Page 104 of A Simple Reminder

She was always my destiny. Meant to be mine.

“I could never erase you.”

I bring her finger to my lips, kissing the inked word, letting its meaning anchor me. Without a word, I lean in and capture her mouth with mine. The kiss starts soft, but as always with Sophie everything shifts. The heat between us ignites, spreading like wildfire.

Her lips part, welcoming me in, and I deepen the kiss, my hand cradling the back of her head, threading through her wet hair. She tastes like water and something sweeter—something purely Sophie. My other hand slides down to her waist, gripping her tight. She melts into me, her body fitting against mine, soft and warm and everything I’ve ever wanted.

Both her hands grab the back of my neck, pulling me closer, like she’s trying to fuse us together. I kiss her harder, pouring everything I can’t say into every movement of my lips against hers—my regret, my longing, my love. Her nails scrape lightly against my skin, and I groan low in my throat, the sound swallowed by her mouth.

The water around us is a whisper compared to the fire roaring between us. Each kiss grows hungrier, more demanding, until it feels like we might burn up entirely. My hand travels down her back, pulling her even tighter against me, and a soft moan escapes her lips, the sound shooting straight through me like lightning.

“Now, isn’t this a surprise?” A cold voice slices through the moment, sharper than the chill of winter air.

Ice rushes through my veins, and I reluctantly pull back from Sophie, my heart plummeting as I turn to find my older brother, Lucas, standing at the edge of the pool. Jared hovers awkwardly beside him, his expression as unreadable as ever.

Sophie stiffens in my arms as her gaze darts to Lucas. ”Lucas!” she breathes out, her voice tight with shock and something else—maybe guilt.

His jaw is like granite, his arms crossed in a way that screams authority. “Out of the pool. Now.”

The heat of the moment dissipates immediately. Sophie and I exchange a look before releasing each other. We swim to the edge in silence. I hoist myself out first, then turn to help Sophie. Her dress clings to every curve, leaving little to the imagination, and my instinct to protect her kicks in. I move to stand in front of her, shielding her from prying eyes—Lucas’s included.

“I’ve been calling you,” Lucas says, his voice sharp, the tension in the air crackling like a live wire.

“I left my phone in the office,” I reply, my body still trembling, not from the cold but from the lingering charge of the interrupted moment.

He doesn’t break his glare as he turns to Jared, his expression darkening further. “You,” he snaps, his voice cold and cutting, “are you incompetent or what? Go get them towels.”

Jared stumbles over his own feet as he scurries away, his face pale. He doesn’t even dare look in our direction when he hands us the towels.

“Sophie,” Lucas says, his voice frosty, his words clipped. ”I’ll have Liam’s assistant bring you something to change into. Then you’re free to take the rest of the day off.”

She nods, her arms hugging herself as if trying to vanish into the background. She avoids his gaze, her usual spark dimmed. The disappointment in Lucas’s tone is unmistakable, and the weight of it seems to press down on both of us.

Then Lucas turns to me, his eyes like ice daggers. “Liam. Office. Now.”

Every muscle in my body tenses under his scrutiny. I feel like a young boy again, desperate for validation, the one who’d do anything for his brother’s approval. It’s a feeling I thought I’d left behind, buried under years of trying to prove myself. Yet here I am, standing drenched and exposed, his disappointment pressing down on me like it always has.

“Give me a second.” I tell him before I turn to Sophie, “I’ll explain everything to him. Just go home. I’ll be there soon.” I kiss the top of her head.

Her eyes meet mine—wide, startled, unsure. But after a beat, she nods.

I squeeze her hand, brief but firm, before turning toward the storm that is Lucas, bracing myself for the inevitable fallout.

Lucas paces backand forth in front of me, his fury filling the room like a storm about to break. I sit on the sofa, a towel wrapped around my body, dripping water onto the plush carpet. Like a complete fool.

“You haven’t changed one bit!”

The words land like a slap. Dismissive. Condemning. Like nothing I’ve done matters.

My jaw tightens as I meet his glare. “I’m not the same.” The words are clipped, controlled—but my pulse hammers. Because I don’t just want him to hear them. I need him to believe them

“Oh, you’re not? Then why the hell were you playing with Sophie in the pool like a damn teenage boy?”

“It isn’t like that,” I say firmly, but the heat of his stare makes me feel exposed, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Liam, you’re here to work. Do you understand how important this hotel is for us? Huh?”

“I do.”

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