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I cleared my throat, breaking eye contact. “So, what’s next?”
“We’re going back to your apartment so you can grab more clothes.”
My stomach nearly tossed my breakfast back up. “What?”
“I’m sure your cat would like better food. A litter box. Some toys.”
“You’re keeping me here?”
He bowed his head, giving me a curiously stern gaze that somehow made me heat up. “Are you saying you want to go back to your apartmentalone?”
“No, I didn’t say that.”
“It’s okay if you don’t want to stay here.”
I reached for the collar of my romper. “I do want to stay here.”
No, that was bad. What had possessed me to say such a thing aloud? Liam was all too pleased by my admission, and that just made me want to do things I knew I shouldn’t. Like scale the table and straddle his lap.
Get it together before he runs you away.
I played with the fabric of my romper, trying to tie and untie the bow on the front. “What about the contract? Aren’t we going to get in trouble?”
“Don’t worry about that, Ani. I’ll handle everything.”
Somehow, I believed him.
There wasn’t a thing that should have made me believe him, but I did. And that kind of reassurance made it easier for me to reach for another biscuit. I broke off a small piece and chewed it carefully. So much delicious butter went into this biscuit that it made me want to cry.
Then my vision blurred. Then I closed my eyes.
“Anita,” Liam said, close enough to touch but not quite touching me. “Are you okay?”
“It’s just…” I sniffled. “This biscuit is so good.”
I lowered my head, using my hair as a curtain to get a little privacy. Couldn’t a girl cry in piece over a tasty biscuit? It wasn’t like it had never happened before. About a year ago, the same thing had happened with a slice of apple pie from a cute diner just near the exit of Beaufort. I went there for a change of scenery and got a plate full of sobs with a confused waitress patting my shoulder.
After the fit had passed, I hesitantly opened my eyes, trying to look at the wall to my right instead of focusing on Liam. I knew he was sitting next to me. I knew he was still close enough to touch. The hair on my left arm stood at attention as if electricity zapped the air between us.
Close enough. But not too close. It was probably best we acted this way. Though I had to admit that having his hunky arms around me last night was probably the best part of the night, rivaling his suggestion that we try to make a baby happen just to be sure the insemination process had done its job.
Sex. He meant sex. He actually meant that we shouldbang, and I had been completely on board with the plan. A girl like me had needs that were going unmet. Was it fair to ask for that at a time like this? Maybe I was just too emotional over the biscuit, or last night.
I wiped my cheek. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. That made my ego shoot to the stars.”
“I wouldn’t let it get to your head.”
He chortled and left my side. The air went cold from his absence.No, come back.
“That just made it worse,” he teased. “What kind of tea do you want?”
“I want coffee.”
He clicked his tongue a few times. “No, ma’am. You’re contractually obligated to give up caffeine.”
“Some tea has caffeine.”
