Page 18 of Pressure Point

“Shopping…” Liam muttered, shoving a dumpling into his mouth.

“Shopping?”

“She wants help picking out an outfit for the party. I tried to get her to ask either you or Talia, but…” he said, trailing off.

“But…” both Felicity and Gunnar said, prompting him to finish.

Liam sucked in a deep breath. He hadn’t wanted to bring this part up, but Talia wasn’t here, and he knew that whatever he shared at this table wouldn’t go any further. They had agreed as a unit last week that no matter what was said during these dinners, every word stayed here. With Felicity as team owner, Gunnar as head coach, and Liam as a player, plus Talia working at the place that the team would likely end up hanging out, they knew they needed a safe space to share whatever they were thinking or feeling, without it affecting their work environment. If there was anywhere and anyone he could tell this part to, it was Gunnar and Felicity during this meal.

“She thinks Talia is the competition.”

“Competition? For what?” Gunnar asked.

“Do I really have to spell this out?”

“No,” Felicity answered, throwing her boyfriend a look. “And why does she think that? Talia’s not interested. Unless something has changed since she and I talked yesterday.”

“It better not have,” Gunnar muttered.

“I told Avery that, but it didn’t really seem to make a difference, since that’s where Dash’s interest lies.”

“I’ll kill him,” Gunnar said.

“Stop,” Felicity ordered. “This is Vegas. What happens here, stays here. And while it doesn’t make sense to you two, I see where Avery is coming from. Girl logic.”

“Her girl logic turned down the idea of shopping with you as well. You’re intimidating. It also seems to think that because I’m a guy I’m going to be able to tell her if something is hot or not.”

Liam could still hear Avery’s voice pleading her case. “You have a penis. If it stands up I’ll know I’m on to something.” He was in over his head, and he had no idea what to do. Turning to look at Felicity, he hoped that she could have some kind of wisdom for him.

“I am intimidating. I'm also her boss, and the sorta, not exactly step-mom to the competition,” she said. “And when you’re already self-conscious about this kind of thing, you don’t want people you aren’t comfortable with trying to help. It would only make her more self-conscious. She needs someone she knows she can trust as she’s trying to figure this out. And she obviously trusts you, feels safe with you.”

“Great. Just what I need, for her to feel safe with me.”

“That’s not the worst thing for a girl to feel when she’s with you, lad.”

“You just need to find a way to show her all the other things she can feel while with you,” Felicity offered.

“And how do I do that?”

“I don’t have that kind of magic answer,” she said with a slight shrug. “What it sounds like to me is that what she really needs right now is a friend. Best advice I can give is to listen to her. Help her figure this out, with whatever it entails.”

“Just pretend that I’m not doing this to help her win over someone else?” He could hear the resentment in his voice, and even he didn’t like it. He wanted to help her. Wanted any excuse to get to spend time with her. He liked being the one she let into her world. He just also wanted her to want him in return.

“You could always tell her how you feel,” Gunnar suggested.

Liam looked over at his coach, taken aback by the idea. There was no way he could tell Avery how he felt. She’d laugh at him. On top of that, he wasn’t good with words like that. Even if he was, nothing he could say would change her mind. Her self-confidence might be lacking, but there was no doubt that she knew her own mind.

“That’s not happening. She’s not interested.”

“Maybe not now, but like I said before, lad, give it time. Let things play out.”

“I would bet you’ll be surprised by the outcome,” Felicity added.

“Do you know something I don’t?”

“No, but I’m a woman. I have a feel for these things.”

“Trust her, lad,” Gunnar added. “I cannot explain how, but women know things.”