Page 77 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
“Who gets a tiara?”
Dressed in a dark blue T-shirt and jeans that had seen better days, Liam popped his head through the door. One sleeve of his shirt was rolled up, exposing a white bandage on his muscled bicep. His hair was askew like he’d run a hand through it a million times. The entire look had her doing a double take.
“Are you okay?”
He gave her a thin smile. “I’m good. What are you two talking about?”
Patting the seat next to her, Jamison crooked a finger. “Rowan’s saying he wants to marry Annabeth in a tiara.”
Liam smirked as he crossed the room and dropped beside her, tugging her legs across his lap like it was second nature. “Are we doing a double ceremony? Because if so, we need to order a tiara by, like, yesterday.”
“He hasn’t even asked her yet,” Jamison whispered. “He’s just planning the tiara logistics.”
Liam kissed her quickly. “Annabeth would rock a tiara. So would you. Want one?”
“Nah, I wear an invisible one twenty-four-seven.” She poked his chest. “And this whole conversation started because Rowan wants twenty minutes of alone time with Annabeth. Twenty. Not even a full half hour.”
“Twenty minutes?” Liam raised a brow, all faux-serious. “We can make it happen, but you better return the favor. And no security camera footage, please. I don’t need Ben seeing anything.”
Rowan looked like he wanted to sink into the floor.
Jamison didn’t care. She was back where she belonged. Her legs in Liam’s lap. His hand on her knee. The storm of everything else fading into the background.
“Yeah,” Rowan grumbled. “That was what I was getting at. And I’m done talking about this.”
“I’m not,” Liam said, his hand drifting higher. “When are we doing this? Better yet, when do Jamison and I get to collect our twenty minutes?”
“He originally wanted to take her on the boat,” Jamison said. “But not, like, on the water, right?”
“We were going to have dinner under the stars,” Rowan said. “But someone had to go and get himself shot.”
“You have my sincerest apologies,” Liam replied sarcastically. “I’ll never let it happen again.”
“You better not,” Jamison mumbled.
Liam’s hand reached her thigh and squeezed. Not enough to tickle, but just to comfort. He could handle her tears and her pain, yet when it came to her being scared, it drove him insane. Being the protector was ingrained in him.
“Have you talked to Simone?” Liam asked Rowan. “You know how this works. She and Abe need to be in the loop before you drop this on Annabeth.”
Rowan waved a vague hand at the room. “I’ve been a bit busy.”
“That’s such an old-school take,” Jamison huffed. “Annabeth can make her own decisions.”
This time, Liam squeezed her thigh hard enough to make her squeak. “I talked to your dad.”
“No, you didn’t. That proposal was spontaneous.”
He just smiled. “Wouldn’t dream of contradicting you.”
“So, what? You talked to himbeforeproposing?”
“Something like that.”
“Explain, William.”
With Rowan occupied, he leaned in. “I talked to your dad. And Samuel. But first, I went to Simone. I’m not an idiot.”
“They would’ve told me.”
