Page 26 of My Fair Player

What if Ashley was interested and he was clueless? That single thought alone was like striking a gong in his soul. Now, he had a mental clock in his head ticking wildly because there was only so long you could disappear into a bathroom without raising more questions.

“Are things not okay at home, bro?” Salas whispered, his dark eyes curious and careful.

“It’s complicated,” Liam admitted, rubbing a hand over his face – realizing that he was getting stressed and breaking out in a nervous sweat.

Acton shoved his thumb over his shoulder, pointing and not holding back. “Well, now’s your chance to go ‘work it out.’Seriously, dude. You are missing out on the chance of a lifetime – and she’s hot.”

Sweatingbecamestrangulation.

Liam pulled at his collar, trying to breathe, staring at the wall in the distance where Ashley had disappeared. Could it be true? Was she interested in him romantically? What if they weren’t ready for this next step?

He,this, was supposed to be temporary – but if he slept with his wife, he had no intentions of ever leaving. She was a lady, not some trollop and had said as much to Ashley that he wouldn’t touch her because he respected her. Acton might not have many scruples, but Ashley oozed elegance from every pore – and Liam wished he was half the person that his wife was.

“But… she’s not like that,” Liam managed to choke out. “She’s a lady and…”

Suddenly, clear as a bell, he heard a feminine voice speak up – and like Moses parting the Red Sea, the commotion and discussions in the plane drew silent as Larsson’s wife spoke up.

“All women want to know they are wanted, loved, or desired. You should absolutely go,” she offered up, and not a second later – Coeur, Lafreniére, and Boucher all exchanged a look, all three letting out a low whistle of appreciation.

Liam unbuckled and stood up without a second thought, ignoring a few claps from behind him as he made his way toward the restroom and his wife. His heart was pounding in his chest, his ears roaring, while his brain offered all sorts of unsolicited advice.

You’re just checking on her…

You had to go to the bathroom…

You were worried…

He knocked on the door, not sure what to expect, but the momentthe dial flipped from the red ‘occupied’ sign to the green ‘available’ – it was like a race signal that it was ‘Go’ time. The door parted, his eyes met hers, and instead of stepping aside to let her out of the bathroom – he blocked the way, stepping inside the cramped space and shutting the door behind him.

“What are you doing?” Ashley hissed in disbelief, clutching his arm to keep from falling in the empty toilet behind her, and he grimaced. This was not romantic in the slightest. There was a strange scent of disinfectant, the ceiling was angled, making him lean in toward her, and… and Ashley’s hand moved from his arm to his chest.

“Liam?”

“I want things to be different,” he whispered, staring at her as the words just started to spill out of him.

“So you pushed me into the bathroom to talk?”

“No… yes, I mean ‘not really,’” he hesitated, saw her slight smile, and melted.

Ashley was so beautiful, so classical like some Grecian statue, but there was something real about her too – and this was his wife. Out of all the people in the world, he’d been given this chance to be her partner in life.

“I like you,” he began and winced, only to hear her soft nervous laughter as her eyes creased slightly, amused. His hand moved to touch hers as he pulled her against him.

“I like you too,” she whispered, moving her hand from his chest to touch his jaw – and he was putty. “A lot,” she breathed, making the small space feel even more snug.

His heart was slamming in his chest, his focus on her soft rose-colored lips, and his brain— well, nothing was working above his shirt collar anymore.

“I don’t want ninety says,” he muttered, leaning in toward her, his heart pounding so hard it drowned out everything else. She stood there, in front of him, smelling so sweetly of flowers. The scent clung to her blouse over the antiseptic smells surrounding them both. Her lashes framed those eyes that haunted his every waking moment.“That’s not enough time…”

“What are you saying?” she asked, her voice small but steady, almost like she was bracing herself for whatever was coming next.

He swallowed hard. There was no turning back, no more excuses. No more hiding behind kind gestures or sweet moments. He had her cornered, invading her personal space, and there was no place to hide anymore. Just them – Liam and Ashley – husband and wife.

“I want a real marriage – and I want to kiss you so badly.”

Those words rushed out of him, hoarse with emotion, torn from someplace deep within him. He saw her eyes widen slightly just before they softened with understanding and something vulnerable that made his breath hitch.

“Okay,” she whispered, waiting, her eyes searching his. “Are you going to?”

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