her really. The expression on his face was too soft and sweet to trigger any panic.
“Breakfast?” Liam smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. “There’s a lot we still need to take care of.”
“There’s still a lot I need to take care of,” she corrected. Zoe pushed Liam off of her and went to get cleaned up in the bathroom.
“You don’t need to do everything alone,” he called after her.
Zoe grumbled as she went through her morning routine, annoyed that he would be so considerate this early in the morning. She didn’t need his help with all her personal shit. Zoe could do it herself. She’d been doing it herself for most of her life.
Yanking a washcloth from one of the drawers she let warm water run over it as she tried not to think about all those years she’d spent taking care of her sister while her dad worked two, sometimes three, jobs to save for their college and take care of them financially.
Ever since her mother had left, she’d done everything herself and she’d never needed any help.
She threw the washcloth at Liam, smirking when it smacked him in the face, and then went to finish brushing her teeth.
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” Liam told her, suddenly in the doorway.
Zoe jumped, glaring at him through the mirror. “You don’t make any noise except when you’re blabbering, do you?”
His grin was irritating. “You going to tell me why you don’t like help?”
“Feeling like this might work between us, doesn’t mean I want your help.” Zoe finished up and tried to breeze past him, but Liam took up the entire doorway and refused to move.
“That’s not what I asked.” He reached for her face and wiped something off, that sharp grin turning into one of the soft smiles she loved so much. “You missed some toothpaste.”
Answering him felt counterproductive when her prickly exterior never seemed to bother him. “Does it matter why?”
Liam tilted his head, inspecting her like he was trying to understand but that smile didn’t waver. “No, I suppose it doesn’t matter. So, just let me help then. Is there anything I can do?”
She sighed and tried to get by him again, but Liam still didn’t move. “I don’t know how to explain my absence to my boss yet, but I’ll figure it out.”
Somehow it looked like he became even more immovable when he leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms over his bare chest. Those tattoos were almost as distracting as his muscles.
“I suppose it depends on what you want to do. Would you like to talk about it over breakfast?”
“You’re annoyingly persistent and energetic in the morning.” Zoe glared up at him, hating that she had woken up so early on her own.
Liam grinned down at her. “I’ll move if you agree to talk to me.”
He was so exasperating, but Zoe kind of liked that about him. “Fine. Now let me by.”
He leaned down and kissed her before moving just like he’d promised. Zoe was dumbstruck for a moment. Liam was still the most easygoing person she’d ever known, but he was also stubborn as hell when he felt like it.
She glared at him over her shoulder and then went to his dresser.
It was strange, she didn’t usually want to wear any of her boyfriends’ clothes. Why did she like his so much? Before she could think too hard about it, she grabbed one of his shirts and a hoodie.
There were leggings in her backpack, but she didn’t have anything in this room. Dammit, she should have thought that through. Zoe grabbed a pair of his sweats too and stepped into them, rolling the top so the legs weren’t too long she’d trip over them.
“You look adorable, and you smell like me. I can’t get enough.” Liam wrapped his arms around her waist, and she stood there for a second, trying to understand.
“I smell like you?” She grabbed the hoodie and brought it to her nose, breathing it in. It did smell like him, but not in the way she was used to. It didn’t smell like cologne or soap really, but the hint of pine, cedarwood and lavender was still there along with something wild that felt impossible to describe. “What do I smell like?”
“Eucalyptus and mint – sharp and intense but refreshing.” Liam kissed the top of her head, and she realized then just how much he liked to touch her.
All the time.
But it wasn’t bothering