in porch outside. There, in the corner on a cat tower that rivaled any cat tower I had ever seen was a giant, fluffy furball of a cat.
“Hey, George,” Liam crooned, running his hand over George’s head. George stretched tall and pushed her head eagerly into Liam’s hands.
I dragged my hand over her head and down her back. “Oh, she’s so soft.”
“She needs to get brushed often or else her fur mats.” George climbed onto Liam’s shoulders and butted her head against his. “I know,” he told her. “I’m here.”
Ugh. My heart pinched. The cat looked so small in his arms, but he held her like she was fine china.
“Want to hold her?” He extended her to me.
Given her size, I expected her to weigh a solid twenty pounds. But she was light as a feather and she climbed right up onto my shoulder, resting her chin there like she had always done this.
“Do we have to go four-wheeling?” I joked, rocking side to side while George nuzzled my neck. Her purrs tickled and I knew I could be content spending the rest of the day snuggling her just like this. “I just want to curl up in your bed and cuddle her.”
He laughed and tucked his hands in his pockets. “Without a doubt, I would prefer that. Especially the part about you being curled up in my bed.”
I leaned into him, feeling—for the first time in a long time—absolutely content. Everything with Liam was so effortless, so natural. Like we had always existed in one another’s orbits—not like we were strangers just a week ago.
His arms came around me and we stood on the deck, just rocking back and forth.
So many exes of mine had made me feel like I was too much. I teased their friends too much. I had too much of a shady past—not even knowing the truth of it like Liam did. I was too flirtatious. I had too many wild moments. I was too loud; an embarrassment. But not once had Liam made me feel like I was too much of anything. He laughed when I told him about my past shenanigans. He listened when I spoke my mind. He told me I was right. He challenged me. He invited me into his life, introduced me to his friends, and brought me into his home. And not once had I been made to feel like I was not enough.
If anything, it terrified me how well we worked together. It hadn’t yet been a week since we met, and I felt closer to him than any guy I’d ever dated. Maybe because he made it so easy for me to be myself, so easy that I didn’t second guess myself. He wasn’t like James, who insinuated I was a slut, an irresponsible adult, any number of negative things. He wasn’t like my dad, who treated me as if I was still his fragile little girl. He wasn’t like most of my friends, who pegged me as unserious and crazy and uncontrolled. Liam knew my darkest shame and embraced who I was, where I was. I couldn’t say that for anyone else in my life.
That realization rocked me to my core, sending a hot flash of recognition through me. What the fuck was this? Had I really and truly caught feelings for my fake husband? I looked down at my hand on his chest, the silver band glittering defiantly at me, like it knew all along.
Well, this wouldn’t do. I was the breaker of hearts, not the one clutching its shattered pieces. I’d been there before and had no desire to return to that place. Blindsided by this unnamed emotion, I gave Liam what I hoped was a steady smile. “We should probably get going.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, taking George from my arms.
“Yeah,” I told him, realizing just how untrue that answer was. Thank God we weren’t playing truth or dare. “Totally.”
Liam unloaded the two side-by-sides out in the middle of nowhere, among miles and miles of sand dunes. Well, to me it was the middle of the nowhere. But Chad, Naomi, Seth, Nicole, and Vince had all found it just fine.
“I call driving,” Vince said, hopping into one the minute it was detached.
Chad and Liam exchanged a look and Chad nodded. “Naomi and I will ride with Vince. You guys can take the other one.”
Thankful, I turned to Liam with a wide grin. “Who’s driving?”