“Fine, got it. So, you’re not my manservant, you’re only Samantha’s.Pointmade.”
Liam’s eyes widen. Actually, they look like they might pop out of his head. “Excuse me?” I shrug and prance out of the kitchen. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up.” I don’t plan to stop as I head back up the stairs toward my room. “Did you just call me amanservant?”
He’s standing at the bottom of the stairwell, yelling up to me. As much as I’d like to encourage his anger, I continue walking until I reach my room. “Yes, that is what I called you,” I say as I close my door. Ha! I had the final word. That’s what you get for being a jerk. He is kind of a manservant. I believe it’s the male terminology for maid, and well, men still call women cleaners maids. So, thereyougo.
As I sit down on the edge of the perfectly made bed, I realize my bags are all in my car, and I’m going to have to lug them up here one by one, past themanservantwho is probably trying to find a way to get me fired as I sit here. I’m going to ignore him. I’m a grown woman, and I know how to ignore annoying men, no matter how unpleasant looking they are with their stupid, messy, light caramel hair and piercing eyes. Not to mention that gross tan and those big, ugly muscles that are about to tear through his tight t-shirt the next time he gets mad. God, he’samess.
I’m not sure how long I can tap my foot against the side of the bed before I pull up my big girl pants and head back out there. Maybehe’sgone.
I open the door slowly, hoping to avoid any noise. I don’t hear anything downstairs, so maybe I’ve lucked out andheleft.
Jogging down the steps, I keep my focus pinned on the front door. Why do I care what he could say to me? It’s not like I know him. He’s the one being an asshole, so where’s my self-confidence? I’m not a fifteen-year-oldgirl.
I’m four steps from the bottom when his voice booms from the open living room that looks up at the stairwell. “Forget something?”heasks.
Being that I was so focused on the door and retrieving my belongings, he scared the shit out of me, and I stumble down three steps, landing directly on my butt. Shit. I hit the last step so hard; the wind in my lungs feels like it’s been sucked out ofmybody.
I’m just going to pretend my ankle isn’t throbbing and my ass bone doesn’t feel broken. I grip the railing to pull myself up, but shockingly, Liam grabs my arm and helps me up. He’s laughing, which is a real jackass move considering he doesn’t know if I’m okay, and it was kinda his fault that I fell, but it’s not like I should have expected much else from him. I’m surprised he’s even helping me up. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to get back to whatever dishes he waswashing.
“Crap.” A dull pain shoots through my ankle, forcing me to drop back down to the step I wassittingon.
“Youokay?”
“Likeyoucare?”
“Fine.” He releases his grip from my arm and leaves the room withoutanotherword.
I wait a few seconds before trying to put weight on my foot again. I’ll have to grin and bear it. Hobbling down the last step, I limp over to the door as Liam makes his way back over to me. “You should put ice on that,” he says, handing me a bag offrozenpeas.
Again, his hand makes contact with my arm, but this time he lifts it up and places it behind his back as he helps me over to the couch. I fall into the feathery couch and Liam pushes the coffee table toward me, so I take the hint and lift my foot, placing it down on top of the dark, oak table. Liam places the ice pack gently down on my ankle, and with one swift movement, he grabs the stack of magazines on the other side of my foot and straightensthemout.
“Thank you.” My voice comes out in a whisper compared to the way I’ve been responding to him for the past hour. It sounds meager now that I’m in thisposition.
“Sure,” he says while stalking back into thekitchen.
Forced to sit here on this family’s living room couch, I scan the area, looking at the various pictures of their son, different vacations they were on, and shots from their wedding. Looks like the perfect family. Hopefully, Dylan knows how lucky he is that his mother wants to be around him and apparently give him everything in theworld.
I feel ridiculous right now. I need to walk this off. Removing the peas from my ankle, I roll my foot around a few times and lower it down from the table. Oh no, is thatmy—yup.
“Isn’t that the theme song from Fifty Shades of Grey?” Liam shouts out from the kitchen in laughter. So, I guess he is capable of laughing? “Of course that would be yourringtone.”
My phone is blaring upstairs on the bed where I left it, stupidly thinking I would be right back up. “Yes, yes, it is. I like the song, and I’m sure you have a problem withthattoo.”
“I’m not the one who likes to be tied up and whipped, so I don’t have any issueswithit.”
I limp over to the stairs, groaning along the way. “Just because I like a song doesn’t mean I’mintoBDSM.”
He’s quiet for a long second as I trudge up the stairs, and then I hear the faintest hint of, “That’s too bad.” My eyes widen as I consider what might be going through his head. Maybe being an asshole is his “game” with women.Well, you’ve got another thing coming to you, jerk. It isn’t going to workwithme.
What kind of girl would be into that? Maybe someone who doesn’t know any better, but I’ve grown up with the model dad. I watched him struggle to support his family, working from six in the morning until eight at night, all while never spending a dime on himself. It’s the one reason I’ll never forgive Mom for throwing that all away for Declan, the thirty-eight-year-old gym buff who cares more about his appearance than her. Come to think of it, my parents have been perfect role models of what to avoid and what to desire for myfuture.
I grab my phone from the bed and hold it up to see who the call was from. One missed call from Jade Winston. Shouldn’t she be at workrightnow?
I click the missed call and wait for it to dial her number. She answers after two rings with a loud huff. “Oh my God. I’m so freaking late this morning,” she groans into thephone.
I glance down at my watch. “Jade, it’s ten. That’s a little morethanlate.”
“I told them I got sick this morning, but I’d still be able to make it, so I think I’m off the hook atleast.”
