AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My bladder wasn’t exactly thrilled with me either. I stood up and headed to the bathroom when I noticed two keys and a note on the bedside table.
I moved the keys and picked up the piece of notebook paper. Liam’s neat, masculine handwriting was something I was familiar with after working on his files at the strip club.
Liberty,
The blue key is the house key. The one on the chain is the car key. I added your number to my cell, and I put mine in yours. You really should put a lock code on your phone.
I’ll be at the club most of the day, but I have a couple of meetings elsewhere. Text if you need something or have questions.
I left money on the counter in the kitchen. You’re going to want to go get some groceries. You’ll find I don’t keep much here. And the gate code is 138265.
Liam
I held the paper and reread it, looking for something that felt as warm and happy as I had felt when I woke up in his bed. But there was nothing. It was almost businesslike. Perhaps I was reading too much into it. He’d left me the key to his car. That hadn’t been expected. He had to trust me to just leave me alone at his house with the key to his car. It was more than he’d thought of me before he dropped me off at the clubhouse.
I looked down at Ozzy, who was still watching me. “I’m being an emotional female, aren’t I?”
Ozzy didn’t respond.
Laying the note back on the table, I went to his bathroom and relieved my bladder, then dressed in my discarded clothing. Picking up the keys and my note, I made my way to the room I’d been given. I wanted to shower in Liam’s so that I could smell like his body wash or soap. But he’d given me a room and bathroom. Until he changed his mind about our sleeping arrangements, I didn’t want to assume I could use his things.
I set down my items on the dresser in the bedroom that was to be mine for now. I went to get my suitcases and laid them out on the bed. I’d lived out of them at the clubhouse, but there was an empty closet here that Liam had told me to use. It would be nice to have my things out so I could see them.
Going over to the closet I opened the door to get out hangers, only to find this was more like a small room. Reaching around inside to find the light switch, I turned it on and stared in awe at the two long walls with double poles to hang things. The far back wall had a built-in floor-to-ceiling mirror and counters on each side with drawers beneath.
“Holy smokes, Ozzy,” I whispered, walking in and looking around.
When I turned to look back at the door, I realized there were small square slots for shoes covering the side of the wall that the light switch wasn’t on. I counted them. Fifty. Who needed fifty shoes?
I took several hangers and started working on getting my things put away. Ozzy followed me back and forth until he decided to just sit down beside the closet door. It didn’t take very long until I had all my clothes placed neatly inside. Standing there, I looked at my things, which barely took up any space, making me chuckle.
“Don’t judge, Ozzy,” I told him, turning and heading for the bathroom. “When a girl moves around as much as I do, you don’t want to own too many things.”
I walked over to a tall square basket and picked up one of the rolled-up white towels inside it. I ran my hand over it. “Soft, fluffy towels,” I said, then cut my eyes to Ozzy. “These are shockingly luxurious for Liam, don’t you think?”
Placing the towel beside the shower, I began to undress while I planned out the day. I would get ready, then check out his kitchen, and make a grocery list. I could cook a meal for tonight. He must not cook for himself if he didn’t keep much food here.
Ozzy settled himself on the floor and rested his chin on his paws as I stepped into the shower. He was clearly a social dog. I wondered how often he was left here alone. That thought bothered me. I peeked out at him from the shower door. He lifted his head.
“We will go outside and play later. I can toss you a stick or ball. Okay?” I told him, then went to stand under the warm spray.
I started imagining a swing set out back and pushing a little one. I couldn’t decide if I wanted a boy or girl. The idea of having either made me smile. I pictured Ozzy running around in the yard while our baby giggled, watching him.
Happiness was starting to seep in, and I’d always been scared to trust it. In my past, happy things were fleeting, if they came at all. But I’d woken up in Liam’s bed this morning. He had moved me into his house.
Maybe this time, it was okay to just let go of my control and have some faith.
27
Liam
“I’m assuming you didn’t get a cat,” Tex said as he sat down in one of the chairs across from my desk.
My gaze shifted to the scratch marks showing from underneath the short sleeves of my shirt, then back to Tex.
“Did you get the liquor order straightened out?” I asked him, ignoring his comment.
I didn’t want to discuss where the marks had come from. I’d been having a hard enough time with getting Liberty out of my head all day. The reasons why it was a bad thing that I’d let her sleep in my bed with me last night being first and foremost.
