* * *
Liam
When my phone buzzes just before we’re all sitting down to dinner at Wild Ranch, I don’t want to answer it.
I know what I’m about to hear.
I excuse myself from the dining room and step outside.
“Hey, Hunt.”
“We saw you on social.”
“We?”
“Jared and Max are here too. You’re on speaker.”
“You kissed Haley,” Jared says.
“Really?” I say sarcastically. “I didn’t know that. Thanks for calling to point it out.”
“Seriously, what’s going on?” he presses. “I’ve literally never seen you on social media other than when you’re on the ice or doing a presser. And now you’re everywhere.Liam Storm kisses woman after saving her from potential animal attack.”
I purposefully haven’t looked at my phone since I kissed Haley, but I figured people would get a hold of it and start gossiping.
“It’s nobody’s business,” I say. “This is exactly why I stay off social media.”
On cue, a text comes through from my agent, asking me to call him.
“Most of your fans are happy for you,” Hunt says. “You sure come off good, big brother. Like a hero the way you swooped in.”
All three of my brothers crack up.
When they finally calm down, Max says in a serious tone, “So, you like her.”
It’s not a question.
My brothers know me well. And they know I’d never put myself in the position of a media frenzy like this for something so personal if I didn’t care a lot about the woman.
* * *
All press is good press, apparently,Ashley texts me.Look at the numbers. Your near-attack is helping the foundation.
I look up from my phone and smile at Liam across the table at the booth we’re sharing at The Cowherd Bar. “Somehow, everything is good work-wise.”
He gives me a thumbs-up. Blake and Logan are sitting with us, and they immediately apologize again for the incident with Dallas.
“Please don’t feel bad,” I tell them. “Who can predict a hinge loosening in the barn door just enough that Dallas could break out?”
We’ve been hanging out with Logan and Blake since dinner, which Logan’s mother served us up at the house. It was the most delicious fried chicken and mashed potatoes I’ve ever had, and I told Mrs. Wild I’d hire her as my own personal chef if I could afford her.
She laughed and said she would love it if I lived closer.
After dinner, Ty, Jesse, and Reid said goodbye, and Macey went home with the baby to the cottage she and Logan live in on Wild Ranch.
I gave Macey a hug after we exchanged numbers. “Thank you for your hospitality. It was lovely to meet you.”
“You too!” She hugged me back. “You have my number now. Text me if you ever come back to Texas. Logan and I hope to bring Kendall to Montana one day too.”
