Page 51 of A Taste of Trouble

“Exactly what I was hoping for. I'm going to go and get dressed. Since I only have my work clothes, can I borrow a T-shirt? If you have one that'll fit me.”

“Sure. I have tons of T-shirts from the bar. You can look in the bottom drawer of my dresser.”

“Thanks.” Before heading to her bedroom, he tossed the remote on the couch.

Were clothes really necessary? She wouldn't be offended by naked movie time. Liv tensed. Did she just give him permission to go through her drawers?

She crept around the couch, stealing a glance into her bedroom, and watched Jake as he dressed. He dropped the towel and slid on his pants.

She let out a soft sigh.

Heaven.

He was heaven.

…

Jake couldn't wait to get dressed and get back to Liv. He'd been fully prepared to be shot down. She gave him the opening and he took it. So here he was, searching through her dresser drawers. This couldn't get any closer to a relationship. When he'd seen her standing in the doorway, sleepy, disheveled, and shocked, he realized that he wanted to see her every morning. Just as she was.

Jake glanced at the alarm clock on Liv's night table. He was due to meet the catering manager at the book launch venue in two hours, but he didn't want to leave her.

He grabbed his phone and dialed Melanie, the most reliable publicist on his team.

Shelton wouldn't be too happy. If he wasn't able to make a meeting himself, he wanted Jake there as a representative of the firm. And he had always been happy to oblige. Evenings, weekends, no matter the time, he had always come through.

But his absence was because of his mission. That had to be forgivable.

Melanie picked up on the third ring.

“Mel, it's Jake.”

“Hey, Jake.” She sounded surprised. As she should. Jake had never called one of his employees on a weekend.

“I'm sorry to bug you on a Saturday, but something's come up.” Like his penis, hopefully, over and over again. Jake smiled. That was definitely a perk, but more than anything, he wanted to spend time with Liv. There was so much more to this woman than he had anticipated. “I'm not able to meet with the catering manager at The Grande. Can you take the meeting?”

“Sure.” Shock registered on Melanie's voice. Jake never gave up his meetings. “I'd be happy to. I've got nothing going on this afternoon.”

“You're a life saver. I'll forward you the info. And we need to stress the frequency of the servers circulating the room. It's the only thing I didn't like about their presentation.”

“Got it. I'll take care of it.”

Jake straightened and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was a liar. A cheater. A selfish ass. And it was Liv who would end up with the most to lose. Jake could always find another job. But Liv, she wouldn't be able to get a new heart after he'd stomped all over it.

He knew all along—from that first accidental touch—but it wasn't until this morning that he actually let himself believe it could happen. She was not going to make it easy for him. Her distrust in the happily ever after saddened him. Someone had to have hurt her deeply. It was probably the reason why she shied away from intimacy and relationships.

He couldn't imagine how someone could cause her pain. If he knew who it was, he wouldn't hesitate to pummel the asshole. He'd eventually find out. At her own pace. But he knew he had his work cut out for him, trying to break down the armor she had on every moment of every day. It was down right now, but Jake wondered how long it would be before she donned it again.

He fumbled through the drawer and found a gray T-shirt. When he righted himself, his reflection stared back at him. He should be ashamed of himself. They seemed to be on the same page when it came to sex, but he couldn't deny he was using her for his own selfish ambition. Using her to fulfill some childhood memory that brought his grandmother back into his life.

He just had to hope that Liv would be forgiving. He didn't have much time to convince her that he was the real deal, in for the long haul, despite his underhanded actions. There was no way he would lose her because of the actions of some other loser. He would show her what it meant to be a man, and prove that he was worth letting down her guard.

Maybe if he opened up he'd have a better chance at winning the girl. Maybe if he let her into his life—behind the scenes—she'd want to stay and never let go.

…

Jake lay with Liv in his arms, completely at peace.

They couldn't even last an entire movie without keeping their hands off each other. But this was way better than any movie. His heart swelled. He was usually the first to race out of bed after the sex happened. But this time, with Liv, the cuddling afterward was even better than the sex.

---