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He carried two mugs of coffee, and he came and sat between Karissa and me before handing me a cup. For a second, I didn’t quite know what he was doing, then I took it.
“Morning,” I said.
“Good morning.” Karissa leaned back to shoot me a confused look behind Liam’s broad shoulders.
I’d expected him to run as a wolf much longer.
Liam glanced between the two of us, then seemed to make sense of our confusion. “This morning, I decided to choose sanity. Unfortunately, it’s not a strength of mine, but I am trying. Milk and sugar, right?”
It took me a second to parse Liam’s words, which wasn’t exactly unusual, since he wasn’t speaking toward me. Or anyone.
“Yes,” I said. “Thank you.” His gaze had found the corner of the room and was studying it so intently that I looked there too, but there was nothing but the blanket rack draped with cozy quilts and fuzzy blankets and an oversized photo of the King siblings above it. It had been taken in the time when Liam and Brennan were both here, though Liam looked especially gaunt and wild-eyed, so it might have been soon after he returned to the King pack. Every time I saw the picture, my heart ached.
Karissa crinkled her nose. “Are you wearing aftershave? Shaw’s aftershave? A lot of it?”
Liam did have a distinct scent at the moment—spicy and woody and pleasant, but strong, like sandalwood.
Liam sighed under his breath.
“You smell like you’re fourteen,” Karissa said.
“I do not smell like I did whenIwas fourteen,” Liam said, reminding us both of what he’d been through, and Karissa’s lips knit together.
She reached over and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Just teasing.”
“I know.” Liam suddenly moved, and his hand hovered but it landed lightly on my leg. I almost pulled away but stopped just in time. “Amelia. Did you sleep well?”
He had missed a lot while he was running in the woods last night.
“No,” I admitted. “I’ve started sleepwalking, apparently.”
“The past is calling you. But we’ll figure it out together.” Liam rubbed my leg as if he were my comfort-robot.
Karissa was watching us from our peripheral vision. She set her mug down on the coffee table and dropped her magazine with a sigh. Dylan turned around and put his finger over his lips. It must be nice not to know how a Disney movie ended.
“Can I get you both to help me in the kitchen?” Karissa asked.
“Sure.” I got up quickly, Liam’s hand falling away.
He rose too, and as we headed into the kitchen, he rested his hand lightly at the small of my back. It was something Shaw did instinctively, guiding me ahead of him, and it felt light and easy when Shaw did it. Shaw was always touching me.
But Liam’s movements felt different. Awkward. Even though I liked his touch, his tender kisses. I’d always remember the way he’d swept me off Louisa’s rock and cradled me against his chest. Liam’s touches were always either gentle or fierce; this in-between of flirty touches felt wrong somehow.
I smiled up at Liam as the two of us entered the kitchen, wanting to make him feel at ease, but it must have looked strained. Karissa’s gaze moved between the two of us sharply.
“Liam, can you set the table for me?”
“Sure.”
Karissa turned her back on him as soon as he moved to the cabinet and pulled out a stack of colorful plates. She mouthed at me, “Are you alright?”
I nodded back.
She mouthed, “You don’t owe him anything just because he saved your life.”
I was pretty sure I did, actually, but then I realized Karissa had no idea that Liam and I had deepened our relationship while we were away from King territory. I’d barely had the chance to talk to her yet.
Sudden realization dawned on me. Liam was trying to act like my boyfriend, clumsy as it felt.
