You & Me: The Complete Series (3 Book Boxset)

by Lisa Shelby

  “Thank you, Cami. Thank you for making me come here. I let these people make me feel less than, but because of you, I don’t feel that way anymore. These aren’t my people. You made me see that. You, Jonathan, Emily, Alex, Mick, Devon, Gabby, all the kids that come with them, and my parents and my sister. Those are the people I want to emulate. I look at Hannah now and honestly don’t know what I saw in her or how I could have thought that I actually loved her. How could I love her when I didn’t even know her? Thank you for giving me this, Cami. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

  Her reply takes me by surprise. “Give me another one of those kisses and we’ll call it even.”

  She scoots closer, and I bring my hand up to trace a line from her bare shoulder, up her neck and to her ear, where I push her silky-smooth hair out of the way so I have full access. Just as I’m about to bring my lips to hers, my fiery little lady grows impatient and crashes her lips to mine. There isn’t anything soft or gentle in this kiss. Not like earlier in the night. This kiss is full of need. Of want. I am so thankful she seems to be feeling the same way I do. I’m not sure where to take it from here, but I’ll take her kisses as long as she’s willing to give them.

  “Almost there, folks,” the driver warns us. I forgot we weren’t alone and apparently, our audience isn’t appreciating our PDA.

  I pull my lips from hers and rest my forehead against hers.

  “Thanks for making me face all my shit. As much as I hate to admit it, I needed to do this to come to the conclusion that I’m not really missing out on anything, and I like my life just the way it is.”

  She lets go of my hand, and her voice sounds shaky when she says, “Good, I’m glad my crazy idea worked.”

  I’m not sure what just happened here in the backseat of this car. But whatever it was, I clearly missed it because her entire demeanor has changed. Not only did she let go of my hand, but she pushed herself away from me and is pressed against the door with her hands clasped in her lap.

  What the hell did I say?

  The car pulls up to the Bohemian Hotel, and I hop out the second we come to a stop.

  “Wait, let me get your door for you.”

  I rush around to get the door and she clearly wasn’t kidding when she said her feet hurt because she can barely walk. I can’t stand to see her hobble her way toward the hotel doors.

  “Aaaggghhh!!!! Liam, what are you doing?!” she screams at my back after I’ve picked her up and thrown her over my shoulder.

  “It would have taken us an hour to get you to your room if I’d let you gimp along like that! I’m remedying the problem.” I give her a gentle pat to the ass. “Now keep it down or you’ll wake the neighbors, woman!”

  Whoa, having my hand on her ass with only the thin material of her dress between my hand and her skin hits me a little harder than I expected.

  In the elevator, she has to hold her sexy-as-hell hair out of her face so she can glare at me in the mirrored walls of the small enclosed space. She’s still over my shoulder, and I want to do just about anything but let her go. When we reach our floor, I rack my brain to come up with some reason to prolong the night but come up blank.

  Once we’re in front of her door, I begrudgingly place her on her tired feet and leave her with a kiss to the cheek. I think I’ll feel her body slide down the front of mine when I set her down all night long.

  I wait for her to open her door and step inside.

  “Thanks again for everything, Cami. If you ever need anything at all, I’m your man. Okay?”

  She releases a breath. “The pleasure was mine, and I can’t wait to hang out with your family tomorrow. Now, leave me alone so I can get my beauty sleep.”

  Her door closes, and I’m left standing in the hallway wondering what in the hell I’ve just done. I am in so much freaking trouble with this woman in my life, and I have no idea what to do from here.

  Chapter 11

  Cami

  It feels like I’ve been standing with my back to my hotel room door for an eternity. I can’t move. The thing is I don’t think I heard his door open and close yet either.

  Is he still standing in the hallway?

  Did he feel that too?

  What the heck is happening between the two of us?

  I can’t bring myself to check the peephole to see if he is in fact still there. I’m not exactly sure what it would mean if he was.

