“And that’s bad why?” Her body tensed on behalf of the guys she knew who worked for the town.
“It’s not bad. It’s how most small towns are able to afford full-time protection,” he said. “But it’s not what I want.”
She swallowed. Yeah, that’s what she thought. Riley Cooper and Brody Wilson might have embraced small-town life, but Liam evidently didn’t feel like he could do the same.
Chapter Four
Liam turned off his truck and grabbed a pizza box off the passenger seat before climbing out. It had been three days since he’d helped with her carnival. He glanced up at a curtain blowing in an open window in the upstairs apartment and inhaled a deep, satisfied breath. Ellie was in there.
Ellie had texted to thank him for arranging for Craig’s visit to the firehouse in Loon Lake. When he replied, he’d suggested supper and she’d offered to cook for him. He’d responded that he knew she’d been on her feet all day in the ER and offered to bring pizza.
He was halfway up the stairs when her door opened and she stood silhouetted in the doorway. As if she’d been waiting for him, as if she’d been as eager to see him.
Don’t make this more than it is, he cautioned himself. They were simply friends hanging out. Nothing more.
“Hey, there,” she said, and grinned.
Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts that showcased her long, slender legs, she got his blood pumping.
He reached the small landing at the top of the stairs. She was barefoot and for some reason that had him struggling to drag in air. Who knew bare feet were sexy? To him, they’d previously only been necessary for walking. He stood mute in front of her, thinking about her purple-painted toenails until her welcoming smile slipped and her brows gathered into a frown.
Mentally kicking himself, he forced words past his dry lips. “Hey, yourself.”
Yeah, a real smooth talker, McBride.
She held out her hands for the box. He passed it over but didn’t let go of his end. Tugging the cardboard toward him brought her closer. He leaned over and gently brushed his lips against hers. After thinking about her all day, he couldn’t resist and the kiss couldn’t get out of hand with the box between them. He had this whole situation under control.
She sucked in air when they pulled apart. “Wha-what was that for?”
Yeah, what was that for? “It was meant as a greeting between two friends.”
Something passed over her face, something he couldn’t interpret and only noticed because he’d been staring at her.
“Well then, c’mon in...friend.” She took the pizza and went inside.
He wiped his feet on her welcome mat before entering the kitchen. She set the pizza on the counter next to a bottle of wine and stood on her toes to reach up to grab plates from the open shelving. Her T-shirt rode up and revealed a swath of creamy skin above her butt. He picked up the bottle of wine to keep from reaching out and running his fingers along that exposed skin to see if it was as soft and smooth as it looked.
“I have beer in the fridge. If you prefer that over wine.” She came down flat on her feet and tilted her head toward the stainless steel refrigerator.
“Thanks. I prefer beer.” He forced himself to look away.
She set the plates on the counter and pulled her shirt back down. “A cheap date. Nice to know.”
“Me, cheap?” He picked up the wine again. “Ellie, this is two-buck Chuck.”
“But it was such a good month.” She set napkins on the plates.
He bumped shoulders. “We talkin’ last month?”
“Pfft. And you’re such a connoisseur?” She pushed back.
“Hey, I’ve been down the wine aisle at Whole Foods.”
When she rolled her eyes, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the end of her nose.
“Wha-what was that one for?”
“For being so impertinent.” He licked his lips before continuing. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s eat. I’m starved.”
To hide the color he was certain had blossomed on his cheeks, he buried his head in her refrigerator and pretended to look for the beer. He grabbed a longneck bottle.
“Yes, um...well...” She cleared her throat. “The breakfast bar or the couch? Your choice.”
“Is this like Angelo’s, where I can pick inside or patio dining?” What was that kiss all about? He twisted the cap off his beer and tossed the top into her recycling bin. This was Ellie and they were hanging out. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about her exposed skin or those tiny freckles or how shiny her hair looked. Or how he wanted to keep on kissing her until she was breathless.
“Exactly like Angelo’s...if you don’t count the lack of fairy lights, table service or cannoli.” She nodded her head several times. “Couch or kitchen?”
“Couch sounds okay. That’s what I do at home.” He picked up the box and she trailed behind with the plates and napkins. “And what’s this no-cannoli business?”
She set the stuff on the coffee table and snapped her fingers. “Actually, I do have some. Let me take them out of the freezer so they can defrost while we eat the pizza.”
He set the box down next to the plates. “Frozen cannoli?”
She huffed out a breath. “Really? You gonna be a cannoli snob, too?”
He lifted his hands up as if surrendering, the beer dangling from his fingers. “I’ll allow it since you haven’t had Mike’s.”
“Mike’s?” She went back to the kitchen area and took the cannoli out of the freezer, setting the package on the counter with a clunk.
“It’s a bakery in the North End of Boston and totally worth fighting wicked traffic to get there.” He took a sip of beer and set the bottle down. “I’ll bring you some real cannoli the next time I come back.”
“Thanks, but in the meantime we’ll have to make do with Trader Joe’s.” She came back and sat on the couch.
