I turned back to Douglas, noticing the strange look he was giving us. I ignored it and sat, taking a huge bite of my bagel. Luckily, Shelby had loaded it with cream cheese so I could overlook the fact that it was one of the types filled with fiber and seeds. I had no idea why she thought I needed to eat bird food. It was almost as bad as the salads she forced on me, but at least there was cream cheese.
“What’s up?” I asked, licking the cheese off my fingers. “I didn’t know you were coming over.” Shelby shoved a napkin into my hand, muttering something about being raised in a barn. I grinned at her.
“Ta, Beaker.”
She patted my shoulder. “I have things to do, so I’ll leave the two of you alone.”
Douglas stood. “Thanks for the coffee, Shelby. I’ll see you soon.”
Shelby blushed and looked at me, uncertainty reflected in her glance. I realized she appeared uncomfortable, and I sat straighter. Why was she uncomfortable? I looked at Douglas. Had he done or said something to her? I wouldn’t stand for that sort of crap. This was her home, too, and she shouldn’t be subjected to bullshit here. Well, except from me.
I turned to him as she left. “What were you talking to Shelby about that made her nervous?”
He frowned at me as he sat back down. “I wasn’t aware she was nervous.”
“She was,” I insisted. “She had that ‘V’ between her eyes. She only gets that when she’s nervous.”
He took a sip from his coffee. “You know her awfully well for a housekeeper.”
“She’s not just my housekeeper. She’s way more than that.”
“How much more?”
“She’s my friend. My best friend.”
“That’s all?”
“All? Isn’t that enough?”
“So, if she is your friend, then it won’t bother you at all that I came here today to ask her out.”
“Out? Ask her out where?”
He sighed. “On a date, Liam.”
“With whom?”
“Me, you git!”
I gaped at him. “I don’t bloody think so.”
“Why?”
“Shelby doesn’t date.”
He snorted. “She said yes.”
What?
I spat out the first words that came to my mind. “She’s married.”
“Separated. She told me the basics of her situation,” he assured me.
The fact that her jerk of a husband had left her penniless and floundering? That the company Everett had hired still hadn’t located him, and now she was filing for desertion?
She told him all that?
Well, bloody hell. I had no response to that. I shoved some of the bird-food bagel into my mouth and chewed. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. I had never thought about Shelby dating someone. Especially someone I knew and was related to. I stared at Douglas as he nonchalantly sipped his coffee, gazing at me calmly.
“When?”
“Saturday night.”
I shook my head. “Saturday night is movie night for Shelby and me. We order in Chinese—it’s her turn to pick the movies—she won’t miss that.”
His eyebrows rose. “Again, she said yes, Liam. I’m sure you’ll survive a movie night without your, ah, friend.”
“She is my friend,” I growled. “My best friend.”
He snorted in derision. “You might need to figure that out, Liam. In the meantime, I am taking your friend to dinner. Tomorrow night. I’m not asking your permission, but I have enough respect for you to tell you my plans.”
“She’s not like the women you usually date, Douglas. She’s special,” I informed him. “Don’t hurt her. Family or not, you’ll answer to me.”
He shrugged. “I already figured that out. I have no plans to hurt her, Liam. It’s just dinner.”
I tore off another hunk of bagel, fighting the strange feeling filling my chest and, for some reason, wishing it were him I was tearing a hunk out of instead.
Bugger.
I didn’t like this one damn bit.
I just didn’t know why.
After Douglas left, I found Shelby upstairs in my room, making my bed. Walking over, I grabbed a corner of the sheet and awkwardly tried to help. I watched her efficiently tuck and straighten and I copied her, but my side looked like I had only now rolled out of it instead of the smooth, inviting surface of hers. She smirked and nudged me out of the way as she worked her magic on the half I had been working on. “Seriously, Liam. It’s not rocket science. Even someone who only attended a concert at Oxford should be able to do this task.”
“I think that’s enough of your cheek today.”
She looked over her shoulder. “What are you gonna do about it?”
I grinned. “This.”
Lunging forward, I grabbed her around the waist, fake-tackling her onto the bed. I tickled her sides, avoiding her elbows and flailing arms as she twisted and shrieked for me to stop. Finally, I hovered over her. “Do you take that back, woman?”
“Yes!” She giggled as my fingers kept up their torture.
“Who is the best British actor you know?”
“You!”
“The best-looking one?”
“You!”
“The funniest? Most charming?”
“Um, you!”
“The smartest?”
Her lips twitched. “Y-you?” She got out through another titter.
I relented briefly, but I wasn’t done. Her shirt had come loose, and I slipped my hand inside, ghosting her skin teasingly.
God, it was silky.
“Are you telling me or asking me, Shelby? Because I’m pretty sure I might not be able to stop my fingers in one more second.” I gently caressed her skin while I grinned at her. “They do love tickling you.”
Another one of her funny squeals came from her throat before she capitulated.
“You are!”
“I am…?” I trailed off, my fingers touching and teasing her. “I am what?”
“The smartest Brit I know!” she shouted. “Stop! Uncle!”
