Page 73 of Had To Be You

My eyes wander shamelessly over every inch of him. I don’t think the burn in my chest will ever go away when I look at him. My God, this man knows exactly how to light a fire in me. It seems I spend far too much time waiting for it to smolder.

He stalks towards me, taking a seat on the end of my chair, reaching for a towel and rubbing it through his hair. Droplets of water drip slowly down his chest and I fight the urge to reach out and touch them. His eyes then roam shamelessly down my body and my black triangle string bikini. My core heats, knowing that I’m turning him on. Knowing that I’m the woman he can’t resist.

“So…” I say, tapping my pen against my bottom lip in thought. “Dated American Cocktail. Twelve letters. Begins with an O.”

Liam is straight-faced. “Old Fashioned, of course.”

“Bingo.” I snap my fingers and point at him. “You are my human thesaurus.”

He laughs, then lowers himself to the edge of my chair and reaches for my ankle, pulling it into his lap. He massages the arch of my sole in small circles with his thumb. I close my eyes. Liam knows exactly how to touch me. “And you are a crossword junkie. You eat and sleep word puzzles. You could live off of letters and boxes.”

“Guilty. How do you think I got so smart? I exercise this muscle daily,” I say, pointing to my temple. “While you exercise all those other muscles.” I smirk, waving my finger over his torso. He’s already done, I bet, a ten-hour workout, followed by a thirty-mile run and seventy-six laps across his pool.

His grin is wry. “You are the smartest. I don’t know anyone who holds a candle to you. You could crossword your way out of a burning building and that’s sexy as hell in my book. You’re a triple threat, Ells.”

“Triple threat?” I question him, because I’ve never really considered myself very good at anything. I tried ballet when I was a kid and learned that I had two left feet. My mom begged me to quit soccer after I spent an entire season cartwheeling over the field when I should have been running. And a singing class when I was fourteen only proved that my voice should be solely heard by the deaf.

“Smart, funny and gorgeous as hell. Triple threat.”

“That, Liam, will earn you a kiss. Come here, baby.” He leans in closer to me, his muscular arms pressing into the cushion of the chair on either side of me. The scent of his aftershave and the light eucalyptus of his shampoo flood my senses, intoxicating me. Sitting up, I take his cheek in my hand, brushing my thumb over the scruff that covers his jaw. I pull him in for a slow kiss, then pull back before we take the kiss any further because let’s face it, we have neighbors, and we’ve never been particularly good at restraint when it comes to one another.

“Biased boyfriend, but I’ll take it. By the way, this is the third time this week I’ve seen you in the pool. For a man who hates to relax, you’re doing a good job of looking footloose and fancy free.”

Liam rolls his eyes like I’ve insulted his manhood. I know what he’s thinking. Relaxing is reserved for those born with a missing work ethic chromosome. That’s definitely not Liam.

“You’re looking pretty relaxed yourself, princess. I think you like it here with me and Murphy. Admit it, you can’t resist us. Nor can you resist the good time we bring. You’re secretly bored out of your mind when you go back to your apartment.”

The cheeky bugger.

“Pull-ease, Liam. I’ve never needed anyone else to show me a good time. My middle name is full-time-fun-haver.”

Liam’s expression shifts suddenly from laid back and playful to pensive. His face turns serious and he shifts a little in his chair. “A good time would be you coming home to us instead of just coming over. Move in with me, Ells.”

His question takes me aback. I was not expecting it but can’t deny the burst of excitement that quickly spreads inside my chest. Isn’t it too soon? Wouldn’t we be rushing things? There must be an appropriate amount of days before it’s considered okay to make a big move like this.

I shoot him a quizzical look. “Liam, don’t you think we’re moving a little fast?”

“Hard no. What’s the point in waiting? You sleep here most nights anyways. Why pay rent on a place you use only a few hours a week?”

He has a point. Then again, Liam always thinks he has the upper hand. Persuasion is one of his strongest traits. He’s used to getting what he wants, when he wants it, but I won’t give in to him without a skirmish. What fun would that be?

“We’re not leaving here today, Ellie, until you see things my way.” His gray eyes have never looked at me so piercingly. My body tingles all over. Bossy Liam is my favorite. I continue, serving him back a quip, earning me a point in this battle of wills because let’s face it – I can never resist working him up. It’s what we do. It’s us.

“Always so bossy. You know you can be a big bully, right? I like my apartment and besides, it’s much closer to work. It would take me three days to bike to Bloom from here. And in heels, Liam? I believe you’ve seen me in my heels, right?”

He pretends to be annoyed, but I know he loves our banter. He scoffs. “Three days? My God, you and your drama. You really deserve to star in your own soap opera because you are a soap opera to deal with. It would take you ten minutes longer. Don’t dare ninety-eight percent me,” he says, referring to the nickname I earned in college, because allegedly, with air quotes, ninety-eight percent of what I say is to spice up my stories. Yeah, right!

“But I like my neighbors, and the coffee shop down the street,” I insist, riling him. Poking the bear, if you will. I swear I can see his temperature rising.

“But you like it here with me much more.” He runs his hand across my sun-drenched skin to my back and fiddles with the strings of my bikini. Reason number one why I like bossy Liam the best: he knows how to get my heart racing. His face is inches from mine. His mouth brushes over my jaw. My hand reaches for his bicep when he suddenly pulls back with a cocky smirk.

“Not happening until you give me an answer, Ells, and I’m going to need it to be a yes.”

“Liam…” my voice gives me away. It comes out feathery and wistful and I know he realizes he’s won this particular battle.

“Say it, Ellie.”

Of course, my answer is yes. It’s possibly the easiest question I’ve ever had to answer. So, I tell him enthusiastically, “Yes! Yes, Liam. I’ll move in with you.”

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