Page 25 of Accidental Love

Chapter Eight

Jenna

Three days had passed since my encounter with my mother, many of which had gone by pretty well, mostly thanks to Liam. From the moment we went to a cute ice cream parlor by his office to now, he had tried to get my mind of my mom. And honestly it had worked…until now.

Liam’s speech about my mother made me fall in love with him even more, even though I thought that was impossible. If I thought he didn’t care for me, I now knew that was no longer true. And if these last few days hadn’t shown that, then I didn’t know what would.

Every day he would pamper me with kisses and telling me how beautiful I was. Not a day went by that he didn’t show me some kind of affection, and not a night went by without those either.

Liam had done a great job with not letting me think of Karen, but now that he was at work and I was home, I was alone with my thoughts; certain thoughts that wouldn’t leave no matter what I did. I was curled up in the bungalow with a blanket wrapped around me, oblivious to how cold it was. Having been out here all morning and now that it was afternoon, I was replaying everything from my childhood to now. Everything from when I was with my mom to being all alone. A part of me wanted to forgive her and slowly start making amends, but the other part was saying “no way in hell”.

But the big question was, how could I forgive someone like that? Someone who really only cared for themselves. My mind and heart were in a battle trying to decide what I should do.

Wrapping the blanket tighter around me, I stared across the yard. I was slowly starting to get colder, and I knew we were almost into the winter months. My mind finally drifted away from my mother for a moment as I thought about Liam. With the cold weather almost here, I could see Liam and I cuddled together on the couch, drinking hot chocolate while watching cheesy romantic movies. That might have been a stretch, but I could see it. Just the thought of it made my heart warm up.

I didn’t know what time it was, but I knew I should probably head inside to start getting ready. Tonight, Liam and I were going over to his parents’ house for dinner. His sister, Julie, texted me yesterday asking if I was coming for dinner, and that she was finally going to tell her parents and Liam about going into nursing. She wanted me there as support, and I was touched. I knew she was nervous about telling them, but I knew they would understand. They were her family, after all.

With a sigh I finally got up, wrapping the blanket more tightly around me. Even though it was sunny with a few clouds, it was getting chilly. I absolutely hated New York’s winter season. It was way too cold for my liking, but I had to admit it was pretty when snow fell and made everything so white and new. Plus, with it getting cold, that just meant it was getting closer to Christmas time.

My feet clad in socks, I made my way through the backyard and into the warm house. Even though I had tried to make the place homey, it still didn’t feel quite there yet but it was getting better. When I passed by the kitchen I noticed it was a little after three, leaving me plenty of time to have a bath before getting ready to go.

After getting the bath all ready, I slipped out of my PJs. Yes, I was still in them. I slid into the warm water. Liam’s bath tub was to die for. It was large enough to fit maybe four people comfortably, and it even had jets along the inside. Before I got in, I put some music on.

As I lay in the water, resting my head back against the lip and the wall, I closed my eyes and listened to Rob Thomas’s song “Hold On Forever”. I softly tapped my finger against my thigh to the beat as the sound soothed me. Before I knew it, I was mentally drifting off into nowhere land.

***

“Is it casual or should I dress fancy?” I yelled from within the closet. It was currently 4:30, and I was trying to find something to wear while Liam finished up whatever he was doing in the bedroom. He came home while I was still in the bath tub, but I had nodded off for a little while so I hadn’t heard him until I felt his hand on my shoulder. And let’s just say he got a face full of water, as he scared the shit out of me. Then, of course, that resulted Liam shedding his clothes and hopping in with me.

That was why I was scrambling to hurry and finish getting dressed. We were supposed to be there by 5, and since it was 4:30 and I wasn’t dressed, I didn’t think we would be making it.

“Casual. Babe, it is just my parents and sister. You have seen them plenty of times. Don’t worry,” he yelled back, but that did little to help me. Fed up with it, I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans and wiggled into them. Next, I grabbed a pale blue button-up shirt that I could roll the sleeves up or leave down. Thankfully, my hair was already done in a messy but cute bun at the top of my head. Right before I left the closet to put some lipstick on, I made the last-minute decision of grabbing a dark maroon scarf and some cute brown lace-up booties. How I got these I had no idea, but I didn’t stay to ponder it as I quickly went to finish my makeup.

Over the last few weeks Lennon had taught me a bit about putting makeup on, and I was now good enough to do it on my own and not look like a clown. While in the bathroom I laced up the booties and put the scarf on. I put on a matching maroon-colored lipstick, which I remembered Lennon telling me was a must-have, and left the room.

Making sure I had my ring on and everything I needed in my purse, I finally turned to Liam.

“Okay, how do I look?” I asked, biting my bottom lip. Why I was so nervous, I had no idea. It wasn’t as if I was meeting his family for the first time.

“You look absolutely stunning,” Liam said, smiling as he came toward me. He placed his hands on my waist and dipped his head down to kiss me. Before it turned into an all-out make out session, I pulled back.

“We have to go. We are going to be late.” Despite his protests, I grabbed his hand and led him to the garage. While he started the car, I took in his appearance. Instead of his suit he was now wearing a casual pair of dark washed jeans, a grey t-shirt that made his eyes look grey instead of blue, and a delicious leather jacket. Yes, a man in a suit was beyond sexy, but so was one in a leather jacket. It gave him a bad boy vibe that I was very much enjoying.

The ride to their house, we spent talking. Liam told me about his day at work and how a new investor wanted to meet with him on Monday. And how the new renovations for the hotel in Barbados were coming along. I, of course, had nothing to tell him, but that didn’t stop me from making light conversation. Everything came so easily around Liam. I didn’t know what it was about him, but he oozed so much self-confidence that it just rubbed off on me.

“Do we really have to go in?” Liam asked as we pulled up outside of his parents’ home. I noticed Julie’s car was there already. “I already know she is going to talk about our wedding the entire time.”

“Come on, Liam, it won’t be bad. If she does, we will steer the conversation away. How about that?” I offered him a smile.

“Fine, but you are making this up to me when we get home,” he said, opening his door.

“Making it up to you? Why would I be doing that?” I asked with a raised eyebrow as I met him around the front of the car.

“Because you are forcing me to be here.”

“It is your family. I’m not making you do anything,” I reasoned, my hand interlaced with his as we made our way to the front door. Not bothering to knock, Liam went right in with me trailing behind.

“We’ll see who is going to be in charge tonight,” he said, his voice low, his eyes flashing down at me. Instantly heat flashed right through me at his words, but I had no time to reply. His mother was greeting us.

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