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Which meant she was stuck.
She fished out her phone again and tried calling her brother. No signal. Not that actually speaking with Keefe would have made any difference. If she was snowed in, then he was too.
Her stomach dipped. Damn it!
“Are you going to stand there and freeze or come inside?” called Liam from his front door.
She turned, already bracing herself, but it didn’t matter. One look at Liam, standing in the doorway, his gaze locked on hers like he saw every last thing she was trying to hide, and she knew avoidance wasn’t an option anymore.
Sophie trudged through the snow in her dusty work boots over to Liam. The falling snow was coming fast.
He held his arm out in case she felt she might slip. “Come on inside, love.”
“No, really, I’m covered in dust. I don’t want to get your house all messy. But could I use your phone? I need to call Keefe and I don’t have a signal.”
“Of course, you can. Come in.” Liam held the door open and stepped aside.
“No, thanks really, I’ll just?—”
“Just what? Sit in your car and freeze? Stay in that barren studio all night? Sophie for the love of Christ just come inside already. It’s only me. I won’t bite.”
It’s “only” him. Liam could never be that insignificant. And the man had a point. She wasn’t going anywhere in this weather. So much for that solid plan of avoidance. “Okay, thanks.”
Before stepping inside, she removed her cap and shook the sawdust from her hair, which now spilled over her shoulders. As she entered the warm house, she was greeted by the scent of a crackling fire.
“Just take your boots off and leave them there by the door.” Liam left her to remove her shoes and spoke over his shoulder as he disappeared inside the warm house. “I’ll tell you, I don’t remember a winter this cold before. This is?—”
“Fucking Baltic?” she called back finishing his sentence.
“Exactly.”
Once she had her boots off, she shook them off outside the door before placing them beside his on a small rug; she laid her cap on top of her boots, then made her way inside, taking in the warm, earthy tones that wrapped around her like a familiar embrace. Nothing matched, yet nothing clashed—pieces from one part of the world or another. It should have felt chaotic, but it felt lived-in, effortless. It felt like Liam. Cozy without being cluttered, inviting without trying too hard. Just like the man himself.
She found him in the kitchen behind the counter slicing fruit. He looked up from his work and smiled in greeting. “The phone is behind you on the wall.”
“Thanks.” She turned around and took the phone from the receiver on the wall and called her brother, who didn’t answer, so she left a message. Then she hung the phone back up and turned back to Liam. “I had no idea it was snowing like this.” She stood with her hands in her pockets, watching him slice an apple. He looked up and smiled at her. Suddenly she was reminded of what she must look like and she smoothed her hair. “Sorry, I’m such a mess.”
“Nonsense. You bring new meaning to the word chic.” She blushed and grinned which made him happy. “Are you hungry? I was just cutting myself some fruit and cheese here but I could cook.”
“No, that’s all right. I’m not hungry.” She stuffed her hands back inside her pockets and lied through her teeth. She was tired, thirsty, and starving to death.
“Why are you nervous?”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are,” he said with a knowing grin.
“No, I’m not!” she said with righteous indignation. Why did he have to know her so damn well?
“All right if you’re so comfortable then why are you swaying back and forth like a dashboard hula girl with your hands tucked away? Like it or not Soph, you’re stuck here, probably for the night so, I would suggest that you take a seat and chill out.”
“Fine.” She took her hands out from her pockets with a flourish then sat down on a stool at the counter and slouched in her seat.
There was no real reason—none she could think of or conjure up—why she shouldn’t be comfortable. She had always been easy-going with Liam. Things had always been so natural between them. “There. Happy now?”
No, he wouldn’t be happy until his best friend would in the very least look him in the eye for more than half a second, but this was a start. “How’s it going out there with your bar top?”
“I finished the sanding today. I did most of that by hand so it took longer but I think it’s worth it. Another two weeks tops and I’ll be out of your way.”
