Page 87 of Until We're More
Liam slowly spun back to face me, a sheepish grin on his face. “I guess you’ll have to take my word for it. If that means anything to you anymore?” His eyes implored mine.
“You can’t go to Denver,” I said. “You have a fight in six weeks.”
“They have these things called planes. They get you from Point A to Point B really quickly.”
“But your family, and the gym, and—”
“They all understand that I’m better with you. I think they knew I was in love with you when I was still in denial about it, and that was before you came to visit and showed me everything I’d been missing.” He placed his hand on the side of my neck and ran his thumb along my jaw. “You showed me how amazing life could be, and now my life feels so damn empty. I miss you and I love you and I’m in love with you. I know I screwed up, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
He lowered his forehead to mine. “The fact of the matter is, I was the delusional one, thinking I could live without you. Please tell me I’m not too late.”
I closed my eyes, taking a moment to soak in the warmth coursing through me and his scent and his touch and all the perfect things he’d said. Then I opened my eyes and wrapped my hand around his wrist. “You’re too late. If you want to move to Denver, anyway.”
Using his thumb, he tipped up my chin. “You choose now to go with succinct, confusing sentences?Really?”
A laugh accidentally slipped out. “Hey, I’ve been heartbroken for a week.”
He exhaled, so much weight and heaviness behind it. “Me too. And having you this close without kissing you is torture. So I need you to explain. None of those big, I-need-a-dictionary words, either. Spell it out, like you would for a dumb jock.”
“I called you a pretty jock, not a dumb one.”
“I’m starting to feel like an impatient one.”
I placed my hands on his chest. “Well, I was going to take the job in Denver, but then I got this different job offer here. Carlos called me—”
Liam frowned, and I raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t get all scowly. He offered me a job helping him promote the local fights, and even though it was way dreamier than what I thought was my dream job, at first I wasn’t going to take it because it meant I’d be here, and I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to be in the same city as you. I was worried it’d hurt too much.”
“I’m so sorry.” Liam wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’m going to make it up to you, I swear. I might not be home by five every day, and some days I’ll come home beat up. There will be a couple months at a time when we hardly see each other. But I know you better than anyone else. I know what wine and novels to buy you to help make up for the times I can’t be there, and I’ll gladly go to every book-to-movie adaptation ever. I’ll brush your cat’s teeth. I’ll do whatever it takes. Including move halfway across the country to be with you.”
More of that intoxicating, happy-laced warmth wound through me. “I appreciate that. But I also decided that I wasn’t going to let some guy determine whether or not I went for a job.”
“Some guy?” The scowl was back.
I reached up and ran my fingertips over his stubbled jaw. “Well, I tried to convince myself that you were just some guy. One I’d eventually get over. My heart totally suspected I was lying, but my survival instincts kicked in, and I had to tell myself that so I could keep going. So, as I was saying, you’re too late if you had your heart set on moving to Denver, because I took the job Carlos offered me. But as for all the other stuff…” I dragged my hand a few inches lower, to where I could feel his heart steadily beating against my palm. “You’re not too late. I forgive you, and I love you, and I’m in love with you. I want to be more than friends. A whole lot more.”
“Thank God,” Liam said before crashing his lips to mine. After a week without kissing him, it was like that first breath after you’ve been underwater too long. Then he was pulling me closer, running his hands over me as our mouths and tongues got reacquainted.
He turned us and walked me backward to the bed, and George lifted his head, perturbed at being awakened.
“Later, you and I are going to need to have a talk about how your catnip addiction is tearing this family apart,” I said to my kitty. “But for now, you might want to find somewhere else to sleep.”
The light nudge didn’t do anything, so I had to give him another to convince him to jump off the bed. He took his sweet time walking across the room, the haughty twitch of his tail making it clear he’d be expecting generous compensation for his efforts, but he finally gave us our privacy.
And Liam took full advantage, stripping me of my clothes and getting started on his promise of making everything up to me.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Liam
For a moment, I was afraid to move, speak, or breathe for fear I’d wake up and discover I was dreaming. And since Chelsea was standing in front of me in nothing but her underwear, I didn’t want to wake up and find out it wasn’t real.
“Did you need help with your pants?” She moved closer and slipped my belt out of the buckle. “Because I’m definitely willing to help you with that.”
I swept her hair off her face and cupped her cheek. “Just checking that you’re real.”
“Hmm. I see what you mean.” She yanked off my jeans and then eyed me, her gaze running up and down me and turning the desire firing through me to liquid-hot need. “Looks too good to be true, but I better check for myself.”
