Page 14

Chapter 14

Liam

Fully cognizant of the fact that I couldn’t be idle for the rest of my life, I’d put a call into Oren last night and we’d spent a couple hours spit balling ideas. So far, all of them sucked. I was determined to make a life here, not just for Brodie, but for myself.

The few days I’d spent in my apartment had shown me that my old life no longer fit me. It had been like wearing clothes that used to fit, and they still technically did, but they sat wrong and the seams itched.

My position at the family company wasn’t an important one. I had mostly schmoozed with people and convinced them to spend their money so we didn’t have to spend our own. I wanted something better for myself now. Something that didn’t make me feel like my soul was leaking out of my ears.

Piper had told me time and time again that I didn’t have to work there, but I’d convinced myself that she was wrong. My family had a company and I was supposed to work there. My parents had been gone a long time, but some of my clearest memories were of Father, sitting in his chair, his long legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles. He puffed on cigars that drove my mother crazy, but not enough to forbid him from smoking them. And in those memories, he told me over and over how one day I was going to work at his company, just like Carol.

My dreams had been their dreams. They’d never been my own and that’s why walking away from it all was a lot easier than I thought it should have been at first. Guilt tugged at me now and then as I thought of leaving Carol all alone, but then I remembered that she was a far better business person than I. Smarter, more passionate, and far more capable than I’d ever been. I think my parents’ dreams were her dreams.

The only thing I knew for certain that I wanted was a life here, with Brodie in it. But Oren was right. I had to find something for myself in all this change. Something that wasn’t Brodie. But I didn’t know what. Yet.

That was a problem for after breakfast.

I’d no sooner pulled into Brodie’s driveway when he stepped out of the house. As much as I’d liked seeing him in one of my shirts, he looked even better this morning. A brown leather coat was pulled on over a crisp white shirt. Dark skinny jeans cupped his legs and disappeared into a pair of brown boots. And when he looked at me, color slashed across his cheeks.

He slid into the passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt.

“Where did you want to eat?” I asked instead of leaning across the seat and kissing him. The kiss from the night before had played on a loop in my brain all night long.

“Bennett’s is fine. They have good food.”

“I ate there the other day. Nice place.”

Brodie raised an eyebrow at me.

“What?” I checked for traffic and backed out of his driveway, keenly aware of the way he was still looking at me.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at the compliment. We did eat at some pretty sketchy places.”

“Just because I can afford Michelin star restaurants doesn’t mean I limit myself. Besides, Ethan Bennett is a perfectly nice man.”

“Ooh, schmoozing with the locals are you?” Brodie seemed impressed and I didn’t miss the way his smile grew.

“Well, I hope to one day be counted among them.” My admission stunned him into silence, though it shouldn’t have. I thought I’d been clear in my intentions to start a life here with him. Hopefully with him.

“You’re serious,” Brodie said carefully, as though I might take it back.

“I’ve been all over the world. I’ve been to glittering cities and I’ve been to places that look untouched by man. I’ve lived in mansions and penthouses and none of it means anything to me. I want to be here.” I turned my head so I could look Brodie in the eyes. “With you.”

I shifted my attention back to the road and the rest of the drive was silent. I let Brodie sit and absorb my declaration. Whether he believed me or not, trusted me or not, wanted me or not, I wanted a life that felt real. What I’d had before was a shell. It was as solid as a shadow.

Bennett’s came into view and I turned into the parking lot. It looked pretty busy, but that didn’t deter either of us. Would he have let me, I’d have opened the door for him, but Brodie didn’t wait. He climbed out at the same moment I did and we walked into Bennett’s together. I held the door for him and followed him to an empty table.

A lovely woman named Josie took our order and poured our coffee for us. I watched Brodie spoon in two sugars. He looked at his coffee like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

“My brothers think I’m insane for giving you another chance.”

“And what do you think?” A deep breath helped keep my composure. I wanted his brothers to like me, but I wasn’t certain that I needed their approval. Brodie seemed to be comfortable doing what he wanted, with or without family approval.

“I think that I have no idea what I’m doing. When Shane won the money, I was flipping burgers, writing bucket lists on napkins. I volunteered with some aid organizations that allowed me to travel and then suddenly, Shane was rich and I was travelling around with no worry about anything but where I wanted to go next. I knew one day I’d have to stop. I’d have to stand still and figure out what comes next.”

