My mental game slipped, and I fisted my hands just to make sure that I didn’t reach out to touch her. I thought about being on the field, about knowing a lineman was ready to crush me, about deer in the forest munching on grass, and just about anything else that was ordinary. Because Heather looked extraordinary.
“Hey,” I said, my voice coming out deeper and huskier than I’d intended.
Heather’s responding smile and blush increased my blood pressure. If I stared at her any longer without the ability to touch her, I just might explode. “Hey,” she whispered as she tucked her hair behind her ear, exposing the creamy skin on her neck and lower jaw. Suddenly, her hand reached out and gently touched my chest.
My heart jackhammered. Was it happening? Was she making a move on me? Letting me know that she wanted this to be our first official date and I had the green light to woo her like I wanted to? I’d never had those feelings before. With other women, it was all about conquest and keeping the upper hand. With Heather, I wanted to do crazy things like brush a rose petal across her lips to see if it made her smile, or take her to the beach just to see what shade of red her hair turned in the sunset. It wouldn’t be hard at all to fall off the cliff I leaned over each time I was near her. And her touch did nothing to steady my feet. If anything, it made me want to jump. I parted my lips, but she spoke before I could get words to come out.
“Is it raining outside?”
I froze. “What?” Rain? Who cared if it rained? We were having a moment here. Or maybe I was having a moment and she was in a totally different space.
Heather stepped closer to me but kept her fingers pressed to the same spot. “Your shirt is wet.”
My hearing was cloudy—a response I was learning came from Heather’s proximity. It took me a moment to register what she’d said. So much for my mental game. “My shirt?”
Heather nodded.
I finally glanced down to see that Lottie’s tear spot hadn’t quite dried. Realizing that I had completely misread this entire situation, my skin flushed with heat and embarrassment. What was wrong with me? Heather had clearly set the terms of our relationship, and I was jumping into the deep end of my own feelings, expecting her to follow. I needed to get a grip, and fast, or this would be the most embarrassing night of my life.
Needing to get her fingertips away from my chest and her entire body away from me, I quickly brushed at the spot as I stepped back. “Lottie came over and started crying,” I said.
Heather raised her eyebrows as she studied me. I could tell that she was waiting for more explanation, but I wasn’t in the mood to get into it. After all, talking about my family and their happy relationships was not something I wanted to do right now.
Not when my desire to pull Heather into my arms was as strong as it was.
“She was crying? Is everything okay?” Heather shouldered her purse and stepped into the hallway after me. She locked her door, and I couldn’t help but memorize her every move. How could someone doing something so mundane look so graceful?
Realizing that I was staring, I cleared my throat and pushed my hands through my hair. “Just wedding stuff. She’s stressed out about the amount of work she has to do and the short time she has to do it.”
Heather shoved her keys into her purse and turned to face me. “Poor girl. Is there anything I can do?”
I shook my head. “Naw. She gave me a list as long as my arm. Once we’re done here, I’m on wedding duty full time.” We walked side by side, and all I could think about was linking arms with her or wrapping my arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. Both would go against her determination to be “just friends.” Man, this sucked.
“Well, she’s lucky to have such a helpful big brother.” Heather peeked over at me through her long lashes. Add that to the soft form of her lips as she smiled at me, and I was a melted pile of goo.
This was not good. Not at all.
Heather seemed so relaxed as she waited for me to unlock the car. I, on the other hand, was a bumbling idiot who was trying a bit too hard to win this girl over. Especially when she’d so clearly laid out her expectations for our evening. I couldn’t get my nervous system to understand that there wasn’t any pressure—not from Heather, and therefore not from anywhere.
I just hoped that when we got to the restaurant, she would clue in to how I felt about her and she would see what I wanted. That I wanted her. That she was the only girl I wanted to be around.
If she didn’t get that from our evening, or the kiss that I had planned when the night was over, then I was willing to accept her guidelines for our relationship. I would stop trying to be her guy and follow along with the deal we’d created.
