Liam (7 page)

“If this is about me being here, I’m going to throat punch you.” She glared at him.

The corner of his mouth twitched. “We need his buddies on our side, and maybe this time the guy got sloppy,” he said. “Just go home, and I’ll call you in the morning.”

She crossed her arms and raised a brow.

“I will,” he said firmly.

Meg sighed. Even if he wasn’t pushing her off, it still sort of felt like he was.

“Fine, but if you don’t call, I’m coming to find you, and it’s not going to be pretty.”

Liam held up his hands in surrender. “Understood.”

She sighed when he got out of the car and went back to his own. Just once she wanted something to be easy.

Meg started the car and headed to her parents’ house. At least Liam would get to go home and rest tonight. Something about his nightmare made her worry. He held in so much, and she hated to think of him suffering.

She sighed and pulled away. It was just one more thing to add to her growing list of worries.

Chapter Seven

The house was quiet when she woke up the next morning. Meg padded into the kitchen, half-expecting everyone to be at the kitchen table. Instead, what she found was a carafe of coffee, still hot in the container, and a little note on the table.

Took Harley to the park for a play date with his girlfriends.

Reed and Olivia called to invite you for dinner at 4 pm.

We’ll just get something while we’re out.

Love,

Mom

“Girlfriends?” she nearly spilled the hot coffee on the table. “What is she, a pimp?”

Meg shook her head and grabbed a fresh bagel from the bag on the counter. She pulled the cream cheese from the fridge and put a little on the bagel. When she was finished, Meg put the cream cheese away and left the kitchen. She passed by a clock on the way to her room and cursed. It really didn’t feel like it should be half past one. That didn’t leave much time for her to get ready.

She raced into the room and pulled out some clothes from her bag and frowned. During her trip to England, she hadn’t really spent much time wearing jeans or anything like that. The one pair of shorts she brought was already in the dirty clothes. Meg shrugged and pulled out the pretty light green summer dress she bought there. It was different than anything else she owned, but with Nicolas’s great taste, it was hard to say no.

The dress had two thin straps and dipped low into her cleavage. There was no possibility of wearing a bra with it. She guessed there had to be a plus side to not having very big breasts, in this case big enough to fill out well but not so big they bounced much without a bra. The dress fell in soft layers from the waist down and stopped just at mid-thigh. It was a little daring, but it would be nice to show it off to Olivia.

Meg pulled out the chunky strappy sandals she bought to go with the dress and smiled. They would be proud to know that they had such influence over her. Well, maybe not if they knew about kissing Liam twice and nearly going a bit further.

Her heart raced just thinking about it. She had nearly forgotten. They had nearly had sex. Well, almost nearly. Did that count? It counted in her book, and, judging by the ridge in his pants, it counted for him as well. She sighed. So close. If she got her hands on the jerk who broke in, she was going to kick in him the junk for ruining her chance. And Lord help him if that was her only chance. She wasn’t above pulling out chunks of hair and biting.

Meg gathered her things and went into the bathroom. She turned on the hot water and waited for steam to fill the room.

She watched the mirror fog in front of her and thought of Liam. There was no way she was going to see Reed and not say something about the job offer, not that she had a real say, but there just had to be another way.

In the end, maybe she just wasn’t meant to be with Liam. Her chest ached with pain.

She sighed and stepped into the shower. Meg didn’t have time to think about this. If he wanted to leave, she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Either way she’d be losing him.

* * *

Liam sat quietly on the couch. Visiting Reed and Olivia hadn’t really been what he was expecting to do that day, but turning down Olivia wasn’t something he wanted to do either. He watched as she rocked quietly in her arms and smiled.

“Reed will be right out.” She grinned. “Violet decided she didn’t like his shirt.”

Liam frowned. He wasn’t really used to babies, so he wasn’t sure what she did, but he sure didn’t want it happening to him.

A buzzer went off in the kitchen.

“Oh, the lasagna.” Olivia jumped up and walked over to him. “Would you mind holding her while I get that?”