  Holding him, dancing with him, kissing him…it was all unexpected.

  But that thing…that thing I felt in our first kiss and every one that followed was something I don’t think I can deny.

  When I saw the look in his eye that said he was hurt because he thought I had just kissed him to put on a show for Hannah, it gutted me. I needed him to know I meant it and it wasn’t just an act.

  But then as soon as we got in the car to come back to our rooms, our adjoining rooms, things got strange. I wasn’t sure if the act—that really hadn’t been an act—was something he wanted to continue. I thought that he was feeling the same way but now I’m not so sure.

  When he told me that today made him realize how much he liked his life just the way it was, the cold, hard truth of the situation hit home for me. He likes his swinging, single life just the way it is. He doesn’t want to be tied down, and he isn’t the guy for me.

  Sure, I could have a “friends with benefits” night with Liam, but that’s not who I am.

  I finally hear the click of Liam’s door next to mine, and I push off my door more confused than ever.

  Why was he still standing in the hallway all that time? If he doesn’t want to change the current state of his life, then why would he have hesitated. Why would he have looked so gutted when he thought I only kissed him for Hannah’s sake?

  I am so dang confused!

  I go through the motions of getting ready for bed. All the while thinking back to our night.

  He looked at me like he felt the same way I did. I know he did. I find it hard to believe he didn’t feel even a smidge of what I was feeling.

  I can tell myself all I want that I haven’t been developing feelings for him these past many months. I can tell myself I came here to this wedding to help a friend out. I can lie to myself all I want, but the truth is…I want him like I have never wanted anyone else.

  I feel it when he enters the same room.

  I feel his presence from across the room anytime we’re even remotely near each other.

  When I hear his deep seductive voice, my insides flutter to life.

  Every time we touch each other, my body is on fire.

  And the smell of him…he…smells…so…good…

  He smells fresh and clean but with a manly musk I have only ever smelled on him.

  His smell actually makes me want to do very bad things.

  Very. Bad. Things.

  I force myself to turn the lights out and try to get some sleep, but I know that won’t be happening tonight. Not only am I still hot and bothered from all of our kisses and PDAs, but my mind is whirring with wondering if he feels the same way.

  Do I want him to feel the same way?

  What will our friends think?

  I also can’t stop wondering if that asshole Simon and his little gang of bitchy bridesmaids I heard talking shit about Liam tonight are staying in this hotel. I would love to bump into them in a dark hallway and kick their skinny stuck-up asses.

  The level of fury I felt hearing their conversation while I was in line at the bar was something I am still shocked I was able to contain.

  “Can you believe that behemoth had the nerve to show his face here?”

  A shrill, snobby voice replies. “Ugh, I really didn’t think that he would show up. When Hannah told me she was inviting him, I thought it was pretty funny…cruel but funny. I really thought he would know that it was just Hannah being Hannah and that she didn’t really want to see him.”

  “Well, she may have done it as a cruel joke, but there is nothing wrong with h
aving to see that man again in the flesh. He is still a fine specimen and just as beautiful as ever,” says a slightly sweeter voice.

  “He may be pretty, but he sticks out like a sore thumb. I mean he has to see that his kind simply doesn’t belong here.”

  I cannot believe that I am actually hearing these words come out of their mouths. Do people really think this way? Looking across the room to where Liam is flirting with one of the seventy-year-olds at our table, I see a charming, successful, sweet flirt. A flirt who knows how to make everybody feel good. Somebody who is always making sure that those around him have a smile on their face. I see a good man. A hot-as-all-get-out man but still, a good man.

  “I heard that after Hannah crushed him into little bits, he fell down the rabbit hole and got himself a nice little drug habit. That’s the real reason he moved. I heard he’s been in treatment for nearly a year now.”

  I have heard enough and can’t take anymore.

  “I’m so sorry to eavesdrop, but I just had to say something.” Four sets of judgmental eyes stare back at me, and I can feel them all checking me out from head to toe. Let them. These people make me sick.