He lowered himself onto the cushion next to her, close but not enough to crowd her. Or to tempt him into doing something he might regret. But she’d been into that vestibule kiss, his inner voice reminded him.
She flipped open the cover on the pizza, filling the room with the scent of fresh dough and pepperoni. Grabbing a plate, she set a slice on it and handed it to him.
“And you said there wouldn’t be any table service,” he said as he folded the piece in half and took a bite.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to Craig, but I hear he was on cloud nine after his visit to the fire station. Thank you again for arranging it.”
“Happy to do it.” Especially since it had given him another excuse to hang out with Ellie. He set his plate down. “Almost forgot. Craig made me promise to show this to you.”
He pulled his phone out of a pocket and thumbed through his pictures until he came to the one of the youngster fitted out in bunker gear and handed it to her.
“Will you look at that. How did you manage this?”
He shrugged, but he loved making her eyes shine like a freshly polished fire engine. “I remembered the guys talking about another house getting their hands on reasonably authentic bunker gear in miniature for a Make-A-Wish recipient. I contacted the firehouse that arranged it and they put me in touch with the people they’d used.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“Sure. My pleasure. He seemed like a nice kid.” Damn but he wanted to turn his head so his lips were on hers.
She took another slice and put it on her plate but left it on the low table in front of them.
“Where’d the remote go? I always keep it here on the coffee table.” She pointed to the exact spot where it had been until he’d picked it up.
“Were you referring to this?” He held up the remote, trying not to laugh at her expression.
She tried to grab it, but he m
anaged to keep it out of reach. Her shirt pulled up when she lifted her arm, exposing her stomach. Once again, his body tightened at the sight. He did his best to temper his reaction. If he wasn’t careful, she’d know exactly what she was doing to him.
“I just want to see what’s on your watch list,” he told her, pointing the remote and chuckling, hoping to cool his rioting hormones. “Let’s see what we’ve got here. Wait a sec, what’s all this sappy romance—Oomfff.”
She’d blindsided him by making a dive for the remote, but he reacted by pulling it farther out of reach, and she landed across his lap and chest. She struggled to sit up but he put his arm around her, trapping her where she was. Her honey eyes darkened as he lowered his head. He felt her tense, but then she melted against him once his lips touched hers. Her lips tasted like cherry. He kissed his way across her jawline, nipped her earlobe and touched his tongue to the spot where her neck and shoulder met.
Suddenly, “Bohemian Rhapsody” began blaring from the kitchen.
He lifted his head. “What the...?”
“My phone,” she said in a breathless tone.
He pulled away, feeling equal measures of relief and annoyance. What was he doing messing with Ellie? She was Meg’s friend...his friend. Way to screw up friendships, dumbass.
The air in the room suddenly felt thick. It was hard to breathe, as if the oxygen had been vacuumed out. The phone continued to blast the unmistakable tune.
He managed to suck in some air. “Going with a classic?”
That was so not what he’d wanted to say, but the things he wanted to say were probably best left unsaid.
“It’s a classic for a reason,” she shot back, using her hands and elbow to scramble off his lap. Thankfully that elbow missed his important bits.
He shifted and adjusted his jeans. That was a close call...
* * *
Ellie went into the kitchen, arguing with herself whether the interruption was a good thing. It wasn’t as if she’d ever aspired to be a booty call. And he’d pulled back in a hurry, so maybe it had been a good thing that he’d gotten freaked out. She grabbed her phone and checked the caller ID. Craig’s mom. Was she calling to thank her for introducing her son to Liam? Talk about irony.
Ellie listened to the woman on the other end, but her gaze and her attention was on Liam, whose attention was on the television. Had he, like her, gotten caught up in the moment?
After accepting the gratitude and telling her she’d pass that on to Liam, Ellie disconnected the call. She tugged on the hem of her T-shirt and went back into the living area.
“That was Craig’s mom. She said she can’t thank you enough for arranging everything for him. The kid-sized bunker gear was the icing on the cake. She said she’s having trouble getting him to take it off.” She picked up her plate and sank back against the cushions. “We should finish the pizza before it gets cold.”
He cleared his throat and picked up the remote again. “I see you’ve got Seinfeld on your list. Wanna watch some of those episodes?”
“Sounds like a plan. Have—have you ever seen the show?”
“No, but I’ve heard a lot about it. Another classic for a reason?”
“Probably.” Were they going to ignore what happened? “Do we need to...uh, talk about...”
When he frowned, she waved her hand back and forth between them.
He sat forward a little, resting his elbows on his knees. “Do you need to?”
She shrugged. Did she want to discuss it or ignore it?
He straightened up and touched her shoulder. “This wasn’t a booty call, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Worried or hoping? She huffed out a laugh. “If it was, it would’ve been a first.”
“C’mere.” He pulled her next to him and draped an arm over her shoulder. “Let’s see what this show is all about.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She smiled and snuggled against him. “Catching up on our pop culture knowledge. There’s talk about Hennen’s starting a trivia night.”
