Page 61 of False Confidence

“I said no one has ever faked it with me, not that I’ve never not made someone come,” he said with a soft chuckle, cupping her cheek and nuzzling the edge of her nose. “Women only come during sex something like fifty to eighty percent of the time. And we literally just started unpacking everything. It’s going to take a while for you to feel totally comfortable with it all.”

“I can’t believe you just had that statistic ready to go,” she grumbled, even though she definitely believed it. “And yes, that makes logical sense, but still: I’m sorry.”

Liam frowned. “Say sorry one more time and I’m going to edge the fuck out of you next time and not let you come.”

“Rude.” She flopped back against the pillows with a dramatic sigh.

Liam snuggled in beside her, offering his arm out so she could tuck herself into his side. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she murmured. “Frustrated, but I’ll survive.”

“You better.” He kissed her forehead, then reached over her to snag his phone from the nightstand. “I know something else we can do that’s just as fun.”

“We already did the daily crossword today. Eight across: Monet, remember?” She didn’t know how he could forget. He’d been mad as hell when she’d figured out the art clue first, even if he had tried to hide it.

“Not that, and I didn’t forget,” he replied with a huff. “Help me pick a dog from the shelter website.”

“Seriously?”

Liam held his phone up and Jazz squealed as she took in the thumbnails on the screen. “Oh my God, they’re all so cute. How can you possibly pick just one?”

“This is why I need help. I’ve been looking, but I want them all.”

They scrolled through the website, clicking into each dog’s profile to learn more about them. Liam was open to any breed or age, though he was hoping for someone on the smaller side since his car wasn’t huge.

“That one looks like he would try to eat you if you ever fell asleep on the floor,” Jazz said, pointing out a small Chihuahua mix.

“That’s a no from me. This one looks friendly. Lacey.” He clicked into the profile of a black and white fluffy pup, with her tongue hanging out of her mouth in the picture. “Hmm, it says she’s not good with kids.”

“You don’t have kids.”

Liam eyed her. “Yet. We’re having at least four, ideally six. We talked about it at my dad and Maggie’s wedding, remember?”

Jazz rolled her eyes, smiling as she tried to remember the details of the conversation they’d had. They’d both been absolutely wasted. “Vaguely, but if we’re having six kids, we should probably get a move on. I’m not getting any younger,” she joked.

“I’m ready when you are,” Liam added, sounding significantly less jokey than she had. Jazz wasn’t willing to unpack how exactly her body and her heart responded to that. “But I guess Lacey’s out.” He swiped out of her profile and scrolled down.

They both saw the listing at the same minute, Liam sucking in a breath and Jazz grabbing for the phone. “Holy shit, that is the cutest dog I’ve ever seen. Look at his little face, and his floppy ear, and—oh my God, his fluffy little butt,” she gushed, zooming in on the picture of the tiny puppy.

He looked like some kind of corgi mix, with dark gingery fur and a white nose and belly, and he couldn’t have been older than twelve weeks old. She knew he was a little younger than Liam had been hoping for, but he was so fucking cute.

“He’s adorable,” Liam said, and she could already tell from his voice that he was in love. She swiped to the next picture, which showed the puppy’s face more clearly, and gasped. “Is that what I think it is?” Liam asked.

Jazz zoomed in closer to the little V-shaped patch of dark brown fur right below his nose. “It is. He has a mustache. It’s meant to be.”

“He has a mustache like me, he’s a redhead like you and look, his profile says he’s cheeky and loves cuddles. He’s basically us in puppy form.”

“Damn, I’m about to get replaced by a puppy.”

“Never.” Liam grinned and tapped her on the end of her nose.

“It looks like he was only listed this afternoon. His profile isn’t even complete yet. That probably means he’s still available.”

Liam was way ahead of her, clicking on the Adopt Me! button and typing in his information. He sent off the form and a pop up promised that he’d hear back within forty-eight hours.

“You’re going to be a dad,” she said, squeezing his hand.

“I am. You’re not allowed to call me daddy, though,” Liam warned.

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