by Kate Hunt
Loving Liam
Dirty Sweet Alphas Book 3
Kate Hunt
Copyright © 2019 by Kate Hunt
* * *
All rights reserved.
* * *
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
* * *
Get a FREE Kate Hunt novella!
Contents
1. Liam
2. Elle
3. Liam
4. Elle
5. Liam
6. Elle
7. Liam
A note from Kate
Chapter One
Liam
I tighten my hands around the roots and give them a forceful yank. These suckers are thick and embedded deep in the dirt, but they’re no match for me. With a grunt, I give the roots another yank and feel them give way. They finally loosen out of the ground and I throw the tangled mess aside.
If you’d told me a few months ago that I’d one day be spending my mornings working my ass off in a community garden, I wouldn’t have believed you. I was wholly focused on my career, as I had been for years. Doing something like this never crossed my mind.
But six weeks ago, everything changed. The firm I worked for merged with another one, and I wasn’t happy with the way the new management ran things. I decided it was as good a time as any to reevaluate where my career was going.
I put in my notice, and three weeks later I walked out of those doors for the last time.
I have plenty of money saved up, so I’m not worried about rushing to get another job. Hell, maybe I’ll even shake things up and start a new career in an entirely different field. Either way, I’m taking this time to do a little soul-searching.
And in my quest to do something non-work-related for once, I came across a news article about this community garden and thought…hey, why the hell not?
Now here I am, dirt on my forearms and sweat dampening my shirt.
I swipe the sweat from my brow and assess the garden plot before me. When I first saw it, it looked like it hadn’t been touched in years, it was that overgrown. The plot already looks a whole hell of a lot better, but there’s still plenty of work to do.
I get back to it, clearing away more of the weed-choked soil. I can’t even remember the last time I stuck my hands in the dirt like this. It was probably when I was a kid. It’s nice, though. Digging your hands into the earth reminds you you’re human.
I’ve just finished clearing another corner of the plot when I hear a girl’s voice. When I look up, my eyes meet a young girl standing a few feet away. She’s grinning at me, her curls framing her apple-cheeked face. She’s wearing a striped shirt and bright yellow pants. She looks like she’s about six or seven.
“Hi,” she says sweetly. “My name is Ruby.”
I sit back on my haunches. “Hey there. I’m Liam.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Liam.”
I smile. “Likewise, Ruby. Are you here gardening, too?”
“Yep,” she says. She turns and points. “My aunt and I have a plot over there.”
It’s a pretty big community garden, and there are quite a few other people here right now. But there’s no question about who the girl is pointing to. My eyes immediately focus in on a gorgeous woman on the other side of the property. Even from this far away, I can tell how beautiful she is.
How the hell didn’t I notice her earlier?
“You should come meet my aunt,” Ruby says, swaying from side to side in a little dance. “She’s really nice.”
“She is, huh?”
“Yup. And she doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
I laugh. Guess I’m being set up by this kid.
“Does she want a boyfriend, Ruby?” I ask.
“I mean…” Ruby twists her mouth. “She didn’t say that, exactly, but…I know she does.” She pauses. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“I don’t.” It’s been a few years since I’ve had one. I go on dates as much as any single guy in his thirties does, but they always end up being just that: dates. They don’t even turn into hookups, because I’m not the kind of guy to sleep with a woman if I can tell it’s not going to go anywhere. That’s just never been my thing.
“Then it’s perfect,” says Ruby. She’s grinning now. “Come on. Don’t you want to meet her?”
Without a doubt, I do. I stand up and slap my hands together, dislodging the dirt from them. “Sure, Ruby. Let’s do it.”
“Cool,” says Ruby. Then she drops her voice to a whisper. “And don’t worry. I won’t tell her that’s why I’m introducing you.”
This kid’s a riot.
As Ruby and I walk across the garden together—as we weave between other people’s plots, some of whom look up and smile and say hello—she tells me about her favorite classes at school. She’s just finished telling me a story about her P.E. teacher chasing a flock of geese away when we reach her aunt’s plot. Laughing at Ruby’s story, my eyes move over to the woman I’m about to be introduced to, and desire instantly overtakes me.
I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as her. It fucking radiates from her.
“Auntie Elle,” says Ruby joyfully. “This is my new friend.”
Ruby’s aunt looks up from her weeding. As her gorgeous eyes lock onto mine, I see them widen. She puts down her trowel and smiles at me, tucking a strand of soft brunette hair behind her ear that has gotten loose from her ponytail. As she stands up, I get a full view of her knockout figure. She’s got curves that threaten to give me a hard-on the size of a sledgehammer. Thank fuck I’m able to control myself.
“Hi there,” she says. She’s got a little smudge of dirt on her cheek, and it’s somehow the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. She holds out a hand. “I’m Elle.”
When I shake her hand, I have to resist the urge to pull her toward me. “It’s nice to meet you, Elle. I’m Liam.”
