Page 101 of The Playboy Project

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Ashlyn

Once inside the penthouse familiar sights and sounds of Liam’s home enveloped me. My teeth bit into my lip as we passed the wall he’d had me pressed up against. I flushed. Had it really only been a few days before? This relationship's highs and lows were happening so quickly that I was reeling with the whiplash. But it didn’t stop the raging need to be closer to him even now.

I leaned against the arm that held my hand.

Liam had gone stiff against me though. I looked again.

Any memories of our nights here together came to a grinding, harsh stop. Sitting on the floor in front of Liam’s sectional, eyes wide and unfocused, was Daniel Macklen. Staring from me to his father and back again, Liam seemed braced for my comments.

Instead though, my shoulders just slumped. It had only taken a moment to ascertain that Daniel was in rough shape. Even as he smiled crookedly at me, I couldn’t stop the overwhelming grip of pity as he struggled to his feet.

“Katherine? Look what the cat dragged in. I was afraid Liam here had scared you away for good.”

“Dad.” Liam’s voice tight. “Please don’t. Just sit there while I get Ashlyn a ride home.”

Katherine? He’d called me Katherine, like Liam’s ex-girlfriend, the one Sam had told me about. Apprehension curled in my gut. This guy was a mess. Liam reached out to grip his forearms, to steady his weaving parent.

“Ashlyn. Oh shit, Liam, I’m sorry about that.” He smiled lopsided at me. “Liam always has the best taste in women. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you at first. They are all so beautiful.”

Liam flinched back from his father’s words—and maybe his breath—as the man leaned farther toward me.

“Dad, you know just as well as I do that there hasn’t been anybody since Katherine. Not until—” His voice cut off, and for a long moment, his face turned to me. Then his dad made a horrible gagging noise. And the next moment, Liam was shoving the man toward the half bath, a string of curses falling from the lips I’d been devouring just a moment before.

I perched on the edge of the island, waiting. After all of this, I felt like suddenly we were right on the edge of figuring out something significant about Liam Macklen. I knew there was something, something that lurked beneath that beautiful, charming surface. Part of that was what I’d found myself falling for so hard. But there was more, I could feel it. And now, with the sudden exposure of tonight, it felt final. Whatever happened tonight, it would be the decision maker in everything going forward between Liam and myself.

I did the only thing I could think of at the moment. I grabbed two spoons, the peanut butter jar from the cabinet, and waited.

Liam moved back into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. His jacket was off now, his button-up undone at the collar. Disheveled, my perfect Prince Charming—make that my ex-perfect Prince Charming—was rattled.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked him.

His laugh was humorless and dry. “Absolutely not. But that’s not an option anymore.”

“Uh, I’m not sure what that means,” I admitted.

Liam swallowed hard. “I can’t keep letting this ruin things for me or letting it ruin my chance of being happy with something—someone—I care about. I totally get it if you want to run. I would if I were you.”

I bit my lip. Slowly, I dropped onto the barstool, propping my elbow up and grabbing my spoon. Swirling it in the air above the jar, I dropped it in for a small scoop. “I’m ready when you are.”

He gave me a wry smile, one that didn’t light up his eyes, didn’t even crinkle the edges of his lips. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready. But let’s do this.” Liam looked at the island, grabbed the second spoon and with a flourish, Liam dipped his spoon in to the creamy peanut butter and started to talk.

***

Liam

Opening the door to see Ashlyn had sent a wave of panic through my body. Especially since my revelation into the depths of my feelings for her. I wanted her back, I was determined to get her back, but there were things that had to happen first.

And dealing with my drunk, ill-tempered father hadn’t been the way I wanted to introduce her to this part of myself. But I wanted to commit to this. To being a man worthy of her.

So I began. “I think the first time it happened, I was sixteen. We were driving home separately from a small fundraising event. This was back when Mom still lived with us. She was driving behind us with Tanner and Sam. We must’ve gotten separated at a stoplight, and I saw the blue and reds flashing behind us.”

Ashlyn’s soft eyes watched me, waiting, the spoon in her hand gently bobbing along as she listened to my story. My mind raced, but at the same time I couldn’t stop the words now. I’d kept it all bottled up too long.

“I didn’t understand at first, how he had me climb over the console, and he slid over, buckling himself in like everything was completely normal.. The cop took one look at me, a half-terrified, half-shaking teenager and let us off with a ticket. He told me I had an awesome dad to let me drive his car. Can you believe that?” I shook my head, frustrated at the memory.

“After that, it was like something clicked in his mind. I was his new partner in crime. But it got far worse when he started campaigning full time. Leden was nothing to him, and even though he refused to hand over the reins, the pressure was always on me. Even while I was in school. But when Mom left, it broke him.” I resisted the urge to pace.

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