Her long, damp locks slid up and down her upper arms with a nod. “It’s my favorite.”
“Mine, too.” He grinned.
“Are you finished?” Allison motioned toward the food that was left.
Patting his midsection, he nodded with enthusiasm. “Oh, yeah. I’m good.”
“I’ll see if I can figure out a way to fit what’s left in the fridge.”
“Here, let me.” Liam started to stand but stopped short when she waved him away.
“No, you sit.” She ignored his offer and continued gathering the leftovers. “I’ve got it.”
“I’ve been sitting pretty much most of the day,” he countered.
“Can I watch cartoons?” Maddie plopped joyfully down onto the couch before asking, “Can I watch cartoons?”
“For a little bit.” Allison nodded as she continued to clean up their dinner mess.
With the remote in her hands, the little girl turned her big eyes his way. “Can you help me?”
“What do you say?”
At her mother’s reminder, Maddie added a drawn out, “Pleeease?”
Who can say no to that face?
“Absolutely.” Liam stood and went to sit next to the pleading child. Taking the offered remote from her small hand, he pointed it toward the TV and pressed the power button. “Okay, let’s see what we can find.”
It only took minutes for Maddie to snuggled up on one end of the semi-comfortable couch. Her eyes were growing heavier by the minute, but she fought sleep to continue watching an animated show about a group of talking dogs.
Really? This is what kids are watching today?
“Okay.” Allison returned from her task of taking care of the food. “I got the veggie pizza in our fridge, as well as a couple of slices of the pepperoni in case she gets hungry later.”
“Sounds good. Thank you for taking care of that.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled, but then a flash of something akin to nerves came over her. “Um, it wouldn’t all fit, so I had to put the rest in your fridge. I hope that’s okay?”
Their rooms were adjoined, and they’d agreed to keeping the door separating the two spaces open during the daylight hours. Though Liam would have preferred to keep them that way twenty-four-seven, he’d finally given in to her suggested compromise.
They’d keep the pathway between the two rooms fully open during the day, but at night, the doors would merely be cracked. He’d still have full and immediate access to her room should she need him ASAP, but Allison wouldn’t feel quite so “exposed” while she and her daughter slept.
“You filled my fridge with my favorite midnight snack, and you’re asking if it’s okay?” Liam teased.
Her smile was shaky, her look of relief more than a little obvious. It was also confusing as hell. But when Liam replayed the interaction back in his mind, he finally understood why his laid-back response had taken her by surprise.
She thought he was going to be upset. Maybe even expected him to blow up at her for having gone into his room without permission. And why?
Because that’s exactly the kind of reaction she probably would’ve gotten from her douchebag husband.
And speaking of Gallo…
Liam glanced over to where Maddie was laying and saw that she was sound asleep. Taking advantage of the sweet girl’s current state of unawareness, he figured it was as good a time as any to broach the topic of why they were here.
He got up from the couch and walked toward the suite’s small kitchenette area. As he passed by the woman he’d been hired to protect, he quietly asked, “Can we talk?”
CHAPTER 6
