“I’ll make it up to you. Promise.” Placing a chaste kiss to my lips, he grabbed our bags and walked out.
Taking one last, longing look around his room, I followed, wondering if I’d get a chance to come back.
“Do you want me to empty the fridge?” I asked when we walked past the kitchen.
“No need. The cleaner will take care of everything.”
He put the bags in the car, then came around to my still-open door and leaned in. “Whatever happens, I hope you’ll never regret coming out here with me.”
Taking his face in my hands, I pressed a kiss to his lips. “There’s no way I could ever regret the time we’ve spent together.”
A pained expression stole over his face, there and gone too quickly for me to figure out what it meant. He touched his lips to mine one last time, and then we left our getaway in the rearview mirror.
This time we didn’t stop anywhere, except for one quick bathroom break. The city seemed too loud after the serenity of the beach. Our time there already felt like a dream.
“I’m so sorry, but I don’t have time to drop you at my apartment first. I have to go straight to our head office. Are you okay hanging out there? I have a TV, a minibar, and couch in my office, which hopefully will keep you busy while I deal with business.”
Squeezing the hand he had on my knee, I turned to him. “No problem at all. I’m sure I can find something to keep myself busy.”
“If it takes too long, I’ll get someone to take you to my place.”
“Whatever is easiest. Don’t worry about me.”
“I’ll always worry about you.”
His tone sounded regretful, but I didn’t want to read too much into it. Our drive back to the city had been much more somber than our drive up. We’d barely talked, Liam concentrating on driving.
But he’d touched me the whole time, either with a hand on my knee or holding my hand in his.
We parked in an underground garage that held more expensive cars in one place than I’d ever seen before in my life. Shutting off the engine, Liam turned to me. “You sure you’re okay coming up with me?”
“Absolutely. I want to see where you work.”
I bet his office was as fancy as everything else in his life. And I was curious to see it. It was part of him, a place he spent a lot of time in.
“Okay, let’s do this, then. Wait for me to get your door.”
Unable to hide the smile spreading over my face at his insistence, I made no move to reach for the door handle.
After helping me out of the seat, he took my hand and led us to an elevator that required an access pass and code. We rode up to almost the top, our hands entwined the whole way, Liam’s thumb drawing circles on my skin.
Leading us past an empty reception area, he walked past closed doors to an office at the end of the corridor. Jude and Gabriel were already there, pacing in front of a sleek and incredibly organized desk.
“This is my office.” Indicating the space currently occupied by his brothers, Liam ushered me inside.
Gabriel’s attention jumped to us, his eyes narrowing when he saw me. “Seriously?” he snapped at Liam.
“None of your fucking business.” Shooting him a glare, he nodded to the door we’d come through. “Now let’s get this done instead of wasting any more of my time.”
With a grumble, Gabriel left the office.
Jude winked at me on his way past. “Quinn. Good to see you again.”
Smiling at him, I nodded. “You too.”
Liam put his hand on my cheek, tilting my head back. “Help yourself to anything you need. There’s a bathroom through the door next to the desk.” He pressed a hard kiss to my mouth before following his brothers.
Looking around the vast space, I took in the glass wall in front of me. The view was amazing, showing the high-rises in all their glory. I wandered along his bookshelves that covered the whole right wall, studying his boring textbooks on strategy and business. He didn’t have a single fiction title in his vast selection.