  “I love gossip as much as the next girl, so I thought I would do you a favor and correct that last little piece of gossip that you were sharing. You know, the part about Liam Fanua being in treatment for the last year…” I lean in like I have a devious piece of dirt to share, and they all lean in closer to hear what exactly I’m about to share. “It turns out that Liam was in fact not in rehab. He has actually been living in a very expensive loft, in a very expensive area of The Pearl District in Portland. He’s been there so he can run the family’s new expansion location of their very successful construction company.”

  They all just look at me like I must be off my meds and loose from the crazy house.

  “Scandalous, I know.”

  Simon looks skeptical. “And how do you know this?”

  “Oh, well that fine specimen happens to be my boyfriend.”

  I reach out a hand to Simon, and he takes it begrudgingly. “Hi, I’m Cameron Holsted. I’m the lucky girl that gets to spend her life with ‘his kind.’ As for him showing his face here well…that was my doing. I just had to put the faces with the names of all of the assholes who could possibly think they were better than Liam Fanua and his family. I haven’t met anybody yet tonight that meets that description. I’ll keep looking, though.”

  This earns me some gasps followed by hands flying to their chests in horror and several turned-up noses.

  “I’m so glad to have the opportunity to thank you all for casting him aside like a piece of trash. Your loss is most certainly my gain. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it looks like I’m next in line for drinks. You all have a fabulous night now. It was lovely to meet you.”

  Oh, that felt good.

  My fury turned into exhilaration. Putting the likes of Simon and his squad in their place has me riding high.

  Until I turn around with drinks in hand and see Liam standing a few feet away.

  Shit, did he hear that?

  “Here you go, sir,” I say, handing him his glass and acting as though nothing happened.

  “Cami?”

  “Yes, dear?”

  “What did you just do?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean?”

  I can tell that my dumb act isn’t working.

  “Cami, why were you talking to them?”

  “Oh, that.” I wave his question off. “I was just introducing myself and meeting your old frenemies.”

  “I saw that and why did I see their expressions change like they did?”

  “Well, Simon isn’t really good at gossip, so I was just updating him on the latest water cooler talk. He’s all squared away now.”

  “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

  “Trust me, all is well. Now, drink that. This girl wants to dance.”

  When I look back on the evening, I hope I didn’t go too far. I did perform a fair amount of PDA in front of Hannah’s parents. I hugged Hannah for some odd reason. I really have no idea why. Then there was all of the touching, kissing, and hand holding that took place.

  The moment Hannah asked to dance with him and he shut her down was one of the highlights of the evening. I was proud of him. Not just in that moment but all night long. I know it couldn’t have been easy for him, but he never once seemed anything but cool.

  But when I think about his thank you in the car and his willingness to show his appreciation with a kiss, I can’t help but think that he feels something. All his kisses and slow dances felt like something more than an act. But when he said he likes his life just the way it is, all I could think was that meant one thing. It meant he likes being single.

  Did I take that comment too literally?

  Am I being a total girl right now?

  I pride myself on not being an emotionally clingy girl that examines every word a man says to her to the point of becoming insane. In this case, I would love to have it be the exception because that would mean that I took his comment the wrong way, and he didn’t mean what I think he meant.

  Ugh! What the heck is wrong with me? This is a first for me. I don’t know what to do with all of the questions running through my head. I know what I want to do, but I am going to keep myself in this bed and away from our adjoining door.

  Knowing he is asleep on the other side of the door makes it impossible for me do the same. He’s so close, and I have so many questions. And desires.

  If he was any other person, I would be calling Alex and Emily, and they would help me rationalize everything. But it’s Liam, and I’m not sure I’m ready to admit my true feelings for him to the girls when I can barely admit them to myself.

  I guess I’ll have to figure this one out on my own.

  I didn’t sleep at all last night.

