Page 99 of I Can't Even

“We’re not B-ing just E-ing,” Liam said. “I have a key, remember?”

“That diminishes the excitement.”

“Don’t worry, I think I can come up with other ways to excite you later.” He winked at me.

Oh, my!

We hurried across the street and made our way up the walkway to Courtney’s house. I saw big flouncy curtains in the window and my curiosity piqued. I couldn’t wait to see the inside of the busty one’s home.

Liam unlocked the front door and we entered. He paused beside a keypad and entered a code. The system beeped and he relaxed.

“She didn’t change the code,” Liam said. “Excellent.”

“You have a key, and you know the passcode to her alarm system,” I said. “I know it doesn’t matter now, except it totally matters to me, were you really going to ask her to marry you?”

“Truth?” he asked.

I nodded then I held my breath. I don’t know why but a small part of me would die inside if he had actually thought of proposing to Courtney, which was ridiculous, I know, because I had been gone for years and it wasn’t like I expected him to wait for me, but if humans were rational, there wouldn’t be wars or men proposing to women who had bigger tits than brains, just sayin’.

“No,” he said. “Even if you hadn’t appeared back in my life, Courtney wasn’t the one for me. We dated for a while, sure, but it was long distance, and we became more of each other’s plus one in social situations than an actual couple with a future, at least, on my end.”

At that, I hugged him hard. My man. I had a feeling Courtney didn’t see it quite so casually. She’d probably thought that by giving him a key and her code, it was like slipping a light leash on him. Liam wasn’t the sort to fall in with that plan. Phew!

“Let’s do this,” Liam said.

He hugged me close and kissed the ball cap on my head, which I found very sweet. He led me by the hand through the house toward the kitchen.

Surprisingly, other than the poofy floral drapes in the windows, the house was very plain. A few flowery prints hung on the wall, the furniture was very beige, and glass and brushed steel were the only accents. The floor was stone, the walls were shades of gray, overall, it was very meh.

“Start with the freezer?” Liam asked.

“Natch,” I said.

We entered the large space with the typical granite countertops, white cupboards with dark pulls, and stainless-steel appliances, so boring. The only thing the room really offered was a fabulous view of the ocean. Oh, yeah, I could get used to drinking my coffee and looking at that view every day.

Liam went right to the large refrigerator freezer and pulled open the left side. He rifled around a bit and then pulled out a shopping bag from Saks Fifth Avenue.

“Wild guess here, but I’m thinking she’s not keeping food in this,” Liam said.

He plopped it on the counter, and I went to peer inside but then stopped.

“What if it isn’t Babs?” I asked. “I feel a little bad invading her privacy like this.”

“Like she did when she stole your mother’s urn?” Liam asked.

“Good point.” I opened the top and peered inside. Babs’s sparkly urn glinted at me in the overhead light. I reached in and pulled out the mother of pearl inlaid container and hugged it to my chest. The amount of relief I felt was overwhelming. “Babs.”

Liam frowned. “This is so weird.”

“I know. I’m sorry my people are non compos mentis.”

He tucked a wild curl behind my ear and tipped my chin up to kiss me. It was swift and sweet but still made my toes curl.

“Don’t be sorry,” Liam said. “I wouldn’t have you any other way, which is good since we’re getting married and all.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

Before I had a chance to respond, which I couldn’t anyway because I was sure I’d swallowed my tongue, Liam hustled me out of the house. Standing on the stoop, he took an envelope out of his pocket and once he locked the door, he put the key in the envelope and shoved it back in the mail slot. Then he brushed his hands together as if this was dusted and done.

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