“God. No. Shit.” The words tumble out of him and I have to bite back a laugh. Same Liam as ever. “You look great, by the way.”
“It’s because I’m sitting. There’s a hole in the butt of these sweatpants and they are saggy as hell.” He’s a foot away now, eyeing the seat where my tote is resting.
“Well, I will make sure not to get stuck behind you. Or maybe I should? So other people can’t see.”
I lift my bag and pat the worn leather. “Are you just going to stand there or sit?”
“I’m on a very important call; I can’t just hang up.”
“I think we could talk like this the entire trip,” I joke but the phone gives this degree of separation from reality. The absurdity forming a shield between us and what happened the last time we were standing this close together.
Our eyes lock and I quirk a brow. “Same time?”
We lower our phones in tandem and end the call. Wow. This feels so good. If it weren’t forthe-last-time-I-saw-you-I-kissed-you-and-ranshaped elephant sitting here with us it would be perfect.
When he takes a seat, it takes him a moment to settle into place, arranging his long legs into a comfortable position.
“What can I get going for you?” the bartender asks, expertly sliding a coaster in front of Liam as she talks. “Or do you need a minute with a menu?”
“Whiskey sour, thanks. And could you put her drinks on my tab.” He hands over a card and the woman disappears with it before I can protest.
Finally, he looks at me again with those warm brown eyes of his and lashes that fan against his cheeks when he looks down at me. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“So . . . about the other night,” I start, then we both say in unison, “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you—”
“I was the one who—”
We both pause and then I try again. “I think we can agree that we shouldn’t have crossed that line and we’re better off as friends. We didn’t talk about public displays of affection before and that’s my fault, so let’s do that now.”
Boundaries. That’s what we need. A fuck ton of them.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked.”
I shake my head. “I know how it can get. Proximity and time together are some of the biggest indicators of attraction. I’ve read a few studies about how the more you see someone the more likely it is to develop feelings for them. You asked, but it was also my job to tell you no, and I didn’t.”
This has happened before, people mistaking how careful I am with them as a client for me being interested. I’ve never beenon the other side of it before, though, and I guess I’m just as susceptible when it comes to Liam’s interview questions as people are to me getting to know them.
“All right then, what are we thinking? Hugging? Hand-holding?” he asks. “PG rules?”
“We’re great at those things—not that it was a bad kiss.” Why the fuck did I say that? “But no kissing?”Yeah, rough recovery, Henri. Way to NOT stick the landing on that one.
“Emergencies. We can kiss if there’s an emergency.” He tugs at his collar as if the words are threatening to choke him as the bartender hands Liam his drink. Instantly, he raises it to his mouth and downs at least a quarter, his Adam’s apple bobbing along the strong column of his throat. And shit he has a good neck.
The sound of ice clinking as he sets the glass on the counter rattles me back to my senses.
“And what would a kissing emergency be to you?”
“If one of my family members suspects we aren’t together?”
“Great! That works. We’ll just have to make sure they don’t suspect anything!” I can do that. I do it all the time. “And now that we have a plan, let’s do this thing.”
And we can move on to not talking about kissing ever again.
17
