Page 63 of Twisted Beauty

15

Liv

Liv tried not to smile as she walked with Matt down the center of a cobblestone alley, but she felt giddy. She hadn’t had a night like last night since…probably ever. And now they were spending the day together. Talking about their lives. She really shouldn’t be so happy about that. What they had was very temporary. Possibly even over today. But she couldn’t bring herself to care about that at the moment, because Matt’s fingers were tangled with hers and he was stroking his thumb over her skin.

As they rounded a corner toward Tito’s shop, Matt brought their clasped hands to his lips and skimmed his tongue over her knuckles before kissing the inside of her wrist. Warmth spread through her body and she lost her footing, stumbling on a cobblestone.

Matt shot his free arm out to steady her and chuckled. “You okay there? I’ll be happy to carry you the rest of the way if you need me to.”

She shoved him. “I’m just not used to all these cobblestones. I’ll manage.” But the grin that spread across his face told her just how much he believed that excuse.

Damn. She’d never been the type of woman to go all weak-kneed and clumsy over a man. But the deep timbre of his voice alone was enough to bring the memory of last night back in vivid detail. His big, rough hands trailing up her legs, his fingers parting her, and his mouth…oh my god, his mouth.

Was it hotter out here than usual?

Apparently she needed to rein in her inner hussy. Until she met Matt, she didn’t even know she had an inner hussy.

But neither of them wanted a relationship, and she wasn’t about to ruin this perfect morning by making him uncomfortable. By making him think she was expecting anything more than a casual fling. Or even any more than just last night. Though it didn’t seem like nearly enough. And he’d been so attentive this morning, she was pretty sure he felt the same.

He let go of her hand and nudged her slightly in front of him so they were no longer walking side by side as they approached the shop. It shouldn’t have surprised her. Of course Matt wouldn’t want Tito to know what happened between them. But her hand felt empty and a tiny part of her wished the circumstances were different.

“Mi pareja favorita,” Tito called out when he spotted them. He was sitting on a folding chair on the sidewalk, blocking the doorway of El Brujo Loco and looking very pleased with himself.

His favorite couple? Liv felt her face heat. Did she have I had hot sex with your grandson all night tattooed across her forehead or something? Because it sure felt like Tito knew.

“Why are you out here, Tito?” Matt stepped around Liv and rushed the last few feet toward his grandfather. “What’s wrong inside?”

“Nothing wrong,” Tito said. “I want fresh air. You worry too much, lose hair.”

Tito reached both arms out toward Liv as she approached. “Mi cariña.”

“That’s gray hair, Tito.” Matt sounded distracted. “You go gray when you worry.”

“Your cousin go bald. Still single.”

“Which cous—no, forget it. Let’s talk about the shop. Tell me what’s going on there.” Matt leaned around Tito’s chair to look inside. “I know for a fact your street flooded.”

Tito seemed completely relaxed and unconcerned, so Liv leaned down to give him a hug. “Don’t get up, Tito. We can visit outside if you’d like. It’s a beautiful day.”

Tito patted her shoulder with his bony hand. “So happy you come to see me. Everything good here.”

“There’s water in the entryway.” Matt gestured toward the shop. “There’s nothing good about that.”

Tito pointed across the street. “Galerías Colectiva fill with water. You go help there.”

“Of course. After I clean this up.” Matt’s voice was so reassuring and confident, Liv had to rein in her libido one more time.

“No.” Tito pushed himself up from the chair. He looked serious, and like he was trying to assert his authority by standing to his full height. Which was all of about five foot two.

“I’ll take care of the floor.” Liv held Tito’s arm to steady him. She could see inside the shop from where she stood. Tito was right, there was no damage there. Just a shallow puddle in the entryway that hadn’t spread even halfway through the shop. Nothing a mop wouldn’t clean up in a matter of minutes. “Go ahead and go, Matt. Just point me to the cleaning supplies.”

“Mop in storage room,” Tito said.

Matt ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling it up deliciously. He looked at Liv with those probing brown eyes that made her feel exposed. Butterflies flitted around in her stomach.

Knock it off, Liv. Focus.

“You sure?” Matt asked.