Only One (Ward Sisters Book 2) (26 page)

Rick had forgotten that they went to college together. Neither he nor Rob were useful for the entire next day. Rick hadn't given him permission to get drunk with Rob while on the job since, and Liam couldn't blame him.

He knew Rick wouldn't be sympathetic to his plight, so he rolled out of bed to get ready to run with Emily. Yeah, that wasn't a great idea. His stomach roiled. Pulling on his running clothes, he staggered down to the kitchen. He might still be a little drunk, so he rummaged though the cupboards and fridge, then concocted Rick's favorite hangover cure – it included raw eggs and Tabasco sauce – which tasted disgusting, but usually worked. Hopefully, he wouldn't puke on his run.

Emily wasn't waiting downstairs, so he knocked on her and Rob's door. Liam wished he could send Rick to run with Em, but for one, Rick wasn't there, he was at the rental in Scarborough.

For another, it would be harder for Emily to keep up with Rick than it was for Liam. Not that Rick would indulge him. He was more likely to convince Em to skip her run than to get Rick to substitute for him.

Why wasn't Em at the door already? He knocked again, then plopped onto the floor in front of the door, realizing his stomach didn't feel so hot and trying to breathe through it.

Rob opened the door. “Liam? What are you doing here? It's not even 6 a.m.”

Before he could actually speak, Liam jumped up and ran for the bathroom across the hall, where he promptly vomited. Yeah, this was why Rick's hangover cure worked – it made you vomit anything left in your system so you sobered more quickly. Liam had forgotten that part.

When he was done he looked at wide-eyed Rob. “Sorry.”

“You okay? Got the stomach flu or did you drink too much?”

“I'm not entirely positive that I'm not still a little drunk.”

“Ah, so, hungover. Did you make Rick's special drink?” Liam nodded lightly. Too much head movement was bad. “Works every time. Also makes you vomit every time. Go lay on the couch. I'll get you a bucket. What are you doing here so early? You have a fight with Nina?”

“No. I'm here for our run.” He staggered down the hall, trying not to jostle himself too much.

“Liam, it's Sunday.”

“Shit. Really? Why the hell did I set my alarm so early?”

“No clue. Lay down. I'll get you some ibuprofen and water. You been sick a couple times yet?” Liam shook his head gingerly. He was in for more puking. Rick's cure made you vomit two or three times. “I'll get that bucket,” Rob said, scurrying away.

Liam lay on the couch and a second later, Rob appeared with a bucket.

“What had you drinking so much?”

“Good beer?”

“Liam, I know you better than that.”

“Probably best to discuss this some other time.”

“Still too drunk?”

“Something like that.”
Or didn't want the girls to accidentally overhear, more like
. Not that Liam could fathom when he'd get to be alone with Rob anytime soon. It was rare these days.

**********

While at the beach house for one last barbeque before Kelly and the kids returned to Minnesota, Liam and Rob went for a walk toward Old Orchard Beach after lunch. Once they were away from the house a bit, Rob said, “Feeling any better?”

“Yeah. Rick's cure worked and the ibuprofen helped. At least now the sun isn't making my head pound.”

“So, you going to tell me what's really happening? I believe you were still a little drunk – you did smell like a brewery – but I assume you didn't want to discuss it with Em and Nina around.”

Liam sighed. “Yeah.”

“What's wrong? I can't even recall the last time I saw you hung over like that when I wasn't feeling just as bad as you were. Something wrong with you and Nina?”

“No. I mean, I don't know. It's nothing she did. She's great, a sweet girl, really nice, smart, and she's really enthusiastic about sex.”

“I hear a 'but' in there.”

“But as much as Em wants me to settle down and have a litter of kids with her, I don't know if I'm ready for all that. Or if I'm really over Jenna.”

“Something happen? Did Jenna call you? She didn't mention anything last time I talked to her...”

“No, she didn't call. But the other night, I found something she left on my phone.”

“What, like a love note?”

Liam laughed. “Yeah, it wasn't that chaste.”

“She snap a sexy picture of herself?”

“She works for you. I'm not sure if I should tell you.”

“It's not like I'm going to fire her. Unless she left you something that has to do with me.”

“No! Nothing like that. She left me a very graphic video. The kind of thing you always hope your girlfriend will make you.”

“Naked?”

“And erotic.”

“Holy shit!”

“You're telling me. And you know how smart she is. She gave me this little James Bond spiel beforehand, basically said I would be able to watch it once and then if I wanted to see it again, I had to call her. I'm sure a genius hacker could find a way around her safeguards, but she knows I'm not that. I have to hand it to her, it was brilliant.”