Once I’d given it my all and Heather still only saw me as a client, then I would give up.
But not until then.
Chapter Fourteen
Heather
Liam was acting strange. He was softer. Sweeter. And the flirt who I’d gotten used to was now gone, and suddenly, he was my favorite Winnie-created book boyfriend, Heath. Which only made me fall harder for him. Him as in Liam, not him as in Heath.
Liam’s shoulders were relaxed, and his wrist rested on the steering wheel as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His demeanor, mixed with my uncertainty of where we were going, made my insides a nervous mess. So much so that I couldn’t help but fiddle with the hem of my sweater as my gaze drifted over to Liam again and again.
“I’m so excited,” I blurted out. When I realized what I’d just said, I pinched my lips together as heat permeated my cheeks. What was I doing? Being aloof was the best way to deal with Liam. Wearing my heart on my sleeve would only lead to heartbreak if history was going to repeat itself.
Liam glanced over at me. “Really?”
I nodded. “It’s going to be interesting to psychoanalyze a Liam McKnight date.” I offered him a weak smile. I needed for him to know that I knew this wasn’t a real date—even if my heart was begging for something authentic. I wanted it to be real with every fiber of my being, and it was embarrassing that someone as analytical and realistic as me would contemplate wishing on a star.
I’m not joking. I just did that.
I cleared my throat and turned my focus back to Liam, whose grip had stiffened. His jaw muscles tightened, and for a moment, I wondered if I’d overstepped. Was I not supposed to call this a date?
Probably.
I was certain that I was the last girl he wanted riding along with him to wherever we were going. He just wanted to prove to me that all of our hard work had paid off and he was ready to take on his reputation and be the guy who could see beyond his own muscles.
Not wanting to sit in awkward silence, I clasped my hands together and rounded my shoulders as I stared out the window. “So what does a Liam McKnight date look like?”
When he didn’t answer, I glanced over to see him working his jaw muscles as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself from doing so. Maybe if I took the pressure off of him, he wouldn’t look so pained right now. After all, I was the idiot who read into everything. We were friends, and this was a job. It was a mantra I was learning to say over and over again in my mind. I forced a laugh. “I mean, if you were on a date with a girl who wanted to date you, what would that look like?”
“First, we wouldn’t be talking about how much this isn’t a real date,” Liam said as he clicked on the blinker and merged into the next lane.
I pinched my lips together. That would be a failing grade for me. “Right,” I whispered. The silence between us was deafening, so I leaned in, determined to get us talking. “So what would you talk about?”
Liam came to a stop as the light turned red, and he glanced over at me. “We wouldn’t ask, What would you talk about? We would just talk.”
I studied him as he held my gaze. It was as if he wanted this to be real. Like he wanted to give me the full experience. Which was a little strange. After all, I was here as his therapist. If I didn’t ask these questions, how
was I supposed to learn? But if he wanted me to play along, then I would. It wouldn’t be difficult. I’d dreamed of going out with him since prom. I’d even gone through a phase where I’d determined that Liam would never live up to my daydreams and that I should give up the pastime. But after spending the last five days with him and sharing a kiss, I found that he’d surpassed every expectation. Imaginary Liam didn’t hold a candle to the real deal.
I gave him a soft smile and settled back in my seat. “So tell me about Lottie. She came over stressed out?”
The light shifted to green, and Liam pressed on the gas. “Yeah. She gets overwhelmed and loses it sometimes.” He sucked in his breath. “Jaxson is going to have his hands full with that one.”
I glanced out the window, a sense of longing washing over me. Besides Winnie, I didn’t have any immediate family around. “You’re lucky, you know that?” I whispered. It was as if my vocal cords were trying to protect me by keeping my secrets safe inside. What would happen if I got too close to Liam? If I allowed myself to be vulnerable around him? I wasn’t sure I could survive two heartbreaks from him.
