Page 12 of The Wedding Engagement

Liv nodded her agreement.

Elise closed her notebook, glancing at Nico. “Text me with the answer about the cottage, and I’ll sort something if we can’t get it.”

Nico shook his head, frowning. “I’ll text you with the outcome. But if it falls through,I’llsort something.”

Leaning back in her seat and folding her arms, Elise eyed him. “Don’t trust me to find somewhere to your liking?”

“I do,” he said, holding her gaze. “But you’ve got enough on your plate. So I’ll sort it.”

Elise seemed taken aback for a moment. Then she nodded. “Great.”

Arran gave Liv a nudge as the others began talking among themselves. “We should meet up soon and get the activities sorted.” He gave her another one of those sexy winks, causing a delicious shiver to lick up her spine.

“Yeah, let’s do it. I’ve got a few ideas already about the activities.”

“Same.” He nudged her arm. “We’ll compare notes. See who comes out on top.”

Her cheeks burned at the thought of either of them being atop the other, so she moved her gaze away from his sparkling honey eyes.Planning a wedding-related activity with the guy I’ve been crushing on for years. What could go wrong?

Chapter

Four

Liv placed the plate ofcookies she’d not long ago taken from the oven on the center of the kitchen table, inhaling their warm, scrummy scent. Eyeing the cookies, she tried to keep her hands, and mouth, off them. A glance at the clock confirmed that Arran should be there soon, eliciting a burst of butterflies in her tummy. She’d purposely made his favorite cookies for their weekend-away planning date. Not that it was a date, of course; their last and only one of those had not gone well at all.

Over the last couple of days, the thought of her brother’s wedding and the gathering of family had unexpectedly brought unwelcome memories to the fore, of the day that their dad had fucked off to Jersey with another woman. That event had come after his lying to their mum about his cheating for ages. In the end, all Liv had felt was relief to have him gone. But she’d been devastated for her mum. And for Sam, who’d always had more of a relationship with their dad—if you could call what was between them a relationship. It was more that Dave held Sam in higher esteem, being the son. Like he was some sort of trophy, with Liv as the third—unwanted—wheel.

The doorbell rang, cutting into her dark thoughts, and Livshook her head in an effort to banish them. She headed to open the door, her pulse picking up at the sight of Arran in his soft, tan leather jacket. The color complemented the smooth, coppery tone of his sepia brown skin. He smiled, leaning in to perform their signature shake as he came into the house. “Hey, karate kid.” The smell of leather combined with his sweet and spicy natural scent drove her heart rate up another notch.

“Have you been baking?” he asked, his eyes widening. “It smells awesome.”

Liv raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to follow her to the kitchen. “I have indeed.”

Arran pulled off his jacket and Liv dragged her eyes from the flex of his arms. She lifted the teapot, raising her gaze to meet his. “Tea?”

“Yes, please,” he said, taking a seat and pushing two of the cups over for her. He took the milk jug and poured the perfect splash into hers.Just the way I like it.A fuzzy feeling warmed her chest.

He glanced at the plate of cookies, running his tongue over his bottom lip. “Is it bad form to eat one before they’ve cooled?”

Liv dragged her eyes from his mouth to meet his eyes, trying to stop imagining how that tongue might feel onherlip. “Nah. I was thinking the same thing myself.”

“Excellent.” He rubbed his hands together and lifted two, passing her one of them. She pretended she couldn’t feel the zap of electricity when his fingers brushed hers.

Liv munched on her cookie, concentrating on the sugary goodness in order to banish illicit Arran-related images from her mind. “Any thoughts on what we were discussing the other day, about babysitting?”

He took a bite of his biscuit and licked his lips. Fucking hell. She couldn’t cope with all this lip licking. How come his performing such mundane activities was borderline pornographic to her? Nevermind Christian Grey and his whips and chains; give her Arran Adebayo and a plate of crumbly cookies any day.

He ran a hand over his hair. “I know it was your idea, but I feel like I guilted you into suggesting it. I shouldn’t have been moaning about getting these portraits done on time. It’s a big commitment for you, even in the short term.”

“It’s only one day a month. Anyway, I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t want to do it,” she said, pushing her glasses up her nose. “I love spending time with Jayce, and I’d be delighted to help you get your portraits done.”

When he met her gaze, the warm honey of his eyes penetrated deep into her chest. “I don’t want to take advantage. Especially when you’ll be looking after him every day at nursery school soon.”

Liv opened her mouth to reply, but he held his hand up to silence her, a puzzled look on his face. “Did you hear that?” he asked.

Liv paused, listening. “What?”

“That noise,” he said, frowning. “I think it was the sound of the lesser spotted haggis.”

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