“You keep it in a safe deposit box?” Garrett asks him. “Must be some pretty damning evidence.”
“It is.”
“Is this why you wanted to get out of his house?”
“Yeah.”
“Does this have anything to do with why he bought IRL?” Garrett is like a dog with a bone.
“It has everything to do with it. If he can’t control me, I’ll destroy him.”
“Then we need to get out from under him.”
“You got any bright ideas?”
“I don’t know. There has to be something. Isn’t he running for governor next year?”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Dude,” Garrett says. “This is fucked up.”
Liam glances at me. “You have no idea.”
~ ~ ~
Liam isn’t talkative at dinner. “Listen,” I say. “Maybe we shouldn’t have done this, considering what just happened.”
He sips his beer. “I know I’m shit company.”
“You have every right to be. You got robbed.”
“But I didn’t.”
“You know what I mean. What happened to you is scary, Liam. What if he comes after you some other time?”
“Let him. He’ll never find the flash drive.”
“What if he hurts you?”
“He won’t.”
“But you said he knows shady people.”
“He’s smart enough to know if he touches me, I’ll end him. I should have driven out to Stamford and confronted him.”
My heart falls, knowing that could put him in danger. “You were smart not to. You don’t know how far he’ll go. You should definitely cool off before you talk to him.”
“You don’t think I’ll be this mad tomorrow?”
“Maybe not. Please tell me you’ll be careful.”
“I won’t do anything stupid, so don’t worry. Can we not talk about this anymore? It’s really putting a damper on my appetite.”
“What do you want to talk about instead?”
“How are your illustrations coming along?”
“Good. I’m about to start on the third book.”
“Wow. You got through the second one fast.”
I shrug. “Didn’t have much else to do this week.”
He looks guilty.
I remember something. “You wanted to show me something at your apartment. What was it?”
“It wasn’t show as much as hear.”
I straighten. “You wrote another song?”
“Garrett wrote the lyrics and gave them to me Monday. I didn’t work on it until this morning.”
“Until this morning, huh?”
“Like that should surprise you, Mrs. Campbell. I did sleep next to you last night.”
Why is it every time he calls me Mrs. Campbell, tingles shoot through me? It’s pretty much my name, but when he says it—oh lordy.
“Garrett wrote the lyrics?”
“That’s what I said. But they’re good. I wanted to run the tune past you. See what you thought.”
“I’m sure it’s great. Everything you compose is perfect.”
“You’re biased.”
“I’m not. Liam, I thought your music was great even before this.”
This. Us. We. Boyfriend. Girlfriend. Couple. Exactly what are we? It’s the question that has plagued me for weeks.
“I’m glad you feel that way, but I still want you to hear it.”
“I can’t wait.”
A man at the next table kisses his companion. Liam sees it too. He looks at my hand like he wants to hold it. Like maybe he longs to be that couple.
“Has Corey contacted you?”
I take a drink, eyeing him over the rim of my glass. “Since you ran him off last night? No.”
“Good.”
I suppress a smile. “Are you jealous?”
“No.”
I glance around to make sure no one is listening. “Liam, do you want me?”
“That’s a stupid question.”
“But one I’d like you to answer.”
“Of course I do, but—”
“I’m tired of your buts. You want me, and I want you. So let’s go have each other.” I slip a shoe off and run my foot up his leg. His eyes widen in surprise. “What? You never said anything about my feet touching you.” I can’t reach the place I was aiming for, but I know he’s turned on. “Can we go back to my place and try?”
“Try what?”
“I don’t know. Something. Anything.”
He looks out the window for a few long seconds, then back at me. “I can’t make any promises.”
“I don’t expect any.”
He motions for the check and I smile.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Liam
Ella comes out of the bathroom wearing a T-shirt. I had a taste of her a week ago. It was the most vanilla experience I’ve had. In many ways, that made it the best.
She keeps the lights on and stands in front of me as I sit on the edge of the bed. She works her way between my legs. “You have too many clothes on.”
I smile up at her. “What are you going to do about it?”
She untucks my shirt and pulls it over my head. “Can I sit on you?”