  My mind and my heart were in overdrive.

  Stopping myself from getting up and knocking on the door that separated us was a struggle that lasted until the morning.

  Now, our day starts with his family in the historic district of Savannah at a restaurant that Liam and Jonathan have always raved about and Liam insisted I try.

  He literally turns in his chair to watch me when I take my first bite of French toast. He’s right, it is delicious. The fact that he is staring at my mouth while I eat shouldn’t turn me on the way it does with his parents sitting right here, but with his kisses from the night before still fresh on my lips and on the top of my mind, I can’t help it.

  It feels like it is just the two of us at the table until his sister, Kate, says, “Geez, Liam. Give the girl a break. You don’t have to be all up in her grill while she eats.” This snaps me out of my lust-filled thoughts real quick, but Liam’s focus doesn’t change.

  “So…what do you think?” he asks as though he had gone back in the kitchen and made it himself.

  I close my eyes to shut out the view of his handsome face and to savor the deliciously sweet bite. Through a mouthful of French toast, I mumble. “It’s amazing.”

  “Told you,” he says quietly when he reaches up to wipe a bit of syrup off the corner of my mouth with his thumb and then puts it in his mouth to suck off the sticky sweetness.

  Good God if he isn’t sinful. Just looking at him do something so simple is enough to make my libido go into hyper-drive. I need to get a grip, though. We’re sitting in the middle of a busy restaurant with his family.

  Besides the touch of his thumb just then, he hasn’t really touched me this morning. Unless it’s to put his hand on the small of my back to guide me somewhere as all gentlemen do, we are back to being friends. No hand-holding and no PDA. It was nice while it lasted.

  Luckily, he turns to his own meal and the subject is changed when his father says, “Liam, the kids are so glad you are able to make time for them while you are home. Joe said some of the boys are really having a rough go. Especially Ryan and Carter. I think getting to see you and play some ball is just wha
t they need.”

  “I was worried about this when we decided I would move to Portland, Dad. I don’t want them to think I abandoned them, like they’re own dads did. I’ll try and get some one-on-one time with each of them.

  Confused by the conversation and wondering what exactly we’re doing after breakfast I ask, “Who are Ryan and Carter?”

  “Oh dear, didn’t Liam tell you about the Uso Family Community Center?”

  I look at Liam accusatorily. “No, he hasn’t mentioned a thing.”

  His mother, Fiona, is about to speak, but Liam cuts her off. “Uso Construction funded a community center down the road. I used to spend a lot of time with the kids down there, and I got pretty close to some of them. We always have a weekly baseball game during the spring and summer seasons. Gives the kids something to do.”

  It’s then I notice his dad, Robert and Liam both have on baseball t-shirts that have a picture of a back hoe on the front of it, and in small letters under the picture it reads, Uso Construction.

  “Yep, every Sunday. We pick teams out of a hat and play a full nine innings of ball. You could say it’s our church,” Robert says with pride, smiling at his son. “The kids look forward to it every weekend, but they’ve missed their star pitcher and are glad he’s back even if just for the day.”

  If the look on Fiona’s face is any indication, I have a feeling there’s more to this than Liam is saying because it’s clear Fiona is keeping her mouth closed, and it’s challenging her to say the least. The look of admiration on her face when she looks at Liam is hard to miss. Much different than the looks of disdain he was receiving yesterday.

  Sitting at this table, with these four people, is a pretty great way to spend a morning. I love spending time with his family. Robert and Fiona are the coolest parents I have ever met and his sister, Kate, is a blast. They make everyone feel welcome, and they treat you like they’ve known you their entire lives. This must be where Liam gets his ability to avoid uncomfortable silences. It doesn’t matter who you are, the Fanua’s treat every person they come across like family. They genuinely care about people. Yes, they have a lot of money, and the business does very well, but you would never know it. They are down to earth and appreciative for everything they have. It’s clear they’ve raised their children the same way.