Liam's Invented I-Do

by Liz Isaacson

  “I can try,” she said.

  “Great.” He squeezed her hand. “I have just one more thing.”

  Callie straightened her shoulders and took in the pitiful state of the yard in front of the homestead. “Say it.”

  He cleared his throat, and a tidal wave of fear moved through Callie. “I don’t want you to fight with me when I show affection for you.”

  “You make me sound like I’m closed-minded and closed-hearted.”

  “Callie,” he said gently. “With me, you have been.”

  “Ouch,” she said, and pure hurt pinched behind her heart.

  “Tell me I’m wrong,” he said.

  Callie pressed her lips together, her emotions swirling and storming inside her. She couldn’t argue with him on this, because she really didn’t want to accept charity.

  “Sometimes,” Liam said. “I think you like Miah more than me.”

  “There’s nothing between me and Miah except friendship,” Callie said sharply. “I’ve told you that a thousand times. That’s another stipulation.” She decided on-the-spot. “You can’t be jealous of Miah.”

  “I’m not jealous of Miah,” he said.

  “Liam.”

  “I like it when you say my name,” he said, smiling at the ground.

  Several things inside Callie released, and she gave a light laugh. “Liam, you’re not wrong. I will try to be more open to what you say and how I feel about you.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “I think those are all of my rules. Repeat them back to me.”

  “You don’t want me to reject you, and you don’t want me to tell you can’t buy stuff, and you want me to confide in you the way I do Miah.”

  “Oh, that last one is a great addition,” he said. “One more.” He tugged on her hand to get her to stop.

  She looked up at him, and Callie thought if she did what he asked—opened herself up to a real relationship with him—she could easily fall in love with him. The very idea had her pulse in a tizzy. “What?” she asked through a dry throat.

  “I don’t want our first kiss to be when we get married.”

  Callie blinked. “So when…?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I have to apply for a marriage license, and Rhett told me there’s a mandatory seventy-two-hour waiting period. So we have a few days.”

  “When should we get married?”

  “I was actually thinking right after the New Year,” he said. “Oh, and I guess I have one more rule.”

  Weariness filled Callie, but her heart kept pumping, because he wanted to kiss her—soon. “All right,” she said. “Better just say it.”

  “I don’t want our marriage to be a secret.”

  “But it’s kind of not real,” Callie said. “Right? A sort of invented I-do.”

  “Sure,” he said. “It can be invented…until it becomes real.”

  “Do you really think it will?” she asked.

  Liam grinned at her and cocked his head to the side. “I do.” He burst out laughing almost before he finished speaking, and Callie swatted his arm.

  “You think you’re so funny.” But she felt like she was about to willingly step off a cliff and fall to her death.

  “You’re going to write up the rules, right?” he asked.

  “Am I?”

  “I know you, Callie Foster. You love rules.”

  She nudged him as they started walking again. “Fine, I’ll write them up and text them to you.”

  “Perfect,” he said, sweeping a kiss along her temple. “Now, let’s get back to the homestead before all the pecan pie is gone.”

  Callie went with him, the conversation on the way back to Seven Sons much easier, though her heart still felt caught in the icy grip of a hurricane.

  Seventy-two-hours.

  Married right after the New Year.

  And he wanted a kiss before the wedding.

  Callie hoped she wasn’t about to make the biggest mistake of her life, and the moment she entered the homestead, she let go of Liam’s hand and hurried over to Simone’s side, so much to talk about.

  Chapter Four

  Liam got up early the next day, and not because he was behind on his work for Pixelate, though he was. He’d looked up the hours for the county courthouse, and they were open today for three hours.

  He wanted to apply for a marriage license before Callie changed her mind. Which was stupid, he knew. She could just as easily tell him she’d had a moment of weakness and didn’t want to get married. Having the license didn’t ensure anything.

