Page 9 of All That She Needs

"Yeah?" His eyes softened, his expression lighting up with childlike enthusiasm.

"Yeah," I nodded, genuinely excited about the prospect. "Tell me more about you."

"Will you promise to tell me more about yourself too?" he asked in return, his tone earnest and hopeful.

I nodded. "Yes."

He looked pleased. "Okay. I really don't want to brag, but I'm excellent at cooking."

The way he looked proud of himself made me smile. "Are you?"

"Yes. But unlike you, I seem to have a talent for murdering any plant I try to care for," he added with a chuckle."I did my research. Did everything I needed to do. Even so, they died on me."

"What else?" I asked, intrigued and curious about him.

"I used to play football in college," he said. "I got drafted to the pros but didn't take it."

"What happened?" I inquired with curiosity, leaning forward slightly.

He shrugged. "Nothing dramatic. I just found I liked academics more than sports. I joined the team because my brothers—all three of them—were footballers. At one point, all I wanted was to be like them."

"You must have been very good if you got drafted."

"I supposed so," He paused, reflecting. "But the grueling training, being constantly bruised and exhausted, was disrupting my studies. When I told them I wanted to decline the offer, my brothers thought I was crazy. They were so disappointed, so sad, that I almost changed my mind. They had worked so hard, and none of them had been drafted, so they thought I didn't appreciate how lucky I was. But my mother convinced me to choose for myself what was best for me and my future. My brothers eventually forgave me—though it took years of groveling and pleading. They finally came around and accepted my decision."

"Was that when you earned your first billion?" I asked with a grin. I knew for a fact that his company was listed to be worth twenty-onebilliondollars, and that was last year.

He laughed. "Yeah, somewhere around that time. But actually, not because of it. They just loved me too much to let me pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but they were finally convinced that I knew what I was doing."

"Are you the baby in the family?" I teased, though I couldn't quite picture how anyone could baby someone as big as him.

He gave a huff. "I'm the youngest, so I guess it was expected." I liked the fact that he was confident enough to admit it without worrying that it might undermine his masculinity. Maybe because his imposing size seemed to eclipse any such concerns.

"So, we can conclude that you were a big, baby nerd at school."

"You can," he said, his eyes dancing with mischief. "But I was a popular big baby nerd, you know. Got my way with the ladies." He winked at me.

The most un-ladylike snort escaped me.

Liam's eyes widened in mock shock, his mouth falling open in an exaggerated gasp. "Did you just snort at me?"

"I did," I admitted, laughing. I couldn't even remember the last time I laughed like that. "I'm sorry."

"I was really a stud in high school." He said seriously. His attempt to convince me only made me laugh even harder.

It took me a moment to catch my breath. After a stretch of comfortable silence, I asked, "How did you become so successful at such a young age?" The conversation suddenly grew serious, but I was genuinely impressed and appreciated how grounded he remained despite his success.

"I figured out what people needed and provided it. My team and I created something unique that hadn't been done before."

I nodded, agreeing with him. I read enough about his company to know what he said was true.

"My turn to ask," he said.

"Okay..." I said slowly, feeling a little nervous as I couldn't imagine what he would ask me.

"Why didn't you reply to your husband's text? I'm guessing that text you just received was from him?"

I was dumbfounded, completely surprised by his question. Liam had this uncanny ability to stun me with his words. "That's personal," I seethed.

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