“We’ll be an unstoppable force.”
She liked the way he used “we” so casually. Tonight might be eating pizza and cannoli while watching classic television, but she would cherish this time spent with Liam. It wasn’t what they were doing but being together that mattered.
When the episode ended, he turned his head. “Is there a path to the lake?”
“Yes, and not only a nice path, there’s a small gazebo with a swing. I sometimes go down there in the evenings to unwind. Letting nature surround me is calming.”
He rubbed his chin. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking...a nice night to be surrounded by...uh, nature.”
She bumped his shoulder. “You are so full of it.”
“Is it working?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
She heaved a sigh, but she loved that the awkwardness after the kiss had dissolved. “Let me get my shoes on and grab a sweater.”
“A sweater? Ellie, it’s August.”
“For your information, I don’t have the same amount of body mass that you do to keep me warm and sometimes it gets cool down by the water...even in August.”
“Then go bundle up.” He tilted his head toward the mess on the coffee table. “I’ll pick this stuff up and put the leftovers in the refrigerator.”
“A sweater is not bundling up,” she muttered as she scooted off the couch but turned back. “Thanks for cleaning up.”
In the bedroom, she pulled on her sneakers and grabbed a cardigan sweater from her bureau drawer.
“Do you have your key?” He touched her arm as she started to pull the door shut.
“We’re only going down to the lake.”
“But it’s—”
“Loon Lake,” she interrupted.
He gave her a look. “Please tell me you don’t do this when you’re alone.”
“I don’t usually go alone to the lake after dark. I love listening to the loons, but if I open my windows I can hear them from the safety of my bedroom since those windows face the lake.”
Landscape lights lit the crushed shell path and the dog-day cicadas serenaded them from the surrounding trees.
“Meg loves listening to the loons at night as they settle in and call for their mates to join them,” Ellie said as they made their way toward the water.
“Yeah, my mom was the same. She used to drag us kids down to the water’s edge in the evenings.”
Ellie reached for his hand and squeezed. “I know you both miss her.”
When she would have pulled her hand away, he held on.
“Yeah, as a kid I grumbled when she insisted on boring stuff like walks to the lake to stand around and listen. She said we were making memories and that someday I would understand. I would give anything now to tell her I understand.” He sighed. “I never told her.”
“I don’t think your mother expected you to thank her, Liam. She probably didn’t thank hers, either. But she passed on that experience by giving you a happy, secure childhood. Just as you’ll do for your kids.”
“Pfft. I know I disappointed her by choosing the fire academy over college.”
“I’m sure she wanted you happy in your career.” Her heart went out to him, reacting to the sadness in his tone. How could he not know this?
When he made a disparaging sound, she stopped and turned toward him. Most of his face was in the shadows but she didn’t need to see his expression to feel his skepticism. “It’s true. She told my mom how proud she was of how much you helped with Meg and Fiona.”
He shrugged. “It isn’t hard to love Fiona.”
“But you put your life on hold to help out so Meg could finish her degree.” She longed to make him understand, wipe away the self-reproach she heard in his voice.
“Put my life on hold?” He huffed out a mirthless laugh. “Al
l I did was move out of a sparsely furnished apartment to move back home. Not exactly a big sacrifice.”
“You did it to help. That meant a lot.”
“When Meg finally confessed about the pregnancy, my mom had it all worked out that she’d babysit while Meg finished college. But then Ma got sick and Meg was ready to drop out. I couldn’t let that happen. Mom had already been disappointed when I joined the department before completing my degree.”
“So why can’t you believe how proud she was of you for doing that for your sister?” Her hand still in his, she tugged on his arm.
He sighed. “It’s not so much believing as wishing I had done more for her.”
“As someone who has had cancer, take it from me—it eased her mind about Meg and Fiona. That means a lot.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
They came to the small gazebo and sat side by side on the wooden swing that hung from the rafters of the ceiling. He still had her hand in his. Using his feet, he set the swing in motion.
“You have a sweet deal here. How did you find out about the apartment?” he asked.
“I was on duty when an estate agent passed through the ER. He heard me talking with some of the other nurses about trying to find a rental apartment. He gave me his card and said to call him. At first I thought it might be a scam but Meg and Riley came with me to check it out. Other than being a bit farther out of town than I’d like, it’s perfect.”
He glanced around. “It’s quiet. Has the owner ever shown up?”
“Not yet. They were still doing the interior work on the main house when I moved in. So it honestly hasn’t been completed for all that long.”
“Have you been inside?”
“Before they finished up, some of the workmen let me take a tour.”
“Do you think you’ll stay here for a while?”
“For now, yeah. When I was growing up we lived next door to my cousins and I loved it. Especially as an only child, it was nice to have playmates. My cousins and I are still very close today. If I ever get married and have kids, I’d love to live close to family, let our kids grow up together.” She left out the part of dreaming about living with him and a couple of kids next door to Meg.
His Unexpected Twins Page 5
