Page 63 of The Red-Hot Stakes

“Eight hours? Without a break?” He folded his arms.

“No, since eight this morning.”

“Gina!” He found my empty coffee cup on the island then scanned the counters. “At least tell me you ate something.”

Judging from the noises my stomach was making, no I hadn’t. I shrugged. “Tomorrow’s the big day.”

He pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call for pizza.

I glanced back at my notes, trying to remember where I was. But my book closed with a hard snap, nearly catching my nose. “Hey!”

“You’re done.” His words were firm.

“No, I’m not.” I tried to shove his meaty hand away, but he wouldn’t budge.

“You’re exhausted. You haven’t eaten anything all day, and you’re not doing yourself any favors by pushing yourself like this the day before a big test.”

I started to pout, but he wasn’t finished.

“You’re going to pack up all this crap while I run you a hot bath. You’re going to drink some water and eat some fruit until the pizza gets here. Then you’re going to relax the rest of the night, giving your brain a nice break so it can recharge before it needs to perform tomorrow.”

When I glared, his firm demeanor softened, and he touched my cheek. “It’s no different than an athlete trying to run sprints for ten hours straight the day before a big game. It’s not a good strategy.”

I sagged against my chair, which he took for acceptance.

The furrow lessened as relief flooded his face. “Good. I’ll run you some water. You pack this stuff up, and if I catch you studying, you’ll find pineapple on all the pizza!”

My nose wrinkled at the thought. I still couldn’t believe he and Avery liked ham and pineapple pizza. Pepperoni, yes. In fact, all the meat, all the tripe—anything but pineapple. I hurried to pack my books, carefully organizing my notes so I had them in the right binders for tomorrow. After I laid out what I needed for each class, Liam met me in the hallway.

He had a bottle of water, an apple, and a mai tai. “You drink this, you eat this, and you can have this”—he held up the alcohol—“in limited quantities. Don’t want you getting blitzed on an empty stomach.” He set everything on the side of the tub, which was half full of steaming water.

I stared at him from the doorway as he straightened.

“What?” He cocked his head.

“I missed you.” I walked right up and leaned into him, knowing he’d hold me like I needed. His strong arms swallowed me, wrapping me in their sturdy embrace. I breathed him in, feeling like I was home.

“All right, into the tub with you. Forced relaxation begins now.” His tone was gentle and teasing.

I stepped back, happy to strip and step into the blissfully hot bath. I devoured my apple and sucked down my water, then I must have closed my eyes because the next thing I knew, Liam was holding a piece of pizza under my nose like smelling salts. I sat up, snapping at it as if I were a frenzied shark surrounded by bleeding swimmers.

Liam chuckled. “Dry off. We’ll scarf pizza and watch a movie. Your choice.” His stare lingered on my wet body as I unabashedly stood, water sluicing off me. He handed me a towel.

“The Princess Bride,” I said, without hesitation.

“Why that one?”

I laughed. “Because it’s my favorite, of course.”

“No way.” He shook his head. “I used to love that movie, watched it every day when I was little.”

We stared at each other, blown away by the fact that we had something so simple in common all this time but had never known and never bothered to ask.

“I’m gonna go find comfy clothes.” I racked my brain trying to remember if I had any here. “Can I borrow—”

At the same time, he said, “If you need to borrow—”

We both stopped, then started laughing. Wrapping the towel around me, I followed him to the bedroom.

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