Page 31 of Not Yet Yours

He is smiling at me in a way that melts my heart and whatever this surprise is, he seems to be so excited about it and I don’t want to ruin the moment. Will it really kill me to put the damned mask on? Like he said, it’s not like he’s going to lead me into something awful.

I sigh and hold my hand out for the mask. Liam grins excitedly and hands it over and I put it on.

“Ok,” he says. “One second.”

I hear the sound of a key turning in a lock, then a handle being pushed down, and a door opening. I feel Liam’s hand take mine.

“Walk forward,” Liam says.

I let him guide me and when he says stop, I follow his instruction. I have gotten to wherever it is he wants me in one piece it seems.

“Ok, on three, you can take the mask off,” Liam says. “Are you ready?” I nod and I have to admit I am kind of excited now although I still have absolutely no idea what my surprise is going to be. “One. Two. Three. Off.”

I pull the mask off my face and blink for a moment as my eyes are assaulted by bright light. When they have adjusted, I spin around and take in the room. It’s huge and it has white walls and a light wood floor. There are windows, so many windows and the place has amazing natural light. There is a shelving unit on one wall and benches line two of the other walls. A high stool sits beside one of them. It’s a studio and it would be absolutely perfect for me and suddenly I know why Liam has brought me here and I hate that I am going to have to disappoint him.

“You know what this place is right?” Liam says.

“A studio,” I say, nodding my head.

“Ok. But you don’t look happy or excited at all,” he says.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I really do appreciate you taking the time to do this for me, and I hate that I have to throw it back in your face, but I can’t afford the rent on a place like this Liam.”

“Ah well then it’s a good thing the rent is paid for the next year then, isn’t it?” Liam says and grins at me.

“For the…? What are you talking about? Oh God Liam you didn’t, did you?” I ask.

Liam smiles and nods.

“I did,” he confirms.

“But I can’t possibly accept this,” I say. “I think it’s so sweet that you’ve done this for me, but I can’t let you do it.”

Liam shrugs his shoulders.

“Well, it’s your call, but the rent is paid, and the money is non-refundable so either way it’s covered. Either you can useit, or it can sit here empty,” Liam says. “And that seems like a terrible waste to me.”

I know I should continue to refuse the gift. It’s too much. Far too much. But having a studio would make such a huge difference to my work and before I can talk myself out of it, I decide to accept it. I will regret it if I don’t.

“Thank you. Oh my God, seriously, thank you,” I say, throwing myself at Liam and hugging him.

He hugs me back laughing at my enthusiasm. When he releases me, I throw my arms out and spin in a circle, squealing in excitement. Liam watches me and he looks almost as happy as I feel. I just wish I could afford to pay him rent for the studio. Maybe one day, if my business takes off, I will be able to. Until then though, there is one thing I can do.

“If you do want any decorative pieces for any of your hotels, they will, of course, be on the house,” I say.

“No backsies,” Liam says quickly, and we both laugh again.

Chapter Eighteen

Harriet

It’s been a couple of days since Liam gave me the most amazing gift anyone has ever given me – a year’s access to a studio that I could only have dreamed of without him. I am still in shock whenever I think about it, but despite that, I have moved my work things in there and the bedroom I was using to work from at home is back to being a bedroom again.

I have a great setup now with everything I need to make my business work and I am feeling happy and positive about it. I have made a few sales through my website and perhaps more importantly, I have secured three pretty lucrative orders for bespoke pieces. The only thing that could make me happier than I’m now in relation to my business and its setup is if I had a desktop computer or another laptop so that I could have one at the studio and one at home although I know that until I’ve made enough money to justify spending the business’s money on such a thing, having to carry a laptop to and from the studio each day isn’t exactly a huge inconvenience. It’s a small price to pay to have my dream space available for me to work in whenever I want to.

With all the good things that are happening to me at the moment, really, I should have no problem sleeping, yet here I am, wide awake and tossing and turning at four o’clock in the morning. It’s not work-related issues that are keeping me awake though. It’s Liam-related issues.

I can’t keep lying to myself and telling myself that I don’t feel anything for him, that I just want to be friends with him and have red hot sex with him. Of course, I don’t want the red-hot sex to end, but I want more than a friendship with Liam, and the worst part about it all is that I’m almost certain he feels the same way about me too. This, us falling for each other, was the main thing I was afraid of happening when I agreed to be fuck buddies with Liam and now my worst nightmare is coming true, and I don’t know what to do to even slow it down, let alone stop it.

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