Page 53 of Hold

But it wasn’t the action of feeding him that was sending a lethargic heat through her limbs. She sat across from him—“Don’t lean too hard against that railing,” he said with his mouth full—her legs alongside his, her denim shirt unbuttoned over a white tank top and red capris. His legs were in jeans, as always. Just once she wished he’d wear shorts again, like he had at Kane’s. His dark-green T-shirt with the Pat the Plumber logo on it showed off his arms.

Liam held her eyes with his. Such a blue. The kind of clear blue she could fall into. He took a drink from the glass she’d given him, and Thea couldn’t look away.Just one little drop of sweat… going down his neck… that’s all I ask.

He’d finished drinking, and she was still staring. She might have blinked slowly at him. She didn’t mean to, but her lips were parting of their own accord, and she found herself pressing her leg against his. And, oh dear, here she was, crawling over to him, taking his head between her hands and planting a good, hard, iced-tea-sweetened kiss on those lips.

“I’m never going to get a thing done with you around,” he said a few minutes later. She was tucked on his lap, arms around his neck. The porch had become its own world, a moment in time before something happened that could break her or wake her up.

“You’ve been getting something done.” She smirked and wiggled in his lap.

“Quit it!” He laughed but put his hands on her hips and pressed her down on him harder. Thea gasped and arched her neck. “For God’s sake, T,” he groaned. “Let me finish this while I still have the light.”

She pouted and got off his lap.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “We’ve got all night.”

We’ve got all night. What a promise. What a dream. Thea slumped back and hit the railing, which wobbled.

Liam grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Dammit, don’t lean on that railing!”

♦

The next evening, Thea went to his house after work. She brought a spare toothbrush and he made love to her on the old scrub pine kitchen table he used as an island.

“You’re not kidding about liking old things,” she’d said when she first walked up the stairs to his apartment. The rooms had wide-plank flooring stained a rich dark brown, and the thickest molding and trim she’d ever seen framing the walls. The kitchen had no fitted cabinets; instead, Liam had taken old hutches and consoles, painted them the same color, and laid countertop only where he had to. The kitchen table was the main work surface.

“That’s true,” he’d said, and then proceeded to show her just what kind of work the table was good for.

They curled up on his couch and watched old movies Thea could quote by heart. Seeing James Dean brooding his way through the heartland was much more entertaining now that she could tease Liam about his cranky mood when she’d first met him.

“Why’d you have to scowl at me every time I walked in a room?” she complained.

Liam laced her fingers with his. “Because my plan for the summer didn’t include falling for a hot mama the first day I walked into class.”

Falling for her. Of course she was head over heels for him, too, but she couldn’t tell him that yet. Maybe when the boys were home and they were still finding their way through this and he was still prepared to be involved in her messy, overscheduled life. Maybe then she’d tell him.

They had seven days. Seven blissful days, split between his home and hers, where they told each other about themselves, supported each other, and gave each other the hope they needed to try again.

♦

On Sunday afternoon, by mutual agreement, Liam cleared out anything he’d left at her house, and Thea reluctantly said goodbye.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” he reminded her. “Picking up Jake at seven, remember?”

“Yeah,” she said. This was only the beginning.

The boys were tan and happy and tired. They’d been sailing and surfing and eaten their body weight in ice cream, and they were not interested in coming with her to the grocery store.

But their mood quickly descending into real-life misery didn’t even bother her. She took them into the cookie aisle and said, “Have at it,” and they cheered up. Jake even got a six-pack of Coke and she didn’t care.

“Why are you so happy?” Jake said suspiciously.

“’Cause I got away from my awful children for a whole week,” she answered, putting one arm around his bony shoulders and giving Benji a noogie with the other.

“Can we have ice cream for dinner?” Benji asked at once.

“Nice try. But you only have to have one bite of your veggies tonight.”

“Woo-hoo!”

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