bed, gazing at each other.
“So you’re good?” she asks. “We’re good?”
“Yeah.”
“I got carried away. I blindsided you. I shouldn’t have said it.”
I rise on an elbow. “Are you saying you didn’t mean it?”
“I meant it. I mean it. But I shouldn’t have said it. It’s too soon.”
“There’s a timetable for this sort of thing?”
She snorts. “No.”
I brush her hair back. “I want you to always be honest with me.”
“The same goes for you.”
I roll her on her back and pin her to the bed. “I honestly want to give you two more orgasms.”
She shimmies beneath me.
“I want you to touch me everywhere, El.”
When I lean down to kiss her, I can feel her smile.
I pull away and stare into her eyes. “As long as we’re sharing, there is something I want to tell you. This. You. Us. It’s making me feel something I’ve never felt before.”
“What?”
I lean down so our lips almost touch. “Happy.”
Chapter Forty-four
Ella
Strolling down the sidewalk to meet Liam for lunch, I can’t help my smile. He said he’s happy. Hearing that delighted me more than hearing him say I love you would have. He’s happy. I didn’t scare him off. He spent the night. He met and exceeded the challenge.
Last night may have possibly been the best night of my entire life.
I’m approaching IRL when I see the one person I didn’t want to run into. She gets a sour look on her face and stomps over. “You’re here for Liam, I presume.”
“Hi, Ronni. We’re meeting for lunch.”
She looks me over. I dressed for the occasion, but you’d think she was staring at a pauper. “You’re doing more harm than good, you know.”
For a second, I think she’s talking about Liam’s past. But then I realize there is no way he would have told someone like Ronni about it. “I don’t think Liam sees it that way.”
“You being around him all the time ruins their image, especially given the unfortunate circumstance of you both having the same last name.”
“We could be brother and sister,” I say with a smirk.
“Are you trying to make a joke? Because this isn’t a joking matter. This is business.”
“You say you’re worried about their image, but what you mean is you don’t want Liam having a girlfriend.”
She laughs cattily. “Girlfriend? You think you’re his girlfriend? Liam doesn’t have those. He hops from woman to woman, taking what he wants and leaving them in his wake.”
“Sounds like you’re jealous.”
She’s surprised. “Why would you say such a thing?”
“He told me he hooked up with you a few times.”
“You think that makes me jealous of you? Think again, honey. Believe me, if I wanted him, I’d have him.”
“Wow. You really think a lot of yourself, don’t you? Now if you’ll excuse me.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Inside, to meet my boyfriend.”
Her jaw drops. It’s exactly the reaction I was going for. “They’re in rehearsal. You’ll have to wait out here.”
“Seriously?”
“What is it about me having the upper hand that you don’t understand?”
The door opens and Garrett appears. “Hi, Ella. You here to see Liam?”
“Yes, but Ronni doesn’t want to let me pass.”
“Fuck off, Ronni.” Garrett takes me inside, closing the door on her. “Sorry about her. She likes to think she can control everything we do. I was using the bathroom and saw you two talking. Figured you might need rescuing.”
“Thank you. She’s a real piece of work.”
Garrett opens the door to the studio, and I’m bombarded with music. I’m amazed at how soundproof the studio is. Liam’s back is turned to me, and he’s playing guitar. Even in rehearsal, he’s giving it everything he has. His head bobs up and down, and his back tenses, punctuating the high notes. My insides melt. Watching him is like foreplay for me.
He stops playing. “I want to go again. The last part wasn’t quite right. It needs something.”
Crew gestures, and Liam turns. He smiles when he sees me. My heart flutters. Happy.
“Give me ten minutes,” he says. “I need to nail this down.”
“Sure.”
I sit on a stool in the corner. The others stand around and listen. He gazes at me while he plays. I recognize the tune. It’s the one he wrote for Garrett’s lyrics. It’s even better than when he played it for me last week.
He finishes and waits for a reaction. “Fucking yeah,” Garrett says, twirling a drumstick.
“Perfect,” Crew says. “Do it again, exactly the same way. Brad, let’s add you this time.”
Bria comes over to me. “He’s been working on this all morning. I