  He still pulled up to the courthouse in a tiny Texas town northeast of Three Rivers, which housed the office that issued the licenses, ten minutes before it was set to open. Walking around their ranches yesterday, holding hands…that had been pure bliss for Liam.

  Of course Callie had rules for their marriage. Liam knew that in her mind, their marriage wasn’t and wouldn’t be real. That was fine with him, because he was sure that if she did what she said she would—if she’d open her heart and mind to him—that they could fall in love.

  He felt like he was already halfway there, and he seriously needed to pull back on the reins. He couldn’t pressure Callie. He just needed her to open the door and let him in.

  And she’d said she’d try.

  He waited an extra five minutes after the office was supposed to open, and then he went inside. “Morning,” he said to the woman at the County Clerk’s office. “I need to get a marriage license.”

  She seemed utterly bored as she passed over the paperwork. “Is your fiancée with you?”

  “Uh, no,” Liam said, his heartbeat throwing out an extra beat. “Does she need to be?”

  “Well, most couples come in together,” she said.

  “I didn’t see that requirement on the website,” he said. He’d driven forty minutes north to the county building for this license. If he couldn’t get it today, he wasn’t sure when he could get back up to the courthouse.

  “There’s an FAQ on the website,” the woman said, smacking her gum. “It’s a PDF. It says it in there.”

  “So I can’t apply without her.” Tripp looked at the woman from under the brim of his cowboy hat.

  “No, sir,” she said. “She has to show proof of her age, identity, all of that. She has to sign it in front of the county clerk. Unless she’s in the military. Is she in the military?”

  Liam really wanted to say yes, but his conscience wouldn’t let him. “No, ma’am,” he said, feeling deflated. “Okay, can I take these and fill them out and come back with her?”

  “Sure thing, sugar.”

  “Thanks.” Liam turned away from the window and headed back to his truck. Callie would be up, because she was an early-bird, but Liam didn’t want to call her. They hadn’t discussed when he’d get the marriage license, though it was completely implied that he would. The fee in Hutchinson County was seventy-six dollars, and he’d be surprised if Callie had that much in her bank account.

  Twenty minutes later, he rolled into Three Rivers, and he said, “Call Callie Foster.”

  A blip sounded over his speakers, and then the cool, electronic voice said, “Calling Callie Foster.” The phone rang, and Liam’s anxiety grew.

  “Hey,” Callie said.

  “Hey,” he practically yelled, adjusting the volume on his radio so he could hear her better. “So I drove up to the county courthouse to get our marriage license, and it turns out, you have to come with me.”

  “Oh,” she said. That was all. Nothing else.

  “They’re only open this morning for a few hours,” he said. “And again on Monday or Tuesday before the New Year holidays.” He looked left and right at a stop sign, deciding to turn right and head over to the bakery. “Which of those work best for you to go for a little drive?”

  “It’s up to you,” she said. “You’re the one with the busy work schedule.”

  Liam was busy, but not that busy. And he loved that it was work he could do any time, day or nig
ht. There was no clock to punch, and no one expected him to be anywhere at a specific time. He did have meetings from time to time, but they weren’t very often.

  “Let’s go Monday morning,” he said, the town of Three Rivers getting busier and busier the closer to downtown he got. “There was a cute little diner up there, and we could have breakfast afterward.”

  “Sure,” Callie said, and Liam practically glowed. He had a date with her. A real date. He’d asked her out on three previous occasions, and she’d said no each time. His heart still throbbed painfully in his chest from all the humiliation he’d suffered.

  “What about dinner tonight?” he asked.

  “Okay,” Callie said.

  “Okay?”

  “Liam, we’re engaged,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. Or a hiss; he wasn’t sure which. “We should probably go out a few times before we get married.”

  “I know,” he said. “I’m just a little surprised. I’ve asked you out before and been shot down.”

  “Well, consider this me trying to open myself up a little bit.”

