Page 46 of Mysterious

That makes all of us roll our eyes. “Dude, that’s like the exact line the guy says in every movie right before he falls head over heels for some beautiful woman as she’s rushing out of some office building and slams a glass door into him. He falls to the ground, and when he realizes what happened, he looks up at her and it’s game over. He’s in love,” I say as he shakes his head while my other cousins agree with me.

“What happened to you, man?” Alex asks like he’s disappointed in me. “Now you’re as lost as these two,” he says, pointing at his brother and best friend.

“It’s inevitable,” my father says with a chuckle. “You can try to fight it, Alex, but what’s the point?”

A look of horror crosses my cousin’s face. “The point is that I like being single.”

He pushes past me and heads toward the steps down to the beach. “And I don’t plan on that changing anytime soon!”

When he’s gone, I turn to Cade and Cash and nod. “Oh, yeah. What’s Grandma always say? Methinks he doth protest too much? Something tells me Alex isn’t as single as he claims to be. It’s only a matter of time, gentlemen. It’s only a matter of time.”

With a chuckle, Cash whips out a hundred and places it on the table. “I bet he’s off the market within two months.”

Cade pulls out his wallet and lays his hundred on the table between them. “I’ll give it three. He’s going to fight it, but he’ll give in. What about you, Liam?”

I think about it for a moment while I fish my bet out of my pocket. Placing it on top of theirs, I hum to myself. “I think I’m going to take six months on this one. He’s stubborn, and I know something about that. Six months and he falls like a ton of bricks.”

My father laughs as he walks away to go inside the house. “I don’t know how long it will take, but something tells me when Alex there falls, it’s going to be hard, like Liam said.”

Smiling, Cash taps the pile of money. “The countdown begins today. Whenever it happens, I think your father’s right. Alex is primed to go down hard.”

I look out toward the beach and see him sitting alone on the sand drinking a beer. It wasn’t that long ago I thought I’d be single forever. Here’s to hoping he finds someone as wonderful as I did.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

Mia

While Liam finisheshis conversation on the phone with Kip, I change out of the sundress I wore to his grandmother’s house today and into the sexy lingerie I bought with Ainsley last weekend. Black and lacy, it’s exactly what I wanted to surprise him in tonight.

After she found out all my mother and Michael had been up to, my life coach came around to seeing how wonderful Liam had been this whole time. When she told me about how she sat him down and told him he better not break my heart, I couldn’t help but hug her for being a true friend.

Of course, when Liam heard her version of that conversation, he had to laugh. It seems she didn’t tell the entire truth about that day in the dining room. Or maybe she just saw their talk differently. It’s no big deal, though, now that my best friend and the man I love aren’t mortal enemies anymore.

Twirling around in front of the mirror, I take a good look at myself in my new teddy and smile. Perfect for the man who has everything.

At least, that’s the way he describes his life. I don’t agree. Because of what happened with Michael, Liam can’t be a bodyguard anymore. He claims he doesn’t need the money and there’s only one body he wants to guard now anyway, but I worry he’s going to end up missing the job he loved so much.

As for my mother, well, she calls me dozens of times a day with hundreds of excuses for all she’s done, but I’m not ready to forgive her yet. Eventually, I will, though. She’s my mother. What choice do I have?

“Well, Kip is feeling much better. He says…”

In the mirror, I see Liam stop dead two steps into our bedroom, his mouth hanging open. I guess this black lacy number is as wonderful as I thought, after all.

Turning around to face him, I smile. “You were saying about Kip?”

Wide-eyed, Liam shakes his head. “Kip? Who’s Kip? I don’t know any Kip.”

“Stop making jokes. How is he?” I ask, giggling at how cute my man can be.

Liam’s mouth turns up in a big smile as he walks over to take me into his arms. “Kip’s doing better. He said to tell you thank you for all you’ve done to make sure he’s got the best doctors taking care of him. Now, what’s this about and who do I thank for it tonight?”

I look up into those beautiful blue eyes staring down at me in utter appreciation and love how he still gets moony-eyed over me. “This is a little surprise I bought especially for you, and you can thank me any way you like.”

When he kisses me, I feel like I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have Liam as the man who loves me. To think I couldn’t stand him in the beginning.

Well, for like a day. I’m not blind, and I’m not stupid either, contrary to some people’s opinions. I know a great man when I see him standing in front of me, even if he was far more stubborn than I thought I could ever want.

He leans away and sighs. “I plan on thanking you all night.”

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