Page 69 of The Love Chase

With that realization in mind, I pulled Liam closer and lost myself to his embrace.

Emma

Iwas floating on a cloud of happiness the next day as I deep-cleaned the bathroom and washed the bedding. Thankfully the food poisoning had only lasted that one night, and I’d been on the mend ever since. Yesterday was a blur of kissing Liam, watching movies on the couch like old times, and sneaking looks at him when he wasn’t looking.

I didn’t know what was happening between us, but happiness coursed through my veins like an IV of caffeine. We had created a little bubble with just the two of us, and neither one of us appeared to want to break it.

At least until this morning when Liam had to leave for a meeting with Bridget. I took advantage of the alone time to pick up around the townhouse and deep-clean every surface that reminded me of throwing up. A glance at my watch told me it was well after noon, and the fierce growl of my stomach confirmed the fact. Throwing the cleaning supplies into the bathroom closet, I wiped my hands on my pants.

There, much better. Time for some food.

Walking back into the bedroom, I changed out of my cleaning clothes, threw on a tank top, and leggings and headed for the kitchen. That’s when I spotted the two tickets sitting on the dresser. That weather exhibit was coming up soon—the one Jameson and Mom had gotten me tickets to for Christmas. In the chaos of the wedding, the gig, and then the whirlwind of the last couple days, I’d almost forgotten about it.

Maya liked to call it a nerd convention, but it was actually super cool. It would have all the newest and greatest instruments and gear for storm chasing, plus lots of panels about the latest research on severe weather and tornadoes. It was a weather-lover’s dream. I had wanted to attend for years, but the tickets were always out of my budget, and if they hadn’t been gifted to me, I never would have been able to afford them—especially not after losing my internship.

I had put it out of my mind for months because I had been hoping by the time it came around, maybe I’d have someone to bring with me. I never imagined this was where I’d be though.

Snatching the tickets, I went downstairs to make lunch, freezing on the bottom step when I noticed that Liam was back. He was sitting on the couch, a notebook in hand. Was he writing a song? My heart did a little skip at the thought. I’d always loved Liam’s music, even if it ended up taking him away from me. He didn’t look up when I came down, so he must’ve really been into whatever he was working on.

Not wanting to interrupt, I opened the fridge and pulled out a package of tortillas and some cheese. Cheese quesadillas—a lunch of champions. I snorted at myself.

“Something funny?”

I flinched, looking up to find Liam watching me over the back of the couch. His mouth was tilted into a smirk.

Flustered by the way he was looking at me, I stubbed my toe on the island and started hopping around, muttering curses under my breath.

“Nope,” I ground out through the pain. “Just snorting at myself.”

Liam closed his notebook and stood, crossing the living room to stand in front of me. The distance he left between us was definitely not in the friend zone. His toes touched mine, and he was firmly in my personal space.

Space? Who needs space?

“Were you working on a new song?” I dared to ask, nodding my head toward the couch.

Liam’s mouth lifted into a half-smile. “Yeah, the words have really been flowing since coming back here.”

Was it me or was he getting closer? Would he kiss me again? Or had we burst that little bubble when he left the house this morning? Was it like a balloon released on the wind? Here one minute and then gone the next?

“I can’t wait to hear it,” I said, though the thought of Bridget reminded me where he’d been all morning. “How’d your meeting go?” I asked, trying to calm the galloping of my heart at his proximity.

He winced and took a step back. I breathed out a silent sigh, internally annoyed at myself for being disappointed that he didn’t kiss me.

“Bridget isn’t very happy with my behavior the other night. Apparently, I broke a lot of her rules and made her job infinitely harder.” Liam rubbed the back of his neck. “And I might have called the venue and…chewed them out for giving you bad fish.”

I gaped at him, watching his cheeks turn pink.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I hated seeing you sick like that,” he admitted. “They needed to be held accountable for giving you bad fish.”

I tried—so hard—not to swoon at his defense of me. But I couldn’t help it. I swayed toward him—just a little—and his hands gripped my arms, holding me steady. Liam’s skin on mine elicited goosebumps all over me.

Liam cleared his throat, his thumbs trailing fire over my arms before he stepped backward. I used the space to return to the task at hand—making a quesadilla—before I succumbed to my desire to kiss him again.

“Bridget is worrying for nothing though. The latest tabloids have painted me in a new light, a better one—and it’s all thanks to you.”

His eyes were full of warmth as he looked at me.

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