Page 49 of Worth the Risk

“It’s okay.” She lifts her head slightly from my chest, tilting her chin up to look me in the eyes. “I think I appreciate it even more now. When I see other families who have it. One day it’ll be my turn and it will be so special.” My heart squeezes in my chest. I vow to myself to make that a reality for her. Even if it’s not with me, she deserves that kind of happily ever after.

“C’mon. Let’s go get cleaned up.” I take Emilia’s hand, curling my fingers around hers, giving it a light squeeze. Her hand feels so right in mine and I’m taking her not pulling away from me as another small victory. Hand in hand Emilia and I head back to my room.

When we enter the room I turn on the lights of the small Christmas tree and flick on the mounted tv to a yule log that plays instrumental Christmas music in the background. Creating the perfect cozy space I know Emilia’s so fond of.

“Umm...” Emilia clears her throat, looking around the space.

“Am I sleeping in here with you?” I try to discern the look in her eyes but can’t quite make out what’s hiding behind those baby blues.

“That’s up to you.” I walk over to her, taking her hands in my own. I could do it right now, lay my heart out to her but I don’t want her to fall away from me, now that I feel so close to having her.

“Yeah,” the word comes out on a whisper, her eyes on the floor. “I think I’d like to stay here with you.” Her eyes flick up to mine and behind them I can finally see the look I’ve been dying to see, desire. This is her being bold, taking a risk, and now it’s my turn to do the same. I reach up tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, leaving my hand there I cup her cheek in my palm. She sucks in a deep breath like she doesn’t know which way this is going to go and fuck I hate that. I need her to know I’m sure of her.

“Emilia,” I keep my eyes locked on hers. “I like you, a lot.” She finally exhales the breath she’s been holding in and then a smile graces her lips.

“Liam, I like you too. A lot.” Now it’s me who's letting out a breath.

“The smartest and dumbest thing I ever did was saying we should be friends. I hate myself for making you think you were in the friend-zone but I also love how it’s given us time to get to know each other. I just wish I would’ve been braver, sooner. It felt like such a risk but I want-”

“Liam.” Emilia cuts off my sentence, stopping my rambling.

“Please kiss me now.”

Who am I to deny her? I move, pressing my lips to hers sweetly at first as we explore each other but it quickly becomes more passionate. I move my hands down under her thighs, picking her up without breaking the kiss, she instinctively wraps her legs around my waist. There’s a sweet little moan on her lips that has me moving us over to the bed, gently setting her back to the soft surface I cover her body with mine.

Chapter 33

Emilia

Warmth was the first thing I felt as my eyes fluttered open, the second was something hard against my back which had me tensing up.

“Shh. It’s okay, it’s just me.” The arm around my waist tightens.

When I hear Liam’s voice, slightly huskier than usual, the night before plays pictures in my mind. I twist under the sheets, turning to face him. Sun rays from behind the curtains cascade into the room, letting me know it’s way later than I would usually wake up. The light coming in hits Liam's eyes just right and I can see all the different swirls of green that make up his beautiful orbs. I can’t help the smile that plays on my lips as I soak in the man next to me.

“Did you sleep okay?” Liam's hand moves to my face, tucking a fallen strand of hair behind my ear.

“The best I have in a while actually.” Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I slept through the night like that. Usually I wake up at least once, anxiety about life or school getting to me but with him it all seems to fade away.

“Me too.” We lay like this, staring into each other’s eyes for a few minutes. It feels so surreal being here with him. My stomach lets out a small rumble, begging for some nutrients, which causes us both to laugh.

Liam pulls his phone out and I see the time is just after eleven in the morning. I guess the emotions of the day mixed with the events of last night really wore me out. “I’m going to make you breakfast. Meet me downstairs in a few minutes.” Liam presses a soft kiss to my lips before slipping out of bed and pulling on his sweatpants.

∞∞∞

Liam

I head down to the kitchen ready to make Emi a nice brunch when I spot my mom sitting at the island. I stop giving her a kiss on the cheek. Then continue on heading to the cabinet and pulling out a gingerbread mug to start on a hot chocolate for Emi. I grab a snowman for myself and then grab the hot cocoa powder off the counter.

“Someone’s in a good mood this morning.” My mom chimes from her seat, that’s when I notice I’ve been humming to myself since I got down here.

“It’s Christmas Eve and I’m home with my family. Of course I’m in a good mood.” I move around the kitchen pulling out our favorite pancake mix and the ingredients I need to add to it.

“Mhmm.” She sips her coffee. “And it has nothing to do with the cute girl in your room?”

I cringe slightly. My mom had no problem with Emilia here, in fact she was excited for her to come but I never really checked to see if she would have a problem with her staying in my room. Yes, I’m technically an adult but it’s still her and Dean’s house.

“Umm.. We didn’t like share…”

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