I love spending an entire day doing nothing but reading—especially when it rains, but also when it's too hot to do anything else. Or when it’s bitterly cold outside and I have a mug of hot tea. Or when it’s evening. I guess I just love to read. (Deal-breaker, but only if a man made a habit of interrupting me.)
I like the fact that I'm making a list because it means I love myself.
Liam will finish with the house at the end of this week, and although it’s going to be a massive relief to have the entire place finished, it’s also scary because it means that I may have to up the pace of ‘finding Abby,’ so as not to wait so long that I lose Liam in the process. There’s such a thing as waiting too long, according to Lauren, who gave me the ‘I knew you’d overthink this’ speech, followed by the ‘do you know how hard it is to find a good man when you’re over forty?’ speech. I told her that no, I didn’t, but neither did she. That seemed to shut her up.
But she’s not wrong about the fact that I don’t have an endless amount of time to either make my move or forget about it forever. Because of this, it may be prudent to test the waters a little with my potential friends-to-lovers romance. And what better place to do that than at the pub?
As soon as I walk in, I spot Liam. His eyes light up and he points to the chair he’s saving next to his. I walk over, not even bothering to hide my smile. As I wind my way through the crowd, I remember the first time we saw each other and how repulsed he seemed. Huh. That’s not exactly what we in the romance industry would call a compelling ‘lovers meet’ scene. It would have been much better had he stared just a little too long, or had we actually spoken that evening, if he’d have mixed up his words or looked down at me with a sexy grin while he rubbed the back of his neck. But seeming to be horrified? That’s not exactly a good sign.
Instead of immediately sitting with Liam, I give him the ‘can I get you a drink’ gesture. He shakes his head and points to the pint in front of him, so I head over to the bar, where Peter is preparing a tray of drinks
“Hey there, Abby! You finally decided to grace us with your presence,” Peter says.
“I did. Turns out people aren’t as bad as I thought,” I answer with a grin.
“Beer?”
“Let’s go with something stronger this evening. Long Island Iced Tea, please.”
“Sure thing, I’ll bring it over to you.”
“That’s okay. You’re busy. I can wait here.” I need a minute to possibly rethink the flirt test to see if the Liam waters are warm.
“It’s my job. Now go sit down before someone else takes the spot Liam’s been saving for you for the last twenty minutes.” He gives me a wink.
Of course. I wind my way through the crowd at the bar, stopping to say hello to everyone I know, which allows me to stall, but doesn’t allow me to think. Screw it, I’ll have to wing it and see what happens. As long as I don’t do or say anything irreversible, I’ll be okay.
When I take my seat next to him, Liam says, “Finally. Do you know how many women I’ve had to fight off so you could sit here?”
“Like, one?” I ask with a grin.
“Okay, so that’s a pretty accurate guess,” he admits. “Eunice is here alone tonight.”
“Where’s the mayor?”
Leaning into my ear, Liam mutters, “Give it a minute, she’ll tell you.”
His breath tickles my neck and I laugh a little harder than I should.
Peter walks over with a tray of drinks. He puts mine down and waggles his thick eyebrows. “So? You two finally saw the light?”
I’m about to say no, but Liam answers. “Oh, yes. We’ve been going hot and heavy for …” He turns to me and gives me a wink. “What is it, love, four weeks now?”
“Yup.” I grin at him, then smile at Peter. “I can’t get enough of this guy.”
I feel more eyes around the table landing on us. Liam seems to be soaking in the attention as he puts an arm around me. “We can’t keep our hands off each other. Probably leave early tonight so I can get her back into bed.”
I nod, trying not to laugh. We turn to each other. “We should go right now, actually. It’s been over two hours.” I trail a finger down the front of his shirt, but only as far as the middle of his chest. I watch as his pupils grow large, feeling my skin warm up.
“Has it really been that long already?” He swivels his gaze back to Peter. “She’s insatiable.”
I force a grave expression on my face. “To be honest, I’m just using him for the sex.”
Liam barks out a laugh, then gets it under control. “But don’t feel bad for me, I don’t really mind at all.”
Peter narrows his eyes at us, obviously wise to us. “Couple of idiots, the pair of you. You should be shagging instead of sittin’ here. It’s like that saying about how youth is wasted on the young.”
He walks away shaking his head, while Liam and I laugh. I try not to notice how disappointed I am when he takes his hand off my shoulder.