  Liam chuckled and noticed the street in front of the bakery was packed. A mental groan pulled through him, but he knew why. Heidi Ackerman was seriously the best baker in three counties, and he really wanted a dozen of her cider doughnuts. “Hey, I’m at the bakery in town. You want anything?”

  “If they still have that candy cane cookie, I want that,” she said.

  “That’s just wrong,” he said, getting out of his truck. “Candy canes should be outlawed for how disgusting they are.”

  “You bite your tongue, Mister,” Callie teased, and Liam thought their engagement was off to a great start. No, he hadn’t kissed her yet, but it was only a matter of time.

  Liam tipped his head back and laughed, glad when Callie’s giggles came through the phone too. “All right, I’ll see what they have. Does Simone want anything?”

  “She loves their double fudge brownies,” Callie said.

  “Okay, see you in a few.” The call ended, and Liam joined the line waiting to be served at the bakery. The scent of maple syrup and chocolate hung in the air, along with the underlying hint of coffee. He was at least a head taller than the woman in front of him, so he could see the pastry cases that lined the back wall of the shop. Three people ran back and forth behind the case, filling orders and smiling like they were having the time of their lives.

  Heidi Ackerman herself stood near the door, holding a tray of samples, and she smiled at Liam when he finally made it through the door. “Good morning,” she said. “This is a new item I’d love your feedback on.” She extended the tray toward him, and Liam didn’t care what it was. He was sure it would be delicious.

  “It’s a macaroon base, with key lime cheesecake on top.”

  “Wow,” he said, taking one of the delicate bites that she’d put in a pretty white paper lining.

  “You just pop the whole thing in your mouth,” Heidi said with a smile. “How’s that ranch down south?”

  “Doin’ great, ma’am,” he said, an idea forming in his mind. “I wonder if I could talk to your son about how he hires his ranch hands.”

  “I’m sure you could,” Heidi said. “But it isn’t that hard. Squire will just tell you to go by your gut.”

  Liam put the key lime cheesecake in his mouth, a moan of satisfaction coming immediately. The cookie base was chewy, with coconut and sugar exploding across his tongue. “This is so good,” he said around the small bite. “I would eat a million of these.”

  Heidi smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Liam. How are your brothers?”

  “Good, good.” He took a step forward. “Go with your gut, huh?”

  “That’s right,” she said, offering the tray to the person behind him in line. “But call Garth Ahlstrom. He’s the one that will know who’s available for hire. Squire doesn’t deal with anything like that.”

  “Garth’s the foreman?”

  “That’s right.”

  Liam was far enough from Heidi now that he couldn’t keep yelling to her. She had other customers besides. He turned his attention back to the cases, searching for those cider doughnuts. A whole tray of them waited for him, and Liam decided he’d get a dozen.

  When it was his turn, he did get his cider doughnuts, along with the double fudge brownie and two of the candy cane delights. There was nothing delightful about them to Liam, but whatever made Callie happy would make him happy.

  The drive down the highway to the ranch went much faster now that he had sugar in the car with him. “Doughnuts,” he called to the house when he entered the kitchen. No one responded, so he could only assume his brothers had gone out onto the ranch. Jeremiah beat the sun up every day, and Wyatt might actually be out at Bowman’s Breeds, where he now worked to train horses for the rodeo.

  Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Skyler came around the corner a moment later. “Did I hear the word doughnuts?”

  “Cider doughnuts,” Liam confirmed. “Where’s Micah?” Their youngest brother was supposed to be here through the New Year, and then he’d be returning to tie up whatever loose ends he had. Liam understood loose ends, as he’d been the last Walker brother to move to Three Rivers when they’d bought the ranch almost three years ago.

  Of course, his loose ends had involved a female, and he wondered if Micah’s did too.

  “Uh, he’s on the phone.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It sounded intense,” Skyler said. “I think he was telling Stephanie that he was moving here.”

  “I thought he’d broken up with her ages ago.”

