Page 85 of The Savior

He laughed. “There’s plenty in the cabinets.”

Doubtful, she closed the fridge and snooped. The shelves were packed with high-test bachelor junk. Instead of ramen noodles, she found protein bars and powder, something that looked like high-end jerky, canned meats, and sardines. “Do you have any real food here?”

“Grocery stores are in one of the levels in Dante’s hell.”

True enough. She went back to the fridge, grabbed a beer, and moseyed back to the couch, taking in the generic nature of his place. Nothing hung on the walls. Nothing showed any personality. “What was your question?”

He moved his legs from the coffee table so she could walk by and smacked the couch cushion next to her. “It’s a really important question.”

Her nerves came back wearing party hats. She fake-smiled again and sat next to him. “So ask it.”

“If you answer wrong, we can’t be friends.”

A blush heated her cheeks. “Are we friends?”

A second too late, she realized that calling attention to their situation wasn’t her best move, and she clung to the beer bottle as if it were a life raft capable of rescuing her from bumbling small talk.

Liam tilted his head and reached for her beer, cracking off the cap. “No idea what you’d call this.” He handed her bottle back. “Still. It’s an important question.”

She wanted to fall over and hide, but she swallowed hard.

His brow furrowed.

Her anxiety was near peak freak out levels. “What?”

His eyes narrowed, jaw ticking expectantly. “IsDie Harda Christmas movie?”

What?What! She’d worked herself to a fever pitch over a movie question?

“Well?”

She took a deep breath and smiled, this time not having to fake it. “Is Santa fat and jolly?”

“Good answer.” He knocked his beer to hers.

Chelsea felt as if they were in the Twilight Zone. His attention returned to the movie, and she tried to relax, shifting and repositioning until he put his arm behind her and pulled her close. She forgot to breathe.

“Watch the movie, sunshine.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze without tearing his gaze from the TV.

She closed her eyes and melted against his chest.

This is us?It was—whateverthiswas. It was him, her, a movie and a beer while cuddling.

He grabbed the bowl of popcorn and settled it between them. It took two on-screen car chases before she relaxed enough to snack with him.

He finished his beer when the movie slowed for dialogue and put the bottle and popcorn bowl on the table. Explosions lit the television screen again and he tucked her back under his arm. Liam pressed his lips to the side of her head. “Thanks for coming over.”

Her insides squeezed. “I was worried.”

“I was a dick,” he muttered.

She leaned into him. “That was a complicated situation to stumble into.”

“Tell me about it.” He paused the movie. “Everything snowballed.”

“Linda said she’d called earlier—”

“She did. I was in a meeting and didn’t answer.”

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