“Because she made sure it couldn't be shared?”

“Because it made me want to call her and find a way to have sex with her again. I'm assuming that was the point of making it in the first place.”

“When did she make it?”

“No idea. I couldn't find it in the file data. It might have been there for a while.”

“You going to call her?”

“And say what? I haven't spoken to her in months. Like that's going to go over well, calling her out of the blue and asking can she pretty please give me the password so I can watch that video of her getting off? Right.”

“She was...”

“Yes. She was.”

“Damn.”

“I had to jerk off in the shower after. I couldn't have sex with Nina when I knew I'd be thinking about Jenna. She's on my mind regularly, but that video has been in my head
all
week. Jenna made sure it would stick in my brain.”

“How could it not?”

“She ensured it would trigger memories of us for me. And now I can't stop thinking about it. Or her.”

“And it's causing issues with Nina?”

“Not explicitly. Not yet. But...”

“But that's why you got drunk last night.”

“It wasn't on purpose. I didn't set out to get drunk. But, yeah.”

“Do you really like Nina? I mean, are you with her right now because it's convenient and because she's Em's friend?”

“No, I like her. Really, I do. She's a great girl. It's just...how can I stop comparing her to Jenna? It was hard enough not to do that anyway, but then I see this video and it brings everything about Jenna to the front of my brain. And I mean everything.”

“I don't know what to tell you, Liam. You know how it is for me. I don't really get over a girl until I meet someone else. The only advice I can give you is to try harder with Nina and see if that helps push Jenna from your brain. Assuming you want her out of your head.”

“What choice do I have? She's done with me. I said I wasn't going to cheat on her anymore, that I was done making her feel like she wasn't important by sleeping with other women when I was supposed to be committed to her. Before last winter, I'd never officially committed to her. But I did, then. So, even if she wasn't done with me, how is she ever going to want me back or trust me again when I jumped into bed with Nina?”

Rob shook his head and shrugged. He didn't have an answer.

“If you like Nina, then maybe you just have to make an effort for her. Unless you feel like you have another option.”

“I don't see how I do. I like Nina, a lot. If I'm not thinking about Jenna, I know how great Nina is. It's when I compare her to Jenna that she doesn't measure up. Hell, maybe it wasn't that great between me and Jenna. And it
is
good with Nina.”

“You know I'm here for you, whatever you decide. Nina is Em's friend, but you're my
best
friend. Don't forget that, okay?”

“Thanks.”

If only he could forget Jenna, then this would be easier.

Chapter 21

Liam knocked on Em's office door.

“Come in,” she said.

“Problem, kiddo.”

Emily sighed. “They're out front, aren't they?”
Paparazzi
.

“Yep. I'm calling Rick. We need a plan B. I know you don't want to go back to your place, but we should. No need to draw these jerks to Nina's house.”

“No, you're right. It'll be tight. I have a one-bedroom.” She sighed. “Call Rick. Let's figure out a plan.”

Later that night, after dinner, Liam walked to Nina's house by himself. Until they found a house for Rob and Em, Liam was sleeping at Nina's. That fact didn't disappoint either of them. He'd gotten used to sleeping in Nina's bed. In fact, he'd become used to the routine of being Nina's boyfriend. The last time he'd done this was when he first met Jenna.

Sleeping in Nina's bed every night meant regular sex. With the rest of them at Em's, that left room for experimentation. Liam had always been willing to try new things – every woman was different and had individual needs. Nina was no exception, but she was unlike anyone he'd ever slept with in the past.

Their first night alone, Nina opened up her bedside drawer. She handed him a wrapped package.

“What's this?” he asked.

“Just open it.”

“You didn't need to get me a present, Nina.”

“It's not just for you.”

Liam's brows shot to his hairline. He was intrigued. When he opened the gift, it was a full-color, photograph-laden version of
The Kama Sutra
. “You want to try some new things?” he asked.

“I thought we could try them together. At least some of the time. Do you...want to do that?”

He smiled. “I want to do whatever it is you need. You have a position in mind you'd like to try first?”

She grinned and shyly showed him which one she wanted to attempt.

He'd made her happy. And he was really trying to do more of that, please her in
and
out of the bedroom, to show her how much he cared for her. Because he did, more each day.

**********

Minneapolis, Minnesota, two weeks ago...