“I hope Ruby didn’t disturb you.”
“Not at all.” I smile down at Ruby, then return my gaze to Elle. “Actually, it was perfect timing. I needed a breather.”
“Yeah? You got some tough weeds over there?”
“They’re diabolical,” I say.
Elle laughs. Oh, how sweet the sound. I’d like to hear that laugh for the rest of my life.
I take a moment to take in her garden plot. I’m impressed with how good of shape it’s in.
“Looks like you’re ready to plant,” I say.
“Almost,” says Elle. “But there’s this one stupid root that’s really stuck in there. I think I’m just going to have to leave it. I’ve tried everything and I can’t get it out.”
She points to a thick root jutting out of the ground. It looks nastier than anything I’ve had to wrestle out of my own plot.
“Mind if I give it a shot?” I ask.
The corner of her mouth lifts. “Have at it.”
I step forward, get down onto the ground, and grab ahold of that bastard.
Chapter Two
Elle
When I signed up for this garden plot for Ruby and myself, I figured it would be a fun way to spend the summer. And I wasn’t surprised when Ruby took it upon herself to befriend the other gardeners here. She’s always been sweet and outgoing like that—which is especially amazing when you consider the circumstances. She has every right to be angry and resentful, but instead, she’s a little ray of sunshine.
Anyway, I thought it was cute when Ruby started bringing other gardeners over to our plot to meet me. Everyone she brought over was super friendly, and I’d chat a little with each person before they went back to their own garden.
A few minutes ago, when I heard her approach with yet another fellow gardener, I looked up expecting to have the same kind of conversation I’d been having with people—hi, it’s nice to meet you, isn’t the weather lovely…so and and so forth.
But when I looked up and saw the hunk of a man Ruby had brought over, I had to clench my jaw to keep it from dropping.
Now, I watch with amazement—and, to be honest, arousal—as Liam shows those damn roots who’s boss. I’m so impressed by him that I’m speechless. And God, his muscles. They’re practically bursting through his shirt as he tears the stubborn roots out of the ground.
Okay. This guy is officially the hottest gardener ever.
Liam tosses the offending roots into the pile of weeds that have accumulated in the corner of my plot. As he turns to smile at me, I fight to regain my composure.
“That’s—I—wow. Thank you,” I stammer out.
“No problem,” Liam says. He brushes the dirt off his hands and I swoon a little at how sexy he looks doing so. It’s one thing to meet a hot guy in a button-up shirt and neatly-styled hair, but a whole other thing to meet a hot guy who isn’t afraid to get down and dirty.
Dirty. Shit. Before I can help myself, my mind goes to some other dirty places.
I clear my throat. “Is there anything we can do to repay the favor? Help you…uh…pick out plants or something?”
It feels like kind of a ridiculous offer, but in the state I’m in right now, it’s all I can manage to say.
“Actually,” Liam says, “that would be fantastic. To be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about gardening. You look like you do, though.”
I smile. “I’m no expert. But I know enough to plant a decent vegetable garden.”
“Sounds like we have ourselves an arrangement, then,” says Liam. His voice is a little lower, a little sexier than it naturally is.
I’m giddy at the thought of spending more time with this hottie. And when I glance down at my niece, I can tell she’s happy about it, too. I mean, in a purely innocent way. She’s happy to have made a new friend. I swear, Ruby is the sweetest kid ever.
Of course, I’m more than a little biased. She is my niece, after all. And for the past few years, I’ve also been her guardian.
When Ruby was born, I was overjoyed for my sister and her husband. I knew they were going to be great parents. And when they asked me if I’d take care of Ruby if anything happened to them, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.
I never imagined I would ever actually be put in that situation, though.
The day I lost my sister and brother-in-law in a car accident was the worst day of my life. Many, many bad days followed, too. But I pulled myself together for Ruby’s sake. I stepped into the role of being her guardian like I promised I would. I never considered doing anything else.
I won’t lie. It’s been hard. Just because of the situation, I mean, not because of Ruby. Ruby is the most amazing little kid I know. I know she misses her mom and dad like crazy, too, and some nights she just needs a good cry, but the rest of the time, she’s so strong and positive.
“You could come to the nursery with us,” Ruby says now.
I come back to the present moment, realizing that Ruby is inviting Liam to spend time with us outside of the garden.
“Tell you what,” says Liam. “How about I take the two of you out to lunch, and then we can go to the nursery?”
Liam has raised his eyes to look at me again. Oh God, he’s so hot, I can hardly stand it. It’s probably a bad idea, going out to lunch with him—it’s just going to make me fantasize about him even more, and I shouldn’t let my mind wander in that direction. It’ll just make me want things I can’t have right now. Between work, taking care of Ruby, and staying in touch with my friends, I don’t have time for a guy.
But how can I say no? Anyway, it’s just lunch and plant-shopping, right?
“That sounds nice,” I say. “Do you have any ideas of where we could eat?”