“Clever girl.” I chuckled, and without a thought, lowered my head and touched my lips to hers.
Shelby gasped, her lips parting and her sweet breath filling my mouth. We were so close that her light scent surrounded me, filling my head, overtaking everything. I shut my eyes and pressed harder, feeling her softness underneath my hard body. I was overcome by the sudden desire to meld myself completely into her. My mouth, my tongue, my entire body wanted to be fused into her. Buried inside her.
My eyes flew open.
What the hell was I doing?
I lurched backward, almost stumbling in my haste to pull myself away. I ran my hand through my hair, grimacing over what I had almost done. Trying to cover my embarrassment, I shook my head and pulled Shelby off my bed. “Now look what you did. My side was perfect, and you messed it all up.” I halfheartedly tugged on the sheets, trying to restore some of our usual easiness with each other.
Shelby stepped in front of me, pushing me out of the way. “I’ll do that.” Her voice was low and strained.
I backed away, the awkwardness filling the room. Desperate for something to say, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “So, blowing off movie night with me for a hot date with Douglas tomorrow?”
She froze briefly, then continued to smooth and tuck. “He asked me to dinner. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Why would I mind? You don’t need my permission.”
She straightened and turned, her eyes suddenly flashing. “I wasn’t asking your permission, Liam.”
Bollocks. Why was everyone saying that today?
“He’s older than you are, you know.”
“He is only thirty-five. Two years. He’s hardly cradle snatching.” Bending over, Shelby grabbed the discarded sheets off the floor. “You always said he treated you as an equal growing up despite your age difference.”
He had, and I knew I was being an arse—yet I couldn’t seem t
o help myself.
“You’re not the type he usually goes out with.”
From the glare she cast me, I knew that might not have been the best thing to say, but I was suddenly annoyed over the whole going-on-a-date-with-Douglas thing.
“And what is his type?”
I shrugged. “Young, sexy, good-looking actresses.”
Shelby’s eyes widened with shock and hurt, and I knew I had just stepped over the line. Before I could say anything, she smiled grimly and moved past me. “Well, maybe he is merely looking for a new housekeeper, Liam. We all know the Wrights handle job interviews differently from most.”
“Shelby,” I growled. I hadn’t meant it that way.
“It’s fine, Liam. Don’t worry about it. I get it—believe me.”
I huffed and threw my arms up in frustration. “It’s…It’s just you won’t be here for dinner. What am I gonna do?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll have dinner ready for you. I’ll make sure my job is completely done for the day before I leave. Excuse me.” She slipped past me and shut the door behind her. I could hear her hurrying down the hall. I sat on the edge of my bed, pulling at my hair in frustration. I had meant I would miss her, not that I wanted her to cook for me.
Fuck. How had that gone so wrong, so quickly?
One minute, we were us, and the next minute, I was being rude and snarky. I had totally cocked that up.
All because she was going out for supper with someone and leaving me alone.
She didn’t deserve that from me. And Douglas didn’t deserve what I said about him either. He didn’t date a lot, and he certainly didn’t go after young starlets the way I made it sound to Shelby. In fact, the women he dated, those whom I had met, always seemed pleasant. He was a good guy, and I knew he would treat Shelby well.
Somehow, though, I didn’t want him dating Shelby.
I sighed. I would have to give her some time to cool down and then apologize.
She’d forgive me.
She always did. She knew I was a stupid git sometimes.
I glanced at the closed door, thinking about the look of hurt that had been on her face.
Hating the fact that I had put it there.
I definitely needed to apologize.
Only, I wasn’t sure where to begin.
I walked into the kitchen apprehensively. I wasn’t sure it was the best idea to approach Shelby in a room where she had access to knives, but I’d been hiding in the den long enough, and she had been in the room for a long time, so I gave up waiting.
I could dodge and weave fast if she moved toward the knife rack.
I was like a ninja.
She was sitting at her kitchen desk, tapping away on her laptop. Music was playing quietly through her speakers—country music—which meant she was feeling off-kilter. She always listened to country music when she was feeling reflective. There was a cup of coffee beside her, the steam drifting from the top of the mug.
Bollocks. She could pitch that at me as well.
Except she wouldn’t. I knew she loved my face, and she wouldn’t risk burning it.
Right?
I swallowed nervously and cleared my throat. She glanced at me, her eyes cool as she stared over the rim of her hot-as-hell librarian glasses.
Wait.
Hot-as-hell?
When did I decide that?
When did she get those glasses?
Without a word, I thrust the bouquet of flowers at her I had hidden behind my back. I’d slipped out while she was busy and taken care of two errands. Both were for her, and I managed to accomplish them without drawing any attention to myself.
“I’m an arse, Beaker. You know this.”
She took the flowers silently, bending to smell their fragrance.
Somehow, I knew they wouldn’t smell as good as she had when she’d been pressed against me earlier.
Internally, I kicked myself.
Why the bloody, bleeding hell was I thinking like that?
I cleared my throat again. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Shelby. Honest.”
