I'm not eating frozen pizza, and neither are you. If I’m spending time over here, we’re eating fresh food.”
His smirk telegraphed a wise-ass comment. “We can order out for fresh pizza.”
I placed my hand on his chest and pushed him back. “Really? As your girlfriend, I won't let you eat crap. We're cooking, and not this frozen shit. Maybe keep the veggies and the ice cream, but everything else goes. And you can start by joining me at the market. We're going to need more than I can carry back by myself.”
Chapter 18
(Nine days later)
Liam
It had been justover a week since I moved Amy into the penthouse with me.
We were still on high alert, expecting a visit from Schmulian at any moment. He had called every two days or so, apologizing for having to delay and asking me to be patient. So, we had been careful to keep the evidence of Amy’s stay in the guest bedroom to a minimum.
And I’d survived a whole week in close proximity to Amy every evening and morning without violating her boundaries.
I woke first each day and was showered before she came in to use the shower and get dressed. I gave her the privacy she deserved and pitched in by making her bed for her while she was showering in the master bath.
We left together in the morning.
Twice I had spied a girl across the street on the Common who might have been my shadow, but she was too far away to be sure. It was more likely that I had gotten paranoid since catching a glimpse of her taking my picture at the opera that night. Now most redheads looked suspicious to me.
I also drove Amy in and dropped her at work each morning. She made her own way back as our end-of-day schedules didn’t mesh.
This morning I’d jumped in the shower early. Waking up to thoughts of Amy across the hall, my morning wood was stiff as ever, and persistent. As I finished soaping up, I had to take things further. I steadied myself against the wall with one arm and with my other hand began to stroke. I closed my eyes. The memory of her undressing and slowly turning for me that first night sent my hand into overdrive.
The sound wasn’t loud, but it was definitely a knock.