“I do,” says Liam, and the smile he gives me sends tingles up my spine.
“So what do you do when you’re not gardening, Elle?” asks Liam. We’ve just sat down in the coolest little sandwich shop for lunch. Liam drove the three of us here. I worried when we got into his car that we were going to get the pristine interior all dirty, but he just laughed and said he’d clean it up later.
“I’m a buyer for a department store,” I say, unwrapping the paper from my sandwich.
“Yeah? Nice. How’d you get into that?”
I hesitate. My sister was the one who most strongly influenced the path of my career—she worked for the same company and told me about a job opening for an assistant buyer, which lead to the position I have today. But it doesn’t feel like the right moment to bring up my sister yet. Especially with Ruby here.
“Well, I didn’t daydream about being a retail buyer when I was a little girl, if that’s what you’re asking,” I say, giving Liam a smile. “I really enjoy it, though. It has its challenges, of course, like any job. But it’s pretty cool to have a say in what gets put on the shelves. What about you? What do you do?”
Liam tells me about the merger at his firm and how he recently left his job. As I listen to him talk, I ravenously eat my sub sandwich. I’ve really worked up an appetite from all the weeding I’ve done today—but I’m also devouring it because it’s one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Before I know it, all that’s left before me are crumbs, while Liam’s sub is still practically untouched.
Shit. I’m an animal.
I try to ignore my mortification and just focus on what Liam’s saying. But suddenly he stops talking and frowns at me with concern.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, I just…oh, God. I’m embarrassed at how fast I ate my sandwich. I know how ridiculous that probably sounds, but…”
“I like a woman with an appetite,” Liam says, his eyes simultaneously kind and penetrating. A wave of heat rushes through me. Guys like him usually don’t go for curvy girls like me.
“Do you want some of my sub, Auntie Elle?” Ruby asks, holding out her smaller kid-sized sandwich.
Both Liam and I laugh.
“Thanks, sweetie, but I’m fine,” I say.
After we finish lunch, we get back into Liam’s car and I give him directions to the nursery. He drives with one hand on the steering wheel and the other laid casually on his big, muscular thigh. I keep thinking about what it would be like to slip my hand beneath his, to feel his fingers intertwine with mine. It’s crazy, but I feel so comfortable around this man already.
Or maybe he’s just one of those guys who has a way of making all women feel comfortable.
I dunno, though. I feel like Liam and I have this connection. I think of my group of close girlfriends—Aurora, Marisa, and Lindsay—and how two of them are now married to guys they practically fell in love with at first sight. Am I the next one to experience something like that?
Is Liam my one?
It’s such an insane question to think. I met the guy barely an hour ago. And I truly don’t have time to date anyone right now. When Ruby is older and more independent, sure. But at this point in time, she needs me. And I need to focus on taking care of her.
Chapter Three
Liam
The nursery is way bigger than I expect, but Elle knows exactly where to go. As I push a single cart for the two of us, little Ruby runs ahead to admire the plants on her own, calling out, “I won’t go far!”
When Ruby is out of earshot, I turn to Elle and say, “I know I’ve just met her, but Ruby’s an incredible kid.”
“Thanks,” says Elle, smiling.
“It’s sweet that you’re spending time like this with her. Not every aunt does that.”
Elle nods. “Yeah. Well…I’m actually her guardian.”
Guardian? My chest tightens. I can sense that Elle is about to tell me something devastating before she even begins to speak.
“My sister an
d her husband passed away a few years ago,” says Elle. “I’ve been looking after Ruby ever since.”
The weight of her words bears down on me. “Jesus. That’s awful, Elle. I’m so sorry to hear that.”
She nods. Her eyes look damp for a second, but then she blinks a few times and smiles. “Anyway. I’m just trying to be the best aunt I can be.”
“You’re doing an amazing job,” I say.
Elle’s smile turns amused. “That’s sweet of you to say, Liam. But you’ve only just met us.”
“That’s true,” I say. “But I can still tell.”
“Well…I do have to admit that Ruby makes my job pretty easy. I mean, she’s not a perfect kid, but she comes pretty close. Even her teachers tell me how impressed they are with her.”
“I’m not surprised to hear that,” I say. “She was telling me about school when we were walking over to meet you earlier. Seems like she genuinely loves it.”
“She does. She tells me all about it every day when I get home from work.” Then she explains, “I have a nanny who picks Ruby up from school and watches her in the afternoons until I get home.”
I nod. I’m glad they have a system that works, but there’s also something deep down inside of me that yearns to be the one taking care of the two of them.
“Oh,” says Elle, slowing to look at a display of small tomato plants. “We should definitely get some of these for our gardens. Fresh tomatoes are so delicious. Seriously, Liam. You’re never going to want to eat a store-bought tomato ever again.”
“That good, huh?” I say. I haven’t even glanced at the tomato plants yet. My eyes are still on Elle. God, she’s incredible. I’ve never met anyone like her.
