Page 67 of Liberating Lily

“You brat!” He let out a chuckle as he tickled her sides.

She giggled, shocked at her reaction. How could she laugh like this after what she’d just remembered?

She’d gone from hiding under the bed with the dust bunnies to sitting on his lap and giggling like an idiot.

But it felt cathartic and some of the tension inside her eased.

“I am not old. I’m only eight years older than you.”

“Yes, so positively ancient. And your old bones can’t handle sleeping on the floor.”

“Is that an invitation to sleep in the bed with you?”

Lily tensed.

“Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to upset you. I know it wasn’t an invitation. I’m fine on the floor.”

But that wasn’t fair. This was his bedroom. It was his bed.

“I can sleep on the floor,” she blurted out.

Although surely there had to be another bedroom in this cabin.

“That definitely isn’t happening,” he told her firmly as he stood and carried her around to her side of the bed.

Except you don’t have a side of the bed because you sleep in it on your own, not with him.

But it was all too easy to imagine them sleeping in this bed together, the way he’d hold her tight, how he’d chase away all her nightmares.

She really was coming to rely on him, wasn’t she? It wasn’t healthy. And it wasn’t real.

Lily needed to remember that.

“It’s time you got some sleep. And I’ll sleep on the floor. You don’t need to worry about my old bones.”

“Why don’t I go sleep in a different bedroom?” she suggested.

“Because I want you close, so I can be there if you have any nightmares.”

“This can’t go on forever, Harvey. This isn’t real life. This isn’t our lives.”

He sat facing her and brushed her hair back off her face. She couldn’t deny the shiver that ran through her as his fingers brushed against her skin. And the way her brain conjured up images of him touching her everywhere.

“But it could be. Shh. Don’t say anything yet. I know I can’t keep you here forever. But when you were coming down off those drugs, you needed someone to take care of you, and that person was me. And if you really need to leave, I will let you. After you give me a chance to win you over.”

She loved the way he just stated that, like it was a given.

“You’re a contradiction, Harvey Gallagher.”

He grinned. “Believe it or not, I’ve heard that a few times.”

“And a real pain in my ass,” she added.

He threw back his head and laughed. “Heard that a few times too.”

Yeah, she could believe that.

15