Her voice was quiet, but at least she spoke. “I know.”
“Douglas is a great guy. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I’m sorry I said that.” I paused, waiting for her to look at me before I continued. “You’ll have a great time. He’s the lucky one that you agreed to go out with him. What I said about the women he dates—” I drew in a deep breath "—you outshine them all, Shelby. Without even trying.”
She flashed me an incredulous look.
“You are beyond beautiful, Shelby. Douglas is a lucky man,” I stated firmly.
Her eyes flew to mine, and she glowered.
I yanked on my hair.
Now what had I said?
Why was she angry?
Before I could say anything else stupid, I pulled out the other gift for her.
For a second, she looked puzzled as she stared at the empty frame. Then she beamed in understanding.
“You did? You finally cashed the damn check?”
I exhaled a heavy breath. “All done and safe in the bank.”
Inside my head, I added, for now. But I kept my face neutral.
I was good at that. It was the actor in me.
Standing, she flung her arms around me and kissed my cheek warmly. “Thank you.”
She moved away and began looking for a vase.
My cheek felt nice where she had kissed it.
She looked over her shoulder. “Wanna move movie night to this evening? I’ll even let you choose since I was the one to change things.”
I sighed in relief. “Least you could bloody do, woman. After all, you’re leaving me alone on a Saturday night to go out on the town with my more charming cousin. There better be jujubes. I think you need to make popcorn, too.”
“With butter, Oscar?”
I shook my head mockingly at her. “As if it can be eaten any other way?”
She grinned at me in agreement, her eyes twinkling.
“As if.”
And we were okay.
We were Beaker and Oscar again.
But I really hoped she would keep wearing those glasses.
I turned off the TV and glanced over at Shelby, who was lying propped up with cushions. Her feet, as usual, were in my lap, and I had been rubbing them while we watched the movie.
“Maybe we’ll watch the second one tomorrow?” I grinned at her as she rolled her eyes.
“You cheated.”
“Did not.”
“I said you could pick a movie, Liam.”
Leaning over, I picked up the box. “I chose the Lord of the Rings saga, Shelby. One box—one choice. We have to watch them all.” I shrugged. “It’s like an unwritten rule—we can’t only watch one.”
“I’m picking out a saga then, next time.”
“Sure.”
“My choice.” She pointed out. “Maybe Outlander. That Jamie Fraser does something for me.”
I groaned at her dig even as I bit back a grin. The girl had a thing for men in kilts. The truth was that I didn’t care. As long as she was beside me, I’d watch some redheaded Scotsman prance around acting tough. I could run circles around him any day. Besides, I could always pretend to be absorbed and sleep while she watched it. She’d never know.
“You can’t nap either. You snore. I’d know, and I’ll start it over from the beginning.”
Double bugger.
“I don’t snore,” I growled at her.
She snorted. “Um, yeah, you do.”
I rolled my head to the side and grimaced at her. “Fine. Your choice next. I call dibs on the Indiana Jones one next week.”
Shelby quirked her eyebrows suggestively at me. “I’m good with that—he’s hot.”
I chuckled at her.
Then she frowned. “But next Saturday is the hospital event, Liam.”
Crap, I had forgotten. “Right.” I squeezed her leg, feeling nervous as I asked, “Will you go with me, Shelby?”<
br />
She regarded me quietly for a moment. “If you really want me to.”
I sighed in relief. “I do. You made it so much better.”
“Okay.”
“Great. I’ll talk to Lily. Make sure she has a dress for you as well.”
“I—”
I held up my hand. “No arguments. That’s what Lily does. Tuxes, suits, and dresses. She’s a walking closet.”
Shelby giggled, and I smiled at the sound. I loved hearing her giggle.
“You want me to do that?”
“No, I will.” I wanted to talk to Lily. I wanted to make sure she dressed Shelby in red again.
“Ask her for small heels this time.”
I picked up one of her feet, digging my thumb into the arch and grinning when she moaned in appreciation. “I’ll ask. And I’ll rub them if she refuses. Deal?”
She sighed. “You do give good foot rubs. Deal.”
“Brilliant. You tired?”
Shelby shook her head.
“Watch the second one tonight?” I winked at her. “One movie closer to your Scotsman.”
“Sure.”
“Can I have more popcorn?”
“Yes.”
“Ta, Beaker.”
8
Liam
It was well after three o’clock in the morning by the time the second movie was over. Shelby was half asleep as she stumbled up the steps ahead of me, and finally, fearing she would fall over her own feet on the stairs and take me out with her, I scooped her into my arms and broke my own rule.
I entered her room.
Luckily, it was quick work to pull back the covers and tuck her in to bed. I bent over to click off the light, pausing as I studied her face. Her hair was dark against the white of her sheets, her skin pale and glowing in the dim light. Unbidden, I traced her smooth skin with my finger, grazing over the eyelashes that rested against the swell of her cheek. They fluttered and opened, her ocean-colored eyes gazing at me sleepily. She then smiled saucily as she whispered, “Finally got me into bed, Liam?”
Changing Roles Page 6