“I am?” he asked, drawing my attention.
When I met his gaze, my entire body warmed. I hated that I reacted this way around him. I needed to be stronger. I had to be stronger. “Yeah. You have so much family close by. It must be nice.” From what I remembered in high school, there were two things that Liam held sacred, and those were football and his family.
He nodded as his expression turned reverent. “Yeah. We’ve been through a lot together.” Then he chuckled softly. “You wouldn’t be able to tell it now, but Penny was quite the handful growing up.” Then he pinched his lips together as if he’d admitted more than he wanted to.
“Penny?” I asked. It was crazy, but I enjoyed the fact that he was opening up to me like this. Even though I knew it was because I was his therapist, I couldn’t help but wish it was because I was his actual date and he was telling me because he wanted me to know.
He nodded. “She seems put together now, but she caused a lot of drama when I was in high school.”
“Really? I didn’t know.”
He shrugged as he pulled into the parking lot of a large brick building. I’d been so distracted that I didn’t even know where we were. “You wouldn’t. The McKnights are good at hiding our feelings.”
I paused and peeked over at him. It was strange, his admission. I knew he was talking about Penny, but I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a deeper meaning there. As if he wanted to admit something that he couldn’t just say outright.
Our gazes locked, and for a moment, I felt myself lean in. With the emotional closeness that came from sharing things we didn’t normally talk about, there came a desire for physical closeness. It was textbook, and yet I felt it all anew, as if I were the first person to figure this out and to fight against it.
“We’re here,” he said, breaking the trance he’d put me in. He unbuckled and climbed out.
I sat there, blinking. I was the idiot who’d allowed myself to climb all the way to cloud nine during our interaction, and now I was crashing full force back down to earth.
“Get a grip, Heather,” I whispered under my breath.
Liam opened my door—a fact I noted as fantastic dating etiquette. He had a giddy smile on his lips as he glanced from me, to the building, and then back to me again.
I furrowed my brow as I followed his gesture. “What are you …”
My sentence died down as my eyes widened. There, in large block letters, was a banner that said, Harry Potter Experience.
My jaw dropped as I closed my eyes and then opened them once more. If I hadn’t spent all afternoon on my makeup, I would have rubbed them good and hard. But I didn’t want to look like a raccoon. “Does that say what I think it says?” I asked, pointing to the banner.
Liam laughed and nodded. “Yep. Dad discovered this in the newspaper. I guess they are here for the month.” He linked arms with me, and my gaze instantly dropped to the pavement and heat permeated my cheeks.
Thankfully, Liam didn’t notice my reaction, and he also didn’t seem to be bothered by how close we were. Instead, he talked on and on about what we were going to do as he led me to the entrance.
Apparently, this was similar to the show you can experience at Excalibur in Las Vegas. You pick a side and get to watch a Quidditch game while they feed you all the fun festive foods from the books. The more he explained, the more excited I became.
He laughed. “So you’re still a Harry Potter fan?”
My eyes bugged out. “It’s not something you grow out of. There’s new movies and scripts and books coming out that are based in the Wizarding World all the time. I haven’t read the books in ages, but I bet I remember everything.” I crossed my fingers and held them up. “Let’s hope they get the details right.”
As soon as we walked into the foyer, my geeky side came out. I dragged him to every picture on the wall that depicted a scene from the series. I gave him a detailed explanation of what was going on and my theories on how each part of the story eventually led to the next.
Liam looked a tad confused and finally admitted that he never read the books.
“But there are movies—good ones.”
“We should watch them.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, which made me laugh.
“Sure. Anytime you want a 20-hour movie marathon, you let me know.” I bumped his hip, and he chuckled. The objection or excuse to get out of binge-watching the movies that I’d expected never came.
He handed our tickets to the guy at the door, and we stepped into the arena. Before I took in the field or the tables or the people wearing costumes, I stopped.
