Page 37 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
“Nah.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “Just aim the thing at me and let it loose. I’ll take it from there.”
Dressed and ready, they stepped out onto the landing. Liam secured her bedroom door behind them, double-checking the locks. His new protocol required every second-floor room—occupied or not—to be locked down tight.
“You still haven’t explained the makeup.” She had placed everything he said she would need in the black backpack, along with his gun and their spare clothes. “Or the seduction part.”
“Emmett Watson is a lonely man,” Liam said, taking her hand as they descended the stairs. “And there’s a certain type of woman he always pays attention to when he’s on dating apps. They usually wear heavy makeup and favor skimpy clothes.”
“Liam, did you stalk this man’s dating profiles?”
“I had Rowan do it. He and Annabeth had a good laugh going through his matches.”
Jamison halted halfway down the stairs, forcing Liam to do the same. “I have a feeling this isn’t a good cop-bad cop situation, but more like you’re using me for bait again.”
“No, not at all.” Eye to eye with her, thanks to being two steps lower, Liam flipped his baseball cap around to sneak a kiss. “Like I said, he’s local, and since you’re a Fairweather, you get to be the bad cop.”
“Excuse me, the locals love us.”
“They do. Butyouhave… a certain reputation.”
She looked down her nose at him, unimpressed. “Why is it that any woman with a spine and a voice automatically ends up with areputation?”
Smart man that he was, Liam shrugged. “Because society is ridiculous.”
“Good answer.”
“I figured you’ll either intimidate him or charm him.”
“It’s always one or the other with men,” she muttered. “Never a middle ground.”
They headed downstairs and into the parlor, finding Samuel sitting stretched out on the couch with Evie’s head in his lap, fast asleep. Theo sat on her father's shoulders, braiding his hair, while Harper knelt on the floor, painting his toenails a vivid, unapologetic shade of pink.
“Are you almost done with Holden?” Samuel asked, not even glancing up from his phone. “We’re ready to go home.”
Without missing a beat, Liam extracted his phone to snap a photo of the entire situation. Samuel embraced every opportunity to make things normal for his girls, and allowing them to give him a makeover after the stressful morning they’d had was par for the course.
“He just sent a message saying he was almost here with the boat.” Liam took two more pictures. “Hey, Harper, that’s a nice color for your dad’s toes, but you should go with blue for his fingernails.”
Harper scrunched her nose in disapproval. “Blue is a summer color, Unc.”
“Duh, everyone knows that.” Samuel finally looked up to smirk at Liam. “How about you paint Unc’s toes next, Harper? His troll-looking feet could use some color.”
Liam gasped as if offended. “I have beautiful feet.”
Hiding her laughter, Jamison looked around for Josie, who never strayed far from her granddaughters. “Did Josie already go back to your house?”
“No, she’s in the kitchen with Bernie,” Evie said, coming awake with a stretch. “They’re having some tea. Josie said it calms her nerves.”
Samuel set his phone aside and helped Evie sit up. “How are you feeling?”
“Surprisingly good, but hungry.” After making it into a sitting position, Evie stroked her pregnant belly. “Girls, can you go check on Papa and grab me a snack?”
Theo rolled off Samuel’s shoulders and bolted immediately from the room. Harper took her time finishing. “Daddy, don’t move until I get back,” she warned, packing up her supplies and following her sister.
The moment the girls were gone, the serene smile on Evie’s lips faded, and the stress of the day showed. “Explain to me where this dock is. I know you two want some private time while you’re out. I get that. I’m not stupid. But I don’t want Jamison out of the house for too long and want to know that you’ll be back before dark. Got it?”
“The dock is on a small plot of land just outside Port Michaelson. It sits way back off in a swampy inlet and is pretty well hidden,” Liam told her. “There are no property records indicating a building is onsite, but there’s definitely a structure along with the dock. I had Izzy look into it earlier this week, and she said it was a single room dwelling about the size of a large shed. Rowan’s been watching via satellite over the past few days. Not much has been happening, but two cars came and went yesterday.”
As he spoke, Liam subtly pulled Jamison to his side, lifting her hand just enough for the diamond ring to catch the light.