“What comes next?” I asked him. Brodie’s brow was furrowed and he glanced up at me. Torment pooled in his eyes and I wanted to hold him until it faded from his expression.

“I have no idea.”

Unbidden, a smile flashed across my face before I could stop it.

“Why are you grinning at me like that?” he asked, almost sounding insulted.

“Because I have no idea what the hell I’m doing either. I got the degree my parents wanted me to get. I took a job in the company like they wanted. And they weren’t even here to see any of it. I quit my job. I’m selling my condo. The only plan I had for my future was taking you to breakfast.”

Some of Brodie’s unease melted away. The beginnings of a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t have everything figured out.”

“I don’t even know what I want for breakfast.”

Brodie reached across the table and put his hand on mine. Warmth spread through my body, radiating out from that single point of contact. It was hope and comfort. Proof that I wasn’t alone in how lost I felt sometimes. And even if he didn’t feel the same way, he wasn’t going to let me face the uncertainty by myself.

“You should get pancakes and bacon and I’ll get sausage and eggs.”

I knew what he was really after with his breakfast suggestion.

“You just want my bacon, don’t you?” Flashbacks of previous breakfasts came to me. Us curled together. Me getting the room service tray and going back to bed with it. Feeding him by hand. It was magical. But this was the real world, not a vacation bubble and I found myself just as content to sit across from him and watch him smile triumphantly when he realized he was going to get his way.

“Taylor makes amazing bacon,” Brodie said.

I ordered the pancakes with extra bacon. Brodie ordered his sausages and eggs with whole wheat toast.

“Tell me about your sister,” he said, poking at his eggs when they arrived. He’d ordered them sunny side up and he stabbed a sausage into the center of one, dipping the sausage into the yolk.

“Carol? She’s older than me by about ten years. I was an accident. I was a teenager when we lost our parents and Carol had already been working toward the COO position of Dad’s company. Once they were gone, she was the major shareholder. She worked under the former COO until she was ready to take over as CEO. She’s always been very business focused.”

“Is she married? Do you have any nieces or nephews?”

“She’s single and unless you count her small army of cats, no.”

“Do you have pictures of her cats?” Brodie had finished his sausage in the time it took me to have a bite of pancake. He stole a slice of bacon off my plate and dunked it in the egg yolk.

I pulled my phone out and scrolled to the cat album I kept. “The black ones are Mimsy and Pip. The fluffy orange one is Gremlin and the smaller orange ones are Tom and Apple. Then the little tabby one is Miles and the gray one is Mushroom.”

Brodie scrolled through a million of the pictures, turning my phone to me every once in a while so we could both laugh at them. Eventually he returned my phone and we finished our breakfast. I’d managed to eat two slices of bacon and one of the sausages that mysteriously appeared on my plate.

“Did you have any plans for after breakfast?” I took the last sip of my now ice cold coffee. Josie had been around to offer refills, but I’d passed.

“Well, someone I know is new to town and I thought he might want me to show him around. Give him the guided tour. Show him where my brother’s bar is so maybe if he takes me out for drinks, he knows where not to take me.” Brodie bit his lip like he did when he was unsure or nervous.

It was my turn to reach for him. I took his hand in mine and slid our palms together. Gently, I twined my fingers in with his. “I’d like that very much.”

“Liam.” Brodie exhaled, his voice trembling. “What are we doing?”

I met his gaze and did everything I could to pour all my honesty and earnestness into my voice.

“I’d like to think that we’re starting over. That we’re going to date and get to know each other in ways we couldn’t when we were living in our little bubble. I’d like to think that what we’re doing is serious. Is that what you want? I know I hurt you, but no matter where I’ve been, wherever you are is where I want to be.” I took a breath and squeezed his hand gently. “What do you want?”

My heart stilled. Breath froze in my lungs. Limbo was agony, millions of needles in every nerve.

“I want more of this,” Brodie answered, sending light and color into my world and air into my lungs. “More dates. More talking. More getting to know you.”

“Getting to know each other.” I squeezed his hand and when he squeezed back it was like he was holding my heart.