Liam jerked to a stop since I had a hold of his arm.
“You get major points for this.”
A slow, sexy grin spread across his face. The looks this man could give me. If I melted once more, there would be no putting me back together.
“Yes. You planned an evening around my interests even though they don’t overlap with your own. That shows a lot of growth, Liam McKnight. And I have to say I’m impressed.”
“But are you happy?” he asked, his brow lined with curiosity.
I took a moment to take in all the details. The Hogwarts house colors divided the dining areas into supporters for the teams about to take the field. A man wearing a long black cape swept by and hissed, “Take your seats,” in a fantastic Professor Snape impersonation.
My gaze turned back to Liam, who was standing in front of me with his head slightly down as if bashful, uncertain, and waiting to see if he’d made me happy. He got a thousand points in my book for that one sincere question. “I am.”
His shoulders loosened and he grinned. “Let’s find our seats.”
I was in heaven by the time we were served our food. Liam and I laughed as we watched the game. It was a blast, screaming for Gryffindor to win while the Hufflepuff crowd booed. The spirit and energy around us helped me to forget why I was here and just enjoy my time with Liam. He caught on to the rules of the game pretty quick, and his competitive side came out and he yelled at the referee for missing a call.
My cheeks hurt from smiling so much as we walked out of the building three hours later. My throat was hoarse, and I was drunk on happiness as we headed for the car. Worried that I might trip and fall flat on my face, I reached out and grabbed a hold of Liam’s arm.
I felt his gaze shift to me and then down to our arms, but I kept my focus on the ground. Partly because I didn’t want him to see how much I’d grown to care for him, and I really didn’t want to whiff it in front of him. I was in self-preservation mode all around.
When we got to the car, Liam paused. I could feel his gaze on me. “Did you have fun?” he asked. His voice had taken on a deeper, softer tone. This was the Liam I was beginning to think of as my Liam. The world, the reporters, and the guys on his team could have the showman—I wanted this guy. The one that confused me at every turn.
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“I did,” I replied. I wanted to look up; I really did. But I feared what that might do to my heart. So I kept my gaze focused on the door.
Liam didn’t push me further. Instead, he helped me into the car, jogged around the hood, and climbed into the driver’s seat. We rode in silence back to my apartment, our ears still ringing from the sound system and cheering. I expected him to drop me off at the door, but instead, he pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine.
I peeked over at him to see what he had in mind. This no longer felt like work. Honestly, the minute I’d read the banner, I’d taken myself off duty.
“I’m giving you the whole Liam experience,” he said as he unbuckled. “And that means walking you to your door.”
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and excitement as I nodded. He opened my door, and I stepped out with more grace than I should have had, since my head was in the clouds. We walked side by side to the front door of my building, where I punched in the code and let us in.
The ride up to my floor was quiet but comfortable. I liked that we could be together without pressure to entertain one another. It wasn’t until we were standing outside my door that Liam paused and face me. He fiddled with his keys and avoided my gaze. I wasn’t sure what he wanted from me, but I didn’t want him to feel embarrassed or even shy—we were well beyond that. I’d pulled out all my geek tonight, and he hadn’t run off screaming. That was progress—for both of us.
I rested my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. You can tell me.” I offered him a smile.
Liam’s gaze found mine, and he furrowed his brow. He had questions but was struggling to speak. He held my gaze and then sighed. “I guess I’m just wondering how much of the Liam experience you want to have.”
I parted my lips. I’d been so far out of professional mode—having more fun than anyone who was in a therapy session ever should—that his question took me by surprise. What did he mean? “I, um …” I cleared my throat, working back into helpful coaching mode. “All of it? If I’m going to be able to assess your skills, I should probably experience everything, right?” I gave him a smile. “So don’t hold back. If you do something on a date normally, do it for me.”
His Romance Coach (A McKnight Family Romance Book 5) Page 12
