Page 19 of Look My Way
“Really.” The expected move would be to ask him next, but I already know the answer. “And you’re twenty-six.”
He doesn’t look at all surprised by my knowledge. “You looked me up.”
“I did, but it wasn’t—”
“In a creepy way?” he finishes for me, sounding teasing.
“Exactly.” I let out a nervous laugh. What? I don’t get nervous. I don’t fall hard for others like this either, or at all. There’s a reason, but it no longer matters when he’s around. Being in a relationship means letting your guard down, and I promised myself that would never be me. Love makes you lose sight of things. Who says that’s what this has to be between us, though? “I googled your author name to find more of your books.”
“Yeah, I figured. Those bios have too much damn info sometimes, and then there’s the readers who add more as they find it.”
“That’s what comes with being famous,” I chirp, taking another sip of my drink.
He rolls his eyes. “I may have twenty books published but I’m far from being famous. I have acquired some readers who overstep boundaries, but that just comes with the territory of being an author, big or small.”
“I’ve seen your ratings and reviews. You’re a bigger deal then you realize.” I wink, slower at wrapping my mouth around my straw this time, my tongue circling the plastic.
He watches me closely, chest rising and falling heavily. Those pretty lips rub together, and before I can ask him what he’s thinking, the waitress comes rushing over with our food. Steam drifts off the plates as she sets them in front of us. Liam’s eyes are no longer on me but on his fork, pushing at his rice. His lips are rubbing together again. This is his hungry face. It wasn’t directed at food a minute ago.
“This looks and smells so damn good.”
“Did you skip breakfast?” Based on what Daniel said the other day, it sounded like it might be a habit of his. But who knows.I don’t trust a single damn thing coming from that asshole’s mouth. I don’t trust him.
“No. I ate eggs. But I didn’t eat much for dinner, so that could be it, and writing makes me super hungry too.”
“Get a lot of words in today?”
“Yeah,” he says with a pleased look, taking his first bite of rice mixed with beans. His sweet hums have me vibrating in my seat and I’m quickly growing addicted. I want to hear them all the time in everything he does. “I think I might actually meet this deadline, but I’d hate to say that too soon and jinx it.”
“There’s no such thing.” I reach for a taquito, chewing at the end, and his fork pauses above his plate.
“What do you mean?”
“That whole jinxing crap. If something’s going to happen then it’s going to happen, especially when it’s out of your control.”
“I mean, it could be.”
“You’ll get it done. Look how good you’re doing already. If you need someone to bounce ideas off and hype you up, you can always give me a call.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” he muses.
“I never do. Call me anytime. For anything.”
“Anything, huh?” His lips purse.
“Anything.” I lay my hand over his wrist, his pulse singing to me. “If you want to tell someone how blue the sky is that day, then I’m your guy.”
He laughs, biting his lower lips as he looks down at our joined bodies. I slowly pull away, wanting to immediately be back where I was as soon as I do. I don’t ever want to take too much, unless it’s offered, but I’m so close to reaching that point. There’ll be no going back once I do either.
Ten
Liam
It’s nice not having someone tell me to slow down on the desserts or how I need my rest when I suggest we go for a walk after already being out. Before I can grab the check, Zavier beats me to it, and flames scatter along every inch of my skin he touches, the rest of me feeling left out. “I was going to get that,” I say.
His eyes hook onto mine. “You’re going to have to be faster than that if that’s the case.”
“I’m capable of paying for myself,” I snap, disappointment seeping in when the helplessness I feel with others is starting to show up with him too.