  “I think he thought that too.” Skyler shrugged and opened the pastry box. “Oh, you got tons.” He took out two treats and turned to get out the milk. “Don’t tell Jeremiah.” With that, he took everything with him, and Liam shook his head.

  “He’ll kill you if he finds out.”

  “He’s not gonna find out,” Skyler said over his shoulder, his footsteps going back upstairs a moment later. Jeremiah was a bit anal about the kitchen and the food in it, and Skyler taking the whole gallon of milk upstairs? Jeremiah was definitely going to find out.

  But Skyler had never been one to follow rules, and he sure did like making trouble. Most of the time, Liam enjoyed being at his brother’s side while they did some mischievous thing, but now that he was forty, he supposed he’d rather focus on more important things than drinking straight from the milk carton or jumping off bridges into fast-moving rivers.

  Like Callie Foster.

  He turned back the way he’d come and once again bypassed his elaborate computer set-up in the office in favor of getting behind the wheel of his truck. He drove the quick half-mile to the Shining Star Ranch and grabbed the pastries he’d bought for his fiancée and her sister.

  His fiancée.

  Liam’s smile was wide and instant, and he still wore it when Callie opened the door. “Hey, there,” he said, handing her the bag with her cookies in it. “You look great.”

  She took the bag and actually looked down at herself. “These jeans are dirty.”

  “Yeah,” he said, crowding into her personal space. “And sexy. I like them.”

  “Sexy?” Callie squeaked as Liam stepped past her and into the homestead.

  “I like the shirt too,” he said, though it was just a regular T-shirt.

  “It literally has a cow on it.” Callie closed the door behind him. “You’re insane.”

  He chuckled as he went past what used to be Evelyn’s office at the front of the house and into the living room. “Nah. Maybe I just like cows.”

  “Right.” Callie joined him in the kitchen, where he put down Simone’s brownie. Callie didn’t wear any makeup that morning, and her dirty blonde hair looked like half of it was up and the other half was supposed to be.

  “I can’t think my fiancée is pretty?” Liam asked, grinning at her.

  Callie stared at him, her eyes widening. “Your fiancée.”


  He glanced down at her left hand, but she wasn’t wearing the ring he’d given her. “Are we not engaged?”

  “We are,” she said.

  “So you’ll wear the ring when I take you to dinner tonight.” He wasn’t really asking, and he didn’t really like the level of shock in Callie’s face. “Where’s Simone?” he asked, to cover up the moment.

  “Outside,” Callie said, her voice on the hollow side of normal. She opened her bag of cookies and pulled out one red-and-white-striped catastrophe. “And yes, I’ll wear the ring tonight when we got to dinner tonight.”

  A smile spread through Liam’s whole soul. “Great,” he said, already thinking of how the date would end instead of how it would begin.

  He couldn’t help hoping and praying for a kiss that night. Did that make him delusional?

  Probably, he thought. He just didn’t care. He never thought Callie would agree to marry him either, but she had. Maybe she was full of more surprises too.

  Chapter Five

  “Hey, so we need to talk about money.” Callie didn’t want to talk about money. She didn’t want to talk about anything hard with Liam at all. She wished she was a regular fiancée about to marry a cowboy billionaire and be swept off her feet. Flown all over the world on an extravagant honeymoon while others tended to her chores here on the ranch.

  “All right,” Liam drawled. He sat down on a barstool, his eyes glued to her mouth as she lifted her cookie to take a bite. “I really don’t understand what you like about those.”

  Callie smiled as she chewed. “They’re sweet and minty,” she said. “Delicious.”

  “Mint is so overpowering,” he said.

  “Well, if you want a kiss tonight, you better have minty fresh breath.” Callie sucked in a breath as soon as the words left her mouth. She had no idea where they’d come from, and she felt wildly out of control.

  Liam laughed though, and that only added fuel to the raging fire in her stomach. She wanted to make him laugh like that again. “Noted,” he said. “What do we need to talk about with the money?”