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“Yes. It would confuse them.”
His lips were so close, and he smelled so good. Like heady pine, and whatever the fuck they put in Old Spice to make it so mouthwatering.
“Only if there’s something to be confused about.”
I pulled away from him, feeling annoyed.
“I’mconfused, so I know they absolutely would be.”
“I like you,” he confessed, thinning his lips, silver eyes bright from the recessed lighting above us. The sky was getting dark outside as time slipped by, and the girls thumped around in the room above us.
His finger trailed over the midriff at my waist, and I sucked in a harsh breath.
“I like you too, but we have this arrangement…and we don’t know each other that well.”
Liam’s jaw flexed. “What do you want to know?”
“It’s not that simple. I just want to be careful.”
His face slipped, lowering so that his eyes were on the floor, and for some reason I wanted to pull his chin up, like he always did with me.
All too soon the kids were running down the stairs and I stepped back a few feet, so we had distance between us.
“Daddy, we’re going to build in a new world inMinecraft, and you’re the