The steadiness of life with Nina and as Em's guard was disrupted by the end of the week. Nina had finally found Rob and Emily a house, an old inn on the coast in Harpswell, which was an hour away from Portland. It meant less chance of dealing with the annoying paparazzi, but it also meant that, once they moved into the house, he would go from sleeping with Nina every night to a more long-distance sort of relationship. Liam was strangely okay with that. He and Nina even talked about how frequently she could come to the Harpswell house and stay the night with him.

Liam and Rick left with Rob and Emily to head back to Minnesota for a week right after the mortgage papers were signed at Nina's real estate office. He kissed his girlfriend goodbye quite passionately – behind the closed door of her office, of course – and he realized he'd miss her while he was gone. It was the first time Liam had felt that way about anyone but Jenna. As he flew toward Minnesota, he thought that maybe he was moving forward, finally getting past the first – the only – woman he'd ever loved.

Emily became sentimental in the limo when they arrived in Minneapolis. He supposed he could understand that; the last time she'd been there, her whole life had changed. Come to think of it, Liam's life was pretty dramatically altered then, too.

When he wandered into his condo building, he was struck by a new emotion. It used to feel like home when he returned to Minneapolis, but this reminded him of going back to a familiar hotel. As he unlocked his door, Liam realized it had been nearly eight months since he'd been to his condo. He'd never stayed away that long a stretch since he bought the place.

All week, he'd focused on him and Nina. When he was with her every night, practicing some new position or cooking dinner together, he could make her his sole focus. But in this place that used to be his home, Nina was a foreigner.

Jenna was the only lover he'd ever brought to his place. Last fall, he could have switched location shifts with Alan so that he was able to be here with Jenna while she visited, he hadn't made the attempt. Why was he committing to Nina so easily when he couldn't do that for Jenna?

It wasn't as if he hadn't loved Jenna. He'd known, even before he left L.A. the first time after they met, that he was in love with her. Apparently, taking three years to admit it to her was too late.

With a sigh, he went to the cabinet above the stove, grabbed his bottle of whiskey, poured two fingers in a glass, and downed it in one slug. He shuddered. As the whiskey flowed into his limbs, warming him from the center out, he laughed.

“Good for what ails ya,” he said aloud, thinking of Rob's Grampa Deacon, whom he would see tomorrow.

Knowing he had a ton of packing to do before the week was through, Liam decided there was no time like the present to start. He'd pack a little, find something for dinner, pack some more, and maybe watch a movie. Except, shit, he didn't have cable because he'd canceled it when he knew it was going to be a while before he was home, figured he'd just use Netflix or Hulu or something.

Liam wandered into his bedroom to find the laptop he hardly used – he usually left it at the condo. It needed to be charged, so he plugged it into the wall and booted it to be sure it still worked. Otherwise, he might have to hit a Redbox while he was out. He refused to watch a movie on his iPhone with a 55" flatscreen mounted to his living room wall.

The first thing he noticed was that the desktop screen looked different. It reminded him of Rob's Windows 7 laptop, which Liam thought was strange, since he was pretty sure this computer had Vista on it before. He hadn't bothered to upgrade because he never used it.

A picture of Liam and Jenna sitting on the beach in front of the Malibu house acted as the wallpaper. He remembered when Rob snapped that photo, but that was with Jenna's phone, not his. Liam shook his head, confused. It was obvious that Jenna had been screwing with his computer, probably while she was here alone last year.

The desktop was clean, with few icons and shortcuts, but a video file with the filename
OpenMeLiam
sat in a conspicuous place
. He shook his head at her. She was unpredictable, for sure.

When he clicked on the file, heart racing, he braced himself for what might be in it. He had no idea what to expect, given the last one he'd seen.

The video loaded and he saw Jenna's image in a still. She sat on his bed in the condo, and he couldn't quite tell what she was wearing yet.

As the video loaded, he noted that it spanned several minutes. Wondering what that meant, he swallowed, hard, and pushed play.

“
Hi, Liam. I don't know if you saw the video on your phone yet. If you have, this won't be as much of a surprise, and if you haven't, look through your phone. You'll find it. By now, you've figured out that I upgraded your OS from crap Vista while I was here. I can't believe you still used that. I also replaced your RAM. You didn't have enough to watch HD videos. You're welcome. This file can't be shared, copied or moved, or it will self-destruct. Likewise, you'll need a password to view it more than once. Contact me if you want the password
.”

It was the same spiel as before, more or less. Which probably meant something racy was about to happen. Liam's heart beat faster. He pushed out a breath.

