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“I will be in touch when we have something on that other matter. And my best to Amy.” he said, before we wrapped up the call.
My finger hovered over the phone, but I couldn’t bring myself to dial. I’d rather lick the bottom of a birdcage than ask Nick Knowlton for help. I decided to wander over to Josh’s office instead to see if he was back yet.
* * *
Amy
It was a nice evening——onlymoderately muggy by Boston standards. I’d decided to walk home from work. I’d taken Liam’s suggestion and had been bringing a set of flats to the office with me so I had the option when I wanted it. But the third bottle of Snapple this afternoon was taking its toll, and I wasn’t going to make it without a pee stop.
I entered the Subway shop and purchased my obligatory item after using the restroom. I chose a bag of chips. I was stashing them in my purse when I spied someone I recognized across the street.
It was Liam’s partner, Josh, hailing a cab with a girl in tow. I waved, but he didn’t see me. I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture seconds before they entered the cab. If she was the “imaginary” girlfriend, Brinna, this picture was going to earn me a quick thousand dollars from Liam, and maybe a backrub to go with it. And, it appeared Liam’s guess that Josh might be ashamed of her looks had been wrong. From this distance at least, she had looked quite pretty. Good for Josh. He deserved it.
Arriving home at the Tremont Street building, the cool air in our lobby was a relief after all the blocks of walking. It was odd how I now considered this my home now——not only Liam’s place, but our place. It had become my refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city, and the pressures of work.
Coming home to a meal with my man and an evening on the couch was an elixir to my soul. Liam could make me laugh, and he could drive me crazy in the bedroom, but most of all, I could relax in his arms in a way I’d never been able to with Matt, or anyone else for that matter.
I finally knew the meaning of someone having my back. Liam always supported me. The blowup over the Winterbourne money had been him trying to protect me. He had shared the details of their history, and now I understood how I had misjudged the situation and Liam’s intentions. Even his constant insistence on complimenting me had slowly become more endearing than the obnoxious habit I had first taken it for.
Living here felt so comfortable now.
I turned the key and opened the door upstairs. After a quick reapplication of deodorant, I changed into shorts and a Brown University T-shirt. I’d planned rosemary chicken with homemade fries for dinner tonight.
The oven was warming when Liam walked in with his usualHello, gorgeousgreeting. It didn’t seem to matter if I was dolled up for work or wearing the equivalent of a potato sack like tonight, he was intent on making me feel good about myself, and it was working.
I snapped a dish towel at him and caught him square on the ass.
“Keep that up, and I’ll punish you,” he said, scooting out of range.
Music to my ears. He’d been threatening to tie me up one of these nights, and since I hadn’t ever done that before, it was sounding sexier and sexier.
“And what kind of punishment did you have in mind?” Maybe a tongue lashing on the dining table? Tying me up? Or fucking against the window for everybody to see.
“I’ll make you eat brussels sprouts for a week.”
I put down the dish towel. “That’s just plain mean.” I went back to slicing the potatoes. I could sulk as well as the next girl.
But it didn’t faze him. Something was amiss in his world today, and I didn’t know what. With my wall-to-wall meetings, we hadn’t talked since this morning.
He sat silently on the couch and closed his eyes.
After loading up the oven with dinner, I joined him.
“You can talk to me, you know.” I snuggled up against him.
“I’m always talking to you.”
An evasive answer if ever there was one.
I needed a different approach. “Lie down. You need a back rub.”
He grumbled, but took off his shirt and complied a few moments later.
I straddled him and started working on his shoulders. The tension in his muscles was obvious. “So what’s bothering you today?”
“Nothing you need to worry about,” he said softly.
I gave him a quick smack between the shoulder blades. “You can’t be that way. If I’m gonna do a proper job of being your girlfriend, you need to reciprocate and let me help you.”
