Page 60 of Baby For My Ex's Brother

Chapter twenty-four

Shiloh

The hum of thebreakroom fridge is my soundtrack as I pop open my laptop and start sifting through the Trinity application material. I can't help but let a grin spread across my face; it's finally happening.

The cursor blinks on the screen, urging me forward, and my fingers dance over the keys with excitement that's been building up for what feels like centuries.

I glance at the clock—still plenty of time left on my lunch break to make headway. Admission requirements, scholarship options, course outlines—I click through each tab with mounting enthusiasm.

Dublin.

It's not just a dream anymore; it's a plan slowly coming together, pixel by pixel, on this bright laptop screen.

"Shiloh, back to work soon?" Jackie calls out as she passes by the breakroom. She's always keeping tabs on everyone, making sure we're toeing the line.

"Almost done here," I call back, minimizing the window just in case. My heart races—can't get caught daydreaming about Ireland when there are legal briefs waiting for me.

Time to switch gears.

I stand up, stretching, and make my way to the copy room. It smells like warm paper and toner—a comfortingly familiar scent. I feed the printer with crisp white sheets and hit print.

Documents start spitting out one after another, the sound oddly soothing amidst the chaos of deadlines and high-powered egos outside these walls.

While the printer does its thing, I pull out my phone and shoot a quick text to Nadia:Starting my application to Trinity today!

Her reply is almost instant, a flurry of emojis and exclamation marks that make me chuckle. Nadia's been my cheerleader since the beginning, pushing me toward this crazy adventure.

Leaning against the copier, I let myself daydream for a moment. Lectures in grand old buildings, cobblestone streets underfoot, the taste of Irish stew on my tongue.

A fresh start. Maybe even a chance to leave behind the complicated tangle of emotions that's been my life at Aegis Legal Group.

But it’s bittersweet… because I don’t want to leave behind Liam.

We’ve been doing this for weeks now—this ‘co-workers with benefits’ thing—and I still don’t quite know what to make of it. I finally got on the pill thanks to how many nights I’ve spent at his place, and he’s been… god, he’s been using me every night.

Making love to me?

No… not that. Definitely using me.

I like it, though. I crave him. Even when I’m not with him, I want to be with him.

Damn it.

I'm smoothing out a crease in one of the freshly printed pages when the sound of footsteps catches my attention. My pulse quickens, a conditioned response to any hint of his presence. I look up, and there he is—Liam, shutting the door behind him with a definitive click that seems to echo through the small room.

"Hey," I say, my voice steadier than I feel. My smile is automatic, the corners of my lips lifting at the sight of him. In this clandestine space, away from prying eyes, we've found moments of stolen intimacy that both thrill and terrify me.

"Shiloh." His voice is a low rumble as he crosses the room towards me, those intense hazel eyes locking onto mine. There's an urgency in his step that sends my heart into overdrive.

Before I can react or even form another word, he's on me, his arms wrapping around me in a firm embrace that lifts me slightly off my feet. The kiss he plants on my lips is electric, just like the first time at Thanksgiving dinner years ago—intense, desperate, as if he's trying to communicate something words can't capture.

His fingers thread through my hair, gripping gently, tilting my head back to deepen the kiss. It's overwhelming how he can make me forget where we are and who we are with nothing more than the press of his mouth against mine. The papers in my hand become an afterthought, slipping from my grasp and scattering across the floor, unnoticed.

"God, I've been thinking about this all day," he murmurs against my lips, his breath hot and heavy.

"Me too," I whisper back, lost in the moment, lost in him.

Is this what being in love feels like? I question the sensation blooming inside me as we part, my breath catching in my throat. The joy that courses through my veins is pure, untainted by the complications of our reality.

---