Page 33 of Had To Be You

“Put your phone away, Ellie. I’m not letting you take an Uber,” Liam states. It’s a command, not a question and it’s sexy as hell. My mouth goes dry. Maybe I owe Olivia a thank you after all. No, I definitely do. I’ll do one better and send her a gift package from Sephora.

Stuffing my phone back in my purse, I reach for my wallet. “Thank you. I need to pay the bill and then we can go.”

Liam clears his throat. “It’s been paid.”

“What do you mean it’s been paid?” Olivia asks him, leaning across the table.

“It means exactly that. Parker wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if he knew I was dining in the same restaurant as you four and I didn’t pay your bill.”

Olivia looks at me. I can see the devilish smirk on her face rise to the surface. She’s thinking what I’m thinking - this man is too good to be true.

We all thank him, then grab our things and head outside to say our goodbyes.

Sitting in Liam’s car a few minutes later, I steal a glance in his direction as he cranks the engine and shifts gears into traffic. He cracks a sly smile when he catches my gaze on him.

“They know, I assume?”

“It was that obvious?”

“Couldn’t have been more. Between Olivia offering you up to me like a party favor and your face turning the shade of a firetruck - I wish my opposing council had tells as obvious as the four of you do.”

I cover my face with my hands. “That bad, huh?”

Liam just shakes his head with a laugh.

“What are the chances we ran into each other tonight? We seem to be doing that a lot lately,” Liam notes coyly, stopped at a red light.

“It must be pure coincidence,” I answer. “Definitely not anything more than that.”

“Definitely not the universe working in mysterious ways. Not possible. Couldn’t be.”

“Most definitely not a sign. No way. No how,” I say playfully.

He meets my eyes again seconds before the light turns green.

“I want you to know my intentions right now, Ellie. I’m going to take you back to my house and have you tonight. I’m going to make you feel so good.”

I try to hide my grin. “Please, Liam, drive faster.”

Chapter Fourteen

Ellie

Taking a deep breath, I follow Liam into Club Eden off First Street, his hand pressed firmly against the arch of my back. He called me this afternoon and asked if he could pick me up and drive me to the club. To say I’m a little nervous about arriving together - our first public appearance - would be a bold-faced lie. I’m a boatload of nervous.

I’m still unsure of what we are - if anything. We haven’t had “the talk.” We seem to be too busy doing other things. Much more fun things, therefor I’m not complaining.

Liam leads me past the dance floor and the large bar in the center of the space. There’s top 40 music playing through the sound system and deep purple velvet booths beckoning patrons to lounge with a drink. The dance floor isn’t large, and the music not too loud, making it an ideal spot to talk to people and have a good time.

Wading our way through the crowd to the back of the nightclub, we scan the room for our friends and find them gathered around a private table on plush couches and chairs. Parker spots us first, flashing us his usual megawatt smile. That’s what I love most about the man who is about to marry my best friend. He’s always happy and in the moment, always ready for a good time. That, and the fact that he makes my best friend stupidly happy.

“Hey, you two,” he says, clapping Liam on the shoulder and pulling me in for a hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” I say, just as Olivia makes her way over to us, looking gorgeous as always. She hugs us both, then links her arm through Parker’s.

“We know Ellie’s ready for a good night. We can always count on that. How’s this guy?” Parker asks. He’s referring to Liam, but the question is directed at me. I’m not sure how to answer that because it feels like a couple-y kind of question, so I go with what I know best. Light-hearted humor.

“This guy is dealing with it. With any luck, I think he just might survive it.”

---