Page 56 of Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

Seventeen

Savannah

The house is dark when I return home from work. Liam must’ve had somewhere to go. He told he was going to start his “find the old Savannah Bailey” experiment tonight, and I assumed he meant immediately after work.

Ever since we made that bet last night, I’ve contemplated how a man like Liam whole-heartedly believes he can pull out my old self. I’m not even sure I’d recognize her if he did. He’d tried the strong-arming me with digs and passive-aggressive comments until we ended up causing a scene at Brooklyn’s reception. I can’t imagine what he has in store for me now.

I open the front door and realize I was wrong. The house isn’t dark. Candles are glowing on every surface, which I couldn’t see because the blinds were shut. Some big, some small, but there are enough that I think Liam’s taking his mission in a different direction. Does he think romancing me is going to drive out my type-A personality?

Putting my purse on the table by the door and dropping my keys next to his, I slip off my heels. Damn, that feels so good. I stretch my toes and circle my ankles, and that’s when a smorgasbord of smells hits my nose, leaving it begging for mercy. Cinnamon, sage, vanilla all mix to form an overpowering scent. Walking by a candle, I spot Orange Blossom embossed on a pretty label. What the hell is he doing?

Liam walks downstairs in a loose-fitting pair of lounge pants and a snug T-shirt. “You’re home,” he says as though he’s been waiting all day.

I take inventory. No flowers. No smell of dinner in the oven—but I’m not sure I could smell it over the array of candles burning. He’s not dressed up, and his hair isn’t gelled like he does before going out for the night.

“Are we having a seance or are we masking the smell of burned popcorn?”

He laughs. “Look at the magic of scent. Your funny self is already returning.” I admire the way the lounge pants hug his ass as he walks over to the kitchen counter, picks up a bag, and hands it to me. “Go upstairs and put these on.”

“Please?”

“Please.” He smiles warmly.

I peek inside the bag, thinking there will be some sort of skimpy lingerie inside, but all I see is gray. “So this is step one?”

He grins. “It is.”

“If you’re going to put me in the middle of a circle of people and chant, hoping to pull my soul out of my body, I have to say now, I’m not cool with it.”

He laughs again. I’m glad he finds this funny.

“Liam, what is going on?”

“You’ll see.”

My nose tickles, and I bend over in a sneeze.

“Bless you,” he whispers, leaning forward. “Now go.”

I jolt for a moment, because having him so close is doing crazy things to my heartbeat.

After I walk up the stairs, I hear the flick of a lighter before I shut my bedroom door. There’s no possible way he has anything else down there with a wick to light.

I unzip my pencil skirt and slide it down my legs, unbutton my blouse and look down at my bra. Oh, how I’d love to take the damn thing off, but no way can I be around Liam without a bra on. When I open the bag, I take out the items and place them on the bed. There lay pants and a shirt like Liam’s except they’re four sizes smaller.

“Holy moly,” I say as I pull the lounge pants over my legs. Damn, they’re so comfy. The shirt would be so much better sans bra, but it still feels like a T-shirt I’ve cherished for years. Looking at the bag, I realize that he must have driven to Anchorage to shop at a yoga store.

Then everything clicks. We’re going to do yoga. Fear freezes me in place for a moment. Yoga? I’m the least flexible person on the planet. I didn’t even know Liam was into yoga.

Paranoia runs through my body and I pick up my phone to google yoga poses. Downward dog—which I know of but have never tried. Cat pose—looks easy enough. I scroll past the woman who looks like a pretzel. I try to move my leg up and hold it straight, standing on one leg, but I teeter to the side. Shit. I can’t hold this position for more than one millisecond. I’m going to look like a complete idiot.

“Savannah?” Liam knocks on my door.

“Just a second.” The sudden awareness that he’s right on the other side of the door causes me to lose what little balance I had and my arm twists around my leg. Before I can recover, I lose my footing and fall.

“Sav? You okay?” He knocks again, more frantically this time.

“Yep, sure am.”

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