She placed Violet in his arms and didn’t wait for a reply before racing off.

He cradled her carefully in his arms and looked down at her pudgy little face.

The doorbell rang, and he jumped.

“Can you get that?” Olivia called from the kitchen.

Liam stood awkwardly and made his way slowly to the door. He opened the door and stood there, stunned.

Meg waited on the other side and stared at him, equally shocked.

He glanced down at the baby in his arms.

“Olivia had to check the lasagna,” he said without thinking.

Liam stepped back as she came in and closed the door.

Her mouth quirked up. “And you got baby duty?”

He nodded and looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her exposed breasts.

“You look great,” he said quietly.

Meg looked down and smiled. “Thanks,” she said. “I picked it out with Nicolas.”

He frowned. Nicolas? Anger burned through him. She was wearing a dress that she had picked out with another man. Had he been with her when she tried it on? What if she had worn it just for him?

Liam swallowed, the room suddenly smaller than before.

“Let me see my sweet little niece,” she said and held out her arms.

He tried not to watch the way the fabric loosened, making it so he was able to more clearly see her breasts as he handed over the baby.

She snuggled down against Meg and cooed. He had to admit she really did have a way with children.

“You’re going to make a great mom,” Olivia said from the door to the kitchen.

They both watched as she came in and sat down on the couch next to him. Meg took the arm chair. Olivia handed them both a glass of lemonade.

“Thanks.” Meg grinned. “I’d like to have four.”

“Four?” Liam choked on his drink.

They stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“What’s wrong with four?” Meg asked, setting Violet to face out.

Liam stared at the three sets of eyes on him and swallowed. Being stared down by one woman was hard enough, but three was damn near brutal.

“Nothing,” he mumbled.

He watched as Meg kissed the baby on the head and passed her back to her mother. When she looked his way, he felt the weight of her stare.

“I always liked having all the family around,” Meg said and wrinkled her nose. “Even if I was the only girl. It was fun, and the house was always full of happiness.”

Olivia smiled at her. “That’s so wonderful,” she said wistfully.

Liam wondered if she had heard from her own brother. Ben had fallen in with the wrong sort and, after some help from Finn, had been able to only narrowly escape trouble. Not being able to see her younger brother seemed to be hard for Olivia, but it was better than the alternative, being able to visit his grave.

“What about you, Liam?” Olivia turned to him, and he froze. “Do you want children?”

He could see Meg lean forward in her chair from the corner of his eye.

“I hadn’t really…” He looked between them. Sweat beaded on his head.

“Are you all in here grilling him on babies?” Reed stepped into the room, and Liam breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s a reasonable question,” Olivia said to him.

Reed laughed, and Liam felt the tension from earlier float away.

“Let’s give him the chance to meet someone before that happens,” Reed said lightly.

Everyone froze when the glass hit the carpeted floor.

“Oh shit,” Meg said. She tried to mop up the mess. “Sorry, Liv.”

Reed went in the kitchen and came out with a towel.

“No big deal,” he said. “This is why they are stain resistant.”

He watched as Reed cleaned up the mess, and Meg fidgeted in her chair.

“Well,” Olivia said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “How about dinner?”

* * *

Meg barely followed the conversation as they ate dinner. It was clear what was on her brother and sister-in-law’s mind when they invited Liam and Meg. But what was the point if they were just going to end up in the same spot again?

Liam tapped her on the arm, and she looked over to him. He nodded his head toward Olivia.

She turned and smiled. “Sorry,” she said to her new sister. “I was thinking.”

“I’m sure.” Olivia frowned. “It hasn’t been a very happy return home, what with the break in.”

Meg nodded to cover herself.

“It wasn’t ideal, but we’ll figure it out.” She smiled. “Tonight will be round two of the stakeout.”

Liam set his glass hard on the table, startling her.

“I’ve told you,” he said to Meg. “It’s dangerous, and I can do it without you.”

Meg turned to glare at him. “You can barely keep yourself upright you’re so tired,” she spat back. “It’s my house, and I’ll sit outside if I want to.

Liam’s face turned red as he stared at her, and she wondered if she shouldn’t have mentioned the lack of sleep, but she wanted him to try and stop keeping her from doing what she knew best.

Reed cleared his throat but said nothing. Perhaps her brother didn’t want to put himself in the middle of an argument that wasn’t strictly professional.

“So.” Olivia’s awkward voice drifted across the table as they continued to stare each other down. “I love your dress. Did you pick that up there?”

Meg smiled slyly as she continued to look at Liam. “Yes,” she said. “Nicolas helped me pick it out.” She turned to look at Olivia when Liam’s face turned a deeper shade of red.

“I just love the look of it.” Olivia smiled. “I think it would be hard to find something to wear underneath it.”

Meg glanced to Liam. “It is,” she said. “So I just decided not to.”

Liam’s chair echoed in the small dining area as he rose. “I’ve got to use the restroom.”

Meg watched with satisfaction as he stomped up the stairs.

“You did that on purpose,” Reed said, shooting her a stern look from across the table.

“No shit,” she replied.

Olivia stood and gathered Violet in her arms.

“I think it’s time for bed,” she said to them both.

Meg stood and kissed the sleepy little girl.

“Go easy on him,” Olivia whispered.

Meg stared back at her not knowing or caring which him she was talking about. “Not a chance,” she said firmly.

Olivia sighed and took the baby upstairs to bed.

Meg turned around to stare at her brother.

“Texas?” she said quietly.

His eyebrows sprang up in surprise.

“I’m surprised he told you.” He stood to clear off the table.

“And I was surprised you didn’t.” She glared at him as she gathered plates.

She followed him into the kitchen and set the plates in the sink.

“It wasn’t for me to tell you,” Reed said and turned on the hot water.

He started rinsing off the plates and placing them in the dish washer.

“Why?” she whispered. “You had to know how I’d feel about this.”

He stopped for a moment. His shoulders hunched over in defeat.

“I did,” he said and turned to look at her, his eyes filled with pity. “For years we’ve watched you chase him and nothing. Not even a little. How long am I supposed to let my baby sister waste her life away waiting on someone to notice her, who likely never will?”

Meg stomped over to him and poked her brother in the chest.

“What the hell gives you the right to make those decisions for me?” Her heart swam up near her throat. “I’m not a child.”

Reed stared at her a moment before speaking. “No,” he said. “You aren’t a child, but you are certainly acting like one.”

An arrow through the heart would have hurt less.

“I’m thinking of going back to London. To live,” she said quietly. “There’s a lot to learn from them there.”

She was shaking when Reed opened his mouth, but it was Liam who spoke first from behind her.

“London?” She turned and found him standing in the door.

Meg nodded. “I was thinking about it while I was there,” she said and looked down. “I’d have a job with John and Nicolas. They’ve offered a place for me.”

Reed frowned but said nothing.

“So that’s it? You’d just leave to live with them?” Liam said. He stared at her with open anger.

“What’s the point?” she whispered. “I just…” Tears choked her words. “I’ve got to go.”

Meg pushed past Liam to gather her things in the living room. She paused when she saw Olivia standing at the foot of the stairs.

“What’s going on?” Olivia asked.

They watched as Liam and Reed rushed into the room.

“Meg, wait,” Reed said and moved toward her.

“Thanks for dinner,” she mumbled and raced to the door. Meg sighed in relief when she was on the other side of the door. She slowly made her way through the dark to her car and leaned back against the cold surface. The tears came easily this time. She wondered if things could ever be the same between any of them.

Chapter Eight

“Go after her,” Olivia said firmly to Liam.

He stood rooted to the floor.

“Liv, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he said.

Liam turned to see her giving Reed a hard stare. “You stared all this.” She pointed a finger at him and moved in Reed’s direction. “I told you things would turn out bad.” Reed stood staring at his wife in shock. “And you…” She whirled around to stare at Liam. “And you. Make up your damn mind. You’d be lucky to have Meg.”

“I know,” he said simply.