Page 35 of Flirtatious

Does he wear these things on purpose because he wants to be a tease, or is Liam actually that straight and narrow guy who doesn’t realize what he looks like in them?

Quickly, I lift my gaze to his face and smile, silently praying to God that my cheeks aren’t turning as red as they feel. “It’s not too late, is it? I wanted to help you become more cultured.”

Liam shakes his head as a look of bewilderment settles into his chiseled features. “I’m not following. What do you mean?”

“Can I come in? It’s sort of rude to keep someone standing out in the hallway like this, especially if it’s the person who owns the house.”

As if I reminded him of his manners, he quickly steps aside, opening the door all the way so I can walk into his room. “Sure. I’m sorry. I’m just not understanding what you meant by making me more cultured.”

I notice the TV isn’t on, and I wonder what he could have been doing in here. Maybe he meditates. He does seem like a very calm person. That’s probably how he stays that way.

Or maybe he reads. I can definitely see Liam as a reader. He has a cerebral thing about him. He probably likes thrillers. Spy thrillers, I bet. I look around for any sign of a book, but I don’t see one on his bed or on any of the other furniture.

“Were you busy doing something?” I ask as he walks past me to stand on the other side of the room over near the glass door to the balcony.

“Not really,” Liam says with a shrug. “Is something wrong? Do you need my help with something?”

Always the job with this guy. No wonder he knows nothing of great seventies sitcoms. That will change tonight.

I grab the remote off his bed and point it at the TV. “What’s wrong is you know nothing of The Brady Bunch, which I think is a crime in at least ten states. I’m here to remedy that utter failure in your education.”

My teasing makes him smile, and I can’t help but notice how sexy he looks when he gives me a genuine smile. “And to think I was busy with math and science when I could have been binge-watching some old TV show.”

Waving him over to where I sit on the edge of the bed, I say, “Some old TV show? Those subjects are nice, but the gap in your cultural education must be rectified. So that’s what I’m here to do tonight.”

“Aren’t you too young for that show? Isn’t it from the seventies?”

I look at him in shock. “Do people ask others if they’re too young for the Mona Lisa? Let’s get going. I think it’s best to start at the beginning. We don’t want you to not have the full experience.”

“Oh, well, of course. I need the full experience,” he says, clearly teasing me.

Undaunted, I roll my eyes. “Be sure to listen to the theme song for the show because that tells you a lot going in, okay?”

He sits down next to me on the bed and looks at me quizzically, raising a single dark eyebrow in skepticism at my claim about The Brady Bunch theme. “So the song at the beginning of the show is important? Aren’t those usually just music without lyrics?”

I click through the various screens to get to episode one and nod. “I don’t know, but it’s important for The Brady Bunch. The song tells you who these nine people are. Ready?”

“As much as I’ll ever be,” he says in a voice full of doubt and then mumbles under his breath, “Nine people. Wow.”

The episode begins to play and with every important section of the theme song, I repeat the information. “So the lovely lady, she’s the mother. The daughters are top to bottom Marcia, Jan, and Cindy. Cindy’s the one with curls.”

“Okay.”

When it gets to the second verse of the song, I point at the screen and say, “So the father’s last name is Brady, which makes sense since this is The Brady Bunch. His sons are from top to bottom Greg, Peter, and Bobby. A nice wholesome family.”

Liam hums next to me like he’s taking this all in.

The next verse begins about the lovely lady meeting the man, and I say, “So they meet, fall in love, and make one huge family that lives in the suburbs of LA.”

He doesn’t say anything at first, but when Alice appears in the center square, he quietly asks, “Who brought their mother to live with them? Should I assume much of the show is the hassle of having a mother-in-law around?”

God, he can be funny sometimes. I don’t even think he realizes it either.

Laughing, I shake my head and freeze the picture of all nine characters in their boxes at the end of the show’s intro. “That’s Alice, the live-in housekeeper. She takes care of everything the kids need. There are six of them, after all.”

With a smile, he nods and says, “Okay, that makes sense. Both parents work, so they need a live-in housekeeper. I think I’m getting the basics here.”

I hold up my hand and shake my head as I press play to begin the episode. “No, no. It’s the late sixties, early seventies, and Mike Brady is an architect. Wait until you see the house they live in. They have money. So no working for Mrs. Brady.”

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