I’ve been thinking about what you said last night. You were right. I thought I could handle everything with no one getting hurt. But I fucked it up, I fell in love. You were also right when you said Chiara was strong. She should have no problem moving on to someone amazing, and I pray he makes her happy. With any luck, six months in the desert will help me move on too. Or at least teach me how to let her go.
Liam
“That dumbass,” Parker barked out. Well, Astrid had thought it was beautiful at least. “I swear, I love that guy, but sometimes he has his head so fucking far up his ass, he’s looking out of his mouth.” Stomping out of the living room, he returned shortly with his phone to Astrid’s giggles. “What?”
“Do you kiss your wife with that mouth?” she asked.
“That and more,” he said, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smirk. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against hers. Even after eight years and two sons, she could still feel the goose bumps raise on her arms when he kissed her.
“You know, we could blow this off for a while. The kids are gone, and the bed is just in the other room,” he added, motioning with his head toward the bedroom.
“Parker. Call your brother,” she said sternly. He rolled his eyes but finally acquiesced to her “mom voice,” as he referred to it. Just in time too, since she had a hard time not jumping him when he turned those lust-filled deep green eyes on her.
What was with these Donnelly men and their inability to get their personal lives figured out? It had taken Parker an entire summer to finally give in to the infatuation he had had for her for an entire year.
Ronan had stared at Aubrey for two semesters of high school before getting up his nerve to ask her out. Now, instead of spending the morning trying to work out a plan for his and Chiara’s mutual attraction going forward, Liam had decided the best plan for everyone was to skip town.
“Voice mail,” Parker mumbled before leaving a message. “Yeah, you’d better call me back, or I swear I will fly down there and…”
“Parker!” Astrid yelled at him. With a growl, he angrily punched at his phone before holding it back up to his ear.
“Hey Ro, have you heard from your idiot brother?” he asked. “Yeah, he’s taken off. I’m sure he’s headed back home to lick his wounds.”
Astrid stood up and crossed into the kitchen to pour them each a fresh cup of coffee. After adding a generous amount of cream to hers, she returned to find Parker sitting on the couch.
“I know, but I can tell him from firsthand experience, if you try to deny your feelings, you might just miss the best thing that ever happened to you.” He pulled Astrid onto his lap. Throwing his arm around her shoulders, he kissed her gently on the temple. “Okay, let me know.”
“So, am I the best thing that ever happened to you?” Astrid asked when he ended his call with Ronan. Setting his coffee back down on the end table, he swung her over to straddle his lap.
“You know you are,” he answered with one of his panty-melting smiles. She had to admit they still made her want to ride him with reckless abandon. “Now, let me show you this bed I spoke of earlier,” he said, standing up, still holding her to him.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked toward the bedroom. Reckless abandon, here she came. And she didn’t even have to be quiet this time.
Two hours later, Astrid was pulling up outside of Chiara’s apartment with a heavy heart. Based on what she had noticed last night, Liam wasn’t the only one deeply affected by this supposed casual relationship. Chiara had looked at Liam the same way Astrid had looked at Parker so many years ago and still did.
If only she had been quick enough on the uptake, she could have warned them both they were playing with fire. Well, it was too late now. The only thing left was to pick up the pieces. Fortunately, she recognized Karlie and Sam’s cars in the parking lot, so she wouldn’t be facing the impending fallout on her own.
“How is he?” a surprisingly calm Chiara greeted her when she opened the door. “I’m so pissed at Max right now,” she added, motioning for Astrid to come inside. “You know this isn’t a funeral, right? Unless it’s my brother’s.”
Astrid laughed, noticing the two boxes of pastries sitting on the small dining table. Adding the one in her hands to it, she grabbed out a cinnamon twist before sitting down.
“I was going over to apologize for everything, but Liam isn’t answering his phone. Is he still sleeping?” Chiara continued.
“So about that,” Astrid said, cringing. “Umm, Liam left out early this morning.” She looked with pleading eyes at both Sam and Karlie.
“Why would he do that? He has to still be in agony. Can he not get the Army to extend his leave?” Karlie asked. “Max was planning to go over there around lunch to talk to him. He feels horrible about what he did. Not repentant, but horrible. I think after everything with Br— I mean the douchebag, he just lost his shit.”
“But why would Liam leave?” Chiara asked no one in particular.
“Think about it, it makes perfect sense,” Sam piped up. “This is Liam we’re talking about.”
“What do you mean?” Astrid asked, genuinely curious about hearing Sam’s theory.
“Didn’t Liam have a crush on Aubrey first?”
“According to Parker, he asked her out for months until Ronan noticed her one day at the lockers,” Astrid answered. “After that, he was always telling her what an amazing guy Ro was. By the time Ro asked her out, she was already sold on him because of Liam.”
“Right, then he pulled back so they could be together. And remember, he was your biggest champion the summer you started working for Parker,” Sam added excitedly, her theory starting to become fully formed. “Parker said they even got into a fistfight over something stupid he did. Liam thought Parker had chased you off.”
