“Really? You’re not even the littlest bit nervous about me moving in?”
“I’ve been waiting for you and me to live in the same place ever since the first time I had to say goodbye.”
I was a happy person by nature, but I didn’t think anyone could inspire the number of smiles that Liam did when he spoke like that. I snuggled even deeper into his chest.
“How are things going with Vince?”
“Seth has been going out to San Diego to check in on him.” Liam shrugged. “He’s doing ... okay, I guess. Seth says he wasn’t drinking to excess, but I don’t have much more than that. We will never be friends like we were growing up, but that doesn’t mean I stopped caring about him.”
“I’m glad Seth has gone out to see him.” My own feelings about Vince were complicated. I had only known one side to him—I wasn’t privy to what the rest of them were. But I knew how he treated Liam, and I knew he hadn’t apologized.
“I think he’ll eventually figure things out. But he’s a proud man. He doesn’t like to admit when he’s wrong, and he hates to apologize. I’ve always known that about him, but I guess it never really affected me.”
“I don’t like to admit when I’m wrong either. But I also can’t imagine saying the things he said.”
“Don’t dwell on it. It’s okay, Tori.”
“It’s not okay. You lost two friends in one week.”
“Tori,” Liam said gently. “I don’t focus on what I’ve lost; I can’t change that. And when I’ve gained so much...” he jostled me on his lap, “I really can’t complain. I appreciate that you want to be a mama bear for me, but this is not a fight I want you to take. Just trust me when I say I’m okay.” He kissed my forehead. “Right now, I’m better than okay.”
I sighed. “Fine.” Liam pulled a blanket up and over my lap as I gazed at him. It was such a great face, and such an incredible man beneath it. “You know what, Liam?”
“What?”
“I really wish I hadn’t promised not to defile this couch.”
He laughed.
I must have fallen asleep in his arms because sometime later, I felt my body shift as he whispered at my ear, “Ready to go to bed?”
“I wish we were going to bed together,” I mumbled.
“We’ll be able to soon enough.” He kissed the top of my head and took me by the hand down the hallway. When we reached my mom’s door, he stopped me in the hall and spun me to face him. His hands slipped behind my neck, holding me firmly while I kissed him. “I love you, Tori,” he whispered against my lips. It amazed me that he loved me the way he did, as if my flaws were qualities and not things I needed to change. I knew I was hard to understand, but he didn’t try to understand me—he accepted me, as if I was a language he was already fluent in. He didn’t need to learn to love me, he just did. I hadn’t been avoiding committed relationships my whole life, I’d simply been waiting for this—for him. Because it turned out commitment wasn’t a prison when the person who loved you let you be free, too.
Over and over he kissed me and when he finally let go, my heart beat as if I had just finished a ten-mile sprint. This was my person. This was my home.
I cradled his face in mine, intent on holding onto him forever, when the littlest flash on my left hand caught my attention.
Slowly, my hands fell from his face as I stared at the third finger on my left hand. Nestled above my familiar, simple wedding band was a ring that sparkled, even in the dark.
“What the fuck?” I whispered in shock.
Liam laughed, and it was then that I noticed he had gotten down to one knee.
Shock prevented me from saying anything else.
“Tori. Will you do me the honor of marrying you for real this time?”
I had one word. “Yes,” I said, remembering how profound one-word answers could be. “Easiest answer of my life.”
One Little Dare is the third book in a series of standalones, each featuring a different character from the same group of friends. Hollis’s book, One Little Lie and Navy’s book, One Big Mistake are now available.
The next novel will feature another character readers have already met.