Page 12 of Vitamin Sea
Past
Chapter 4: A Sinking Feeling
There’s nothing I’d rather be doing this evening,” a playful smile crossed Liam’s face. “Except for you.” He pushed himself up off the comfy nest they had created on the couch and pinned her wrists to the cushion.
“No!” Chloe giggled and made a futile attempt to wiggle out of his grasp.
Selling Sunset—the only reality show she had managed to rope Liam into watching—blasted in the background.
“Yes!” Liam’s grin widened.
Chloe laughed and gave up trying to wriggle free.
“At least push the table out!” she said with a squeak.
He momentarily released one of her wrists and grabbed for the remote, pressing the mute button before dropping it onto the coffee table and pushing it away.
Chloe hadn’t tried to move from her position underneath him while she had the chance to. She was enjoying this far too much. Besides—she didn’t want to get away from her boyfriend.
“Now,” Liam said, turning his attention back to her and putting his hand around her other wrist once again. “Where was I?”
Chloe gasped as he leaned down and planted several kisses along her neckline.
A jolt went through her as she was pulled out of her reverie and found herself alone, on the couch, with takeout for one on a Friday night. It was hard to imagine that things between her and Liam could be so different just a few months later.
Things between them had always been so easy. It had caught even her by surprise with how quickly the two of them had fallen into step together. There were no awkward stages; none of the back-and-forth game-playing or let’s-just-casually-date-and-see-where-it-goes type of thing that seemed to be de rigueur these days. Neither of them had been looking for a partner when they met, but they had both also recognized a good thing when they saw it.
Of course, Chloe had had some initial reservations. Bankers weren’t typically known for honesty or, for that matter, monogamy. So, while she had gone into the first few months of dating Liam as hopeful, she had also not allowed herself to fall into any fantasies. She had been down that road before and knew that nothing good could come from it. She wasn’t pessimistic per se, just cautiously optimistic. Due to her previous forays into dating, she had been entirely prepared for Liam to turn out to be one of those men who came in hot and heavy initially but then turned into a ghost when he finally had her hooked.
It was a happy surprise, therefore, for her to discover that Liam was not of that sort. He was everything she had ever wanted in a man without knowing it. He was supportive, smart, and cared about his family; he helped with the cooking, was generous and thoughtful—often sending her flowers or bringing her a new bauble—and he loved Chloe unconditionally.
Even with all her faults. Of which, she was convinced, there were many.
She could be a bit neurotic, which had caused grief in previous relationships, but Liam didn’t seem to mind—and, miraculously, it hadn’t become an issue between them after the six-month mark. She supposed that, aside from working on the issue herself, Liam’s consistency had helped in spades.
And while Liam wasn’t perfect, he was perfect for Chloe. He snored—like a freight train—but it hadn’t turned into her wanting to smother him in the middle of the night.
It was funny how things like that happened. In the first six months of dating, your partner’s quirks and quarks are endearing. After that, the little things that would previously bring a smile to your face could easily induce rage.
While Liam’s snoring, which used to make her smile, still woke her up in the middle of the night, she didn’t find it annoying like she knew had happened to some of her friends. They were many,manyyears past the typical honeymoon period at this point, but they still retained some of that initial spark. They hadn’t turned into roommates or people who lived together because of financial or familial commitments. They truly loved one another.
She accepted the long hours he spent at the office and had known when they first got together that it was part of the deal. It had never bothered her before because she knew that it was what came with dating Liam. Over the past few months, however, she had noticed that he had been spending less and less time at home. Not only that, but during the time they did spend together, Liam seemed distracted.
Something about it was niggling her.
That had never happened before, and she weighed the pros and cons of saying something before discussing it with her best friends.
All of them agreed that it was something she should talk to him about, and she did so, cautiously, when he came home late one Tuesday night.
It was just after 10 p.m., and the leftovers from the dinner she had made were sitting stone-cold in the fridge.
Liam had listened and immediately reassured her. He was working on a new project, he said. A deal that they were trying to close. He apologized for the negative impact it was having on their relationship, but he promised that when it was done, they would take a vacation together.
With that, Chloe had been placated.
After all, she knew what Liam did for a living. And he was ambitious—always vying for a promotion and higher pay. There had also been periods in the past where he worked until around 10 p.m. practicallyeverynight for a month straight. So, she took his reassurance at face value and kept herself from feeling sad by checking out different places they could vacation together when his deal was done.
Which was something that really did keep her occupied. As someone whose job involved staying at some of the top-rated hotels and resorts around the world, she had a lot of options to choose from.
