He grins over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I made it big enough to share.”
I brighten, shoving my cereal bowl away. “Yeah?”
“Of course,” he says softly. “Looking out for you is becoming a habit.”
He’s not wrong. He watches out for me constantly. At first, I bristled when he hovered and did things for me. Now I accept it’s just who Liam is. He can’t help himself. He cares about everyone, including me. I’m not used to anyone caring, and instinctively, I feel like I shouldn’t like it. But I do. I like it because it’s Liam. I’ll never tell him that, though. I don’t want him to catch on that I’m attracted to him, drawn to him in a way I’ve never been to another shifter.
Today is the first day off we’ve had in thirteen days. In fact, we get today and tomorrow off. I’m almost giddy at the prospect.The last two weeks have been a relentless grind. Twelve-hour shifts, back-to-back calls, the ski resort churning out problem after problem.
Today, though, we have nowhere to be.
Liam splits the omelet between two plates and drops onto the stool beside me. His knee bumps mine as he sets one of the plates in front of me, with a fork. The contact is small, meaningless for him, I’m sure. But the touch of his leg lights me up inside, the warmth of him sinking into me even through two layers of fabric.
“So,” he says between bites. “What are your plans for today?”
“I don’t have any plans other than maybe doing laundry.”
“Good. Me neither.” He chews and stares into space. “We should do something.”
Frowning, I glance at him. “Aren’t you seeing Kara?”
He shakes his head. “Tomorrow.”
I laugh gruffly. “I’d have thought she’d claim both your days off.” Kara hasn’t been subtle about feeling neglected. “Is she busy or something?”
“No.” He shrugs. “She tried to get both of my days off.” His lips twitch. “But I reserved one for you.”
My eyes widen and my gut tenses. “Wait. What? I… I didn’t say I wanted to hang out with you. She’s going to hate me even more now. You should call her up and tell her you’re free today.”
He scowls and meets my gaze. His eyes are a warm, dark brown with flecks of gold. They might be the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. When I look into them, my entire body aches for something I know I’ll never have with him. He loves Kara, andeven if he didn’t, he likes women. I know all of that logically, yet my heart still foolishly yearns for him.
Knock it off, idiot.
“If I wanted to hang out with Kara today, I’d have arranged that.” He sounds grumpy as he studies me. “Do you not want to hang out with me?”
I grimace. “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
I look at him like he’s dense. “Kara will resent me if you don’t spend both days with her. I already have to tiptoe around her so she’s not upset. You’re making problems for me.” I take a big bite of omelet, but I don’t really taste it. I’ve lost my appetite because now I’m stressed.
He sets his fork down and it clatters against his plate. “Jude, I’m allowed to spend the day with you. Kara’s not my mother. Jesus, what’s the big deal?” He narrows his eyes. “Ifyoudon’t want to spend the day withme, just say so. I’m not going to kick you out or anything.”
“I know that,” I grumble. “I just don’t want any trouble with Kara.”
He sighs. “Well, I want to spend some time with you where we’re not chasing down drunks and belligerent asshole people. I thought we were friends, not just work partners.”
“We are.” I can’t deny the blip of excitement that shoots through me. But I try to tamp it down. Spending the day with me doesn’t mean to him what it does to me. I need to remember that. “Don’t you think we spend more than enough time together already?”
He swivels in his chair, his leg brushing mine. “I want to have some fun with you. Off the clock. I want to just hang out with you, a dude, and enjoy our time together. Maybe we get shitfaced, scratch our balls, and watch sports. I want to do something other than be with Kara, is that okay with you?”
I can’t help laughing because what he’s saying makes me happy. I know I can’t read too much into it, but the fact he wants to spend today with me means a lot. “Okay, okay. I just don’t want Kara mad at me.”
“She has no business being mad at you. It’s my choice to spend the day with you.” He lets out a breath and gives a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I’m upset, in case you couldn’t tell. I’ve seen how you walk on eggshells around Kara, and to be honest, it’s pissing me off.”
I frown. “She’s your girlfriend, Liam. I’m trying to be respectful.”
He groans. “I’m not annoyed atyou, I’m annoyed at her.” He turns back to his food and starts shoveling it in.