She stood and turned around so he could see what she was wearing. “
Remember this skirt
?” she asked. Not that she could hear him answer, but he did. She'd worn it the night they said goodbye in L.A., when they first met. “
Remember what I was wearing underneath? I planned to wear this to the homecoming game, but it's too cold, so I need to change. Plus, I thought maybe you might not like me going commando at a football game. Or maybe you don't care
.”

He would have cared. Did care. He didn't want her wearing a skirt with no panties underneath unless she was with him.

Wait, what was he saying?

“
So, I thought you might like to see me change. Then I'll be naked. In your bedroom. I'll be thinking about you and the last time we were both naked in this bedroom. And I don't know...I'm not so sure I'll be able to control myself. In fact, it's getting me excited just thinking about it. By the way, just so you know, for both this video and the other one, I did several takes. Yes, full takes.”
She laughed.
“I can see your jaw on the floor right now
.”

It was true, his mouth was agape, because that meant she'd done this numerous times. In his bedroom. In his condo. His dick stiffened just thinking about that fact, and he had no idea what she was about to do.

Her voice became seductive. “
Are you ready? Ready as you'll ever be? Good
.”

Music began. Liam had listened to this song so many times in his life, he knew it by the first three chords. She knew he loved the Stones and that
Beast of Burden
was his favorite Stones song.

Damned if she didn't do it again.

As he watched her strip and touch herself while his favorite song of all time played, Liam thought his heart might burst from his chest. He wasn't over her. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get over her.

Now, she was making it impossible for him to move forward and find happiness with anyone else, because he either had to give up Jenna or give up the Stones.

What kind of choice was that?

The video escalated and so did his heart rate when she waved her vibrator at the screen, the one she would tease him about when they'd been apart for a while. This was the first time he'd ever seen her use it, but he'd never forget it, even if he only watched the video once.

Now, every time he heard
Beast of Burden
– and it was such a popular Stones song, he heard it often, even if he wasn't playing it on his iPhone – he would remember this. He'd think of Jenna and what he was watching her do. Like Pavlov's dog, he'd find his dick hard as steel, aroused from just images in his head.

She'd accomplished her goal.

He didn't know if he loved her or hated her for it.

**********

Later in the week, he was with the Deacons at Rob's house on a glorious, late-summer day in Minnesota, one last true vestige of warmth before the cool temperatures set in and fall swept away all traces of the season of fun. Rob had set his iPod to shuffle and the outdoor speakers blared a funky mix of everything from 50's, 60's and 70's rock, contemporary R&B, Frank Sinatra and even disco.

Liam hoped that with Rob's huge collection, he might avoid hearing
Beast of Burden
, but he had no such luck. At least he was in the water at the time.

The situation got worse when Rick started singing to Kelly nearby and she giggled, wrapping herself around him. His boss' wife's resemblance to Jenna was too much for his heart to take, and Liam couldn't handle any more. He dove underwater and surfaced twenty feet away, then swam, hard, toward the dock farther out.

When he pulled himself onto the dock, he heard Rob yell, “Liam, what are you doing?”

He turned, facing away from the house and waved his arm to beg Rob off. It didn't work. Seconds later, he heard a splash in the water and he knew Rob was swimming to where he sat. At least one of the women wasn't asking what was wrong with him.

Rob pulled himself onto the dock then sat beside Liam. He said, quietly, “What's going on with you? You've been weird all week. Are you missing Nina, or is it something else? Are you thinking about that video of Jenna again?”

Liam huffed a laugh. “No. She made another one.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Did she? Where did you find it?”

“On my laptop. Remember, she stayed at my place last fall?”

“Was it like the other one?”

“Worse. Or better. I'm not sure which yet.”

“How so?”

Liam inhaled. “This time, she included her vibrator.”

“She has a vibrator?”

Liam shook his head and laughed. “Yeah. Last time, she used some 80's song for the music on the video. This time, she picked something I'd know a little better.”

“Which was...?”

“The song that just played on your iPod.”

“No way.”

“Yeah.”

“That's your favorite Stones song!”

“No shit. And she knows that.”

“She did it on purpose. She wanted you to think of her every time you heard that song.”

“She wanted me to think of
that video
every time I heard that song. I haven't decided if I love her or hate her for it.”

“When did you find the video?”

“Friday.”

“No wonder you've been off the whole week. Em said she thought you were missing Nina.”

“I was the whole way here. Then I stepped into my condo and...I don't know, Rob. I'm trying
so hard
to get over her. I really like Nina, and the sex had gotten even better the week before we left. But I just...can't stop thinking about Jenna. It was difficult enough before I saw those videos.”