and you pushed right through, utterly professional.”
Caroline smiled. “Oh, wow, you really are sweet,” she teased him. “I was a disaster.”
They were grinning at each other, and Caroline felt like she was on the brink of laughing, or singing, or dancing.
“When you come back…” Liam started, as if that was a completely done deal.
Maybe it was. Caroline wasn’t sure she could imagine a life without this man at her side, whether she got the job or not.
“I can’t wait to introduce you to James,” she said. “He’s a good kid, and I think he’ll like you.”
All of us together, her red panda sighed.
“About that…sort of...”
“Ah, Mrs. Henderson. Are you ready to go?”
The lawyer, Mal Moore, had worse timing than Caroline did, she decided. “At your convenience, of course,” she said politely.
Either oblivious to anything occurring between Liam and Caroline, or choosing to ignore it, Mal nodded briskly. “Excellent.”
“Wait,” Liam said desperately, clinging to her hands. “Give us just a moment, please.”
Mal frowned and walked a little ways up the hill out of earshot, irritation in every line of his impeccable silk suit.
It was the kiss moment, Caroline thought, and she realized that her hands were trembling. She started to move into him, lifting her face to his, but he stopped her.
“There’s something I have to ask you,” he said reluctantly.
“Anything,” she told him.
Liam swallowed. “Do you like sex?”
The question was almost absurd.
Almost.
He must have read something about it through the mate bond that was already humming, so strong, between them.
“Yes,” she said promptly, and the wave of dismay from him was unmistakable. Did he think she was lying? Caroline was confused by the tangled emotions she was feeling, not sure what was him and what was her.
“Liam…” she started, reaching for him. “What is it?”
“I’ll make it work,” he said to her, taking her by the shoulders. “I will. I promise.”
“I don’t understand,” Caroline said, hopelessly lost.
He cupped her face in his hands...and still didn’t kiss her, only leaned his forehead against hers. “It’s going to take time to explain. Time I don’t have right now. Please, trust me. Come back to me.”
“Yes,” Caroline promised, baffled. “Of course.”
Then he walked away, determination in his stride.
Caroline watched him go, admiring his graceful lope even as it took him away from her, then turned numbly to where Mal was impatiently waiting. He had created the magic doorway by the time she got to him, and she was whisked through efficiently. It closed behind her and she was back in New York City. There were Christmas carols playing in the elevator as she descended from the office, and a notification about long-distance International roaming charges on her phone.
She was halfway back to the airport in another expensive taxi before she realized that she’d never gotten a definite answer about whether or not she’d gotten the job.
“Liam, you dog! I hear you met your mate today!”
Darla had clearly spared no time in letting Breck know the news. The waiter opened the door to his cottage and welcomed Liam in. “Can I get you a celebratory drink?”
I’m not a dog, Liam’s literal-minded dragon said haughtily.
Liam ignored the dragon, who was already sulking because their mate was so far away. Half a world, or a lifetime, according to his dramatic woe at the moment.
“I need your help,” Liam said to Breck.
“Believe me, you are in the right place for all forms of romantic assistance,” Breck said, grinning broadly. “Looking for the right poem? Fashion advice? Wine selection? Some people go with champagne, but a light blush works as well and actually tastes—”
“I need to know how to have sex,” Liam blurted.
Breck sobered, finally noticing how distraught Liam actually was. “And finding a mate…”
“Didn’t fix me,” Liam said in despair.
Breck frowned. “You aren’t broken,” he said defensively. “You never were.”
For all of Breck’s flamboyant, sometimes outrageous sexuality, he had never once made Liam feel like less of a man for his own preference towards nothing.
But it didn’t matter what his preference was. “She…she wants it. I have to.”
Breck looked as confused as Liam felt. “But she’s your mate. It shouldn’t be like that.”
“I asked,” Liam said. “I asked because I didn’t want to assume anything, and she likes it, and I could never forgive myself for not being what she needs.” He gritted his teeth. “So here I am. Teach me your ways.”
Breck’s expression was conflicted, and he hesitated.
“She’s my mate, Breck,” Liam pressed. “There is nothing that I want in this world more than to bring