Page 17 of Persuading Liam

“I know.” She closes her eyes and takes a breath. “And today, I got to meet my new assistant slash receptionist. Finola Schuster, his granddaughter.”

The tightness of her mouth and the crinkle between her brows tells me all I need to know about how she feels about Finola. “Oof. His granddaughter?”

She nods. “And she’s this stunning blonde—fashionable, gorgeous—but…”

“Not the brightest bulb in the LiteBrite?”

“I don’t know what a LiteBrite is, but I guess so. At least, that’s my impression. I haven’t really given her a chance yet. I suppose there’s room for her to surprise me.”

“You don’t know what a LiteBrite is?” I ask, completely disregarding the rest of her sentence. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-three,” she answers, looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind.

“That’s a tragedy.” It was one of my favorite toys as a kid. I loved the precision of putting each colored peg into its correct spot, and the utter joy of turning on the lightbulb to see it illuminate from inside. The fury I felt when Elliot would come through and kick it over… “I think I have mine in storage. I’m going to see if I can find it.”

Marley purses her lips. “Do what you’ve got to do, I guess. Anyway, Schuster suggested that Finola needs direction and guidance. A purpose. She starts full-time next week.” She rubs her hands down her face. “I have enough on my hands just trying to get a newspaper going. And now I’m a life coach?”

“That’s a lot,” I tell her, focusing on her again. “I’m sorry he’s put so much on your shoulders.”

She looks up at me and I feel the familiar kick in my stomach. Her light green gaze meets mine. “Thank you. It’s not that I don’t think I can handle it. It’s just that…”

“Too many surprises?”

“Yes,” she sighs. “I’m almost afraid to walk in the building every day to see what madness awaits me. Like who’s to say hewon’t swoop in tomorrow and insist I open part of the building to teach hip-hop dance.”

I chuckle. “I’d take that class.”

She laughs, and when her cheeks flare pink, she looks away.

The kick in my stomach becomes more insistent as if it’s trying to get me closer to her, to find out if she blushes that beautiful rose-pink everywhere. When my mind takes me to trailing my tongue down her neck, I clear my throat and begin cleaning again.

The previously relaxed vibe in the room tenses and I wish I had kept my mouth shut.

“Well,” she says, pushing herself up to a sitting position. She doesn’t look at me. “I suppose I should change out of these clothes and get some more work done.”

“Want dinner? I’m going to make some quinoa and salmon.”

She makes a face as if she couldn’t think of anything more disgusting. “Uh, no, I’ll throw a sandwich together or something.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” I tell her as she trudges to her bedroom.

Just before she goes through the door, she looks over her shoulder. “You know what? I’m okay with that.”

Chuckling, I watch as the door closes behind her. The second she’s out of sight, I let out a heavy breath and spear a hand through my hair.What am I doing?The very last thing I need is to spend more time with her.

Even worse is feeling disappointed when she declines.

Fuck.

11

MARLEY

My eyes dart between Redpoint Brewery and my apartment building as I make my way home after work. It’s a pretty fall day with crisp sweater weather that makes me think of smores and campfires. And cuddling.

And Liam.

To be specific, cuddling with Liam.

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