Page 3 of Persuading Liam

It’s not that.

But like all men in my family, I can’t seem to stand idle while a woman cries without instantly trying to fix it. Poorly ninety-nine percent of the time…

“Please don’t cry,” I say helpfully, wanting to kick myself as the one sentence that is guaranteed to make her cry more comes out of my mouth.

She swipes at her eyes and glowers at me as if I’d stomped on her foot. “I’m not crying, I’m mad. I cry when I’m mad.”

“So…you’re crying.”Jesus fuck, Liam.

Her hands fly to her hips, and I see her jaw tick. “Do you really want to test what I’m capable of when I’m mad? Stranger that’s never met me and doesn’t know if I have a black belt in, in…something.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling because I’ve already dug a deep enough hole and I don’t need to point out, out loud, that if she did, she’d know what to call it. I rake both hands through my hair. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t always know what to say.”

“Could have fooled me,” she mumbles. Throwing her hands up in the air, she sinks to the floor with her legs criss-crossed and slumps forward with her face in her hands. “What are we going to do?”

I try to look at the situation like any other problem I take on—analytically and thoroughly. “Well, the first thing we should do is see if there is something else open for the month until weknow more. One of us can live there until the Alldridges return from Mexico.”

“I can’t afford to pay to stay anywhere else,” she says matter-of-factly. “I used up my last cent to move here. And I don’t get my first paycheck until the first.”

I grimace, seeing how it’s only the fifth. “Okay, the first thing to do is find something open.”

“Can’t you just move back in with your brother?”

Her question makes my fists clench. Yes. I could but I’m not going to. I swear on God that I’ll murder him if I do. “No.” She doesn’t need to know the rest.

She eyes me as if she wants more explanation, but when none is forthcoming, she grabs her bag and pulls out a laptop. “I’ll do some searching.”

“I’ll make some calls.”

“Anything?”She asks me when I finish my final call and sink to the floor against the wall.

I’m so exhausted I can barely lift my head to look at her. “Not a thing. Nothing for sale anywhere within a hundred miles. You?” The question is a formality—I can tell by her expression that she struck out too.

She shakes her head. “The best anyone could do for me was October of next year.”

“That’s nearly a year away,” I point out helpfully.

“Yes, I know how time works.”

We both fall silent for several minutes. I stare at the floor, seeing only one solution staring back and I don’t think either of us is excited about the prospects.

I open and close my mouth six times before I can get the words out. “How about we figure out a way to share? Just for the month. Just until we can get things figured out, I know one of the other units here is under construction, maybe one of us can get a deal out of this mishap.”

“I don’t want to share,” she answers honestly and when I meet her gaze I can see she’s just as torn about the loss of this apartment as I am.

“Neither do I.”

Silence fills the space around us.

“But,” she goes on after chewing on her lip for a second. “I don’t see any other way to work around this. There’s two bedrooms, plenty of space for us to keep to ourselves. But,” her voice turns serious. “We need ground rules.”

“I agree,” I say quickly, just relieved to have come to some sort of agreement that doesn’t include me moving back into Asshole Court. I pull the small notebook and pen out of my shirt pocket that I always carry around. “Let’s make a list.”

“Nerd much?” She asks, eyeing me from across the room as if I snorted and pushed imaginary taped-together glasses up my nose.

I ignore her comment. Living to be nearly forty with two dickheads for brothers will get you over those kind of comments very quickly. “First of all, my name is Liam Sutton. I own Redpoint Brewery right across the street with my brothers Elliot and Max.”

“Oh, you own Redpoint?” Her eyes brighten. “I’ve heard so many amazing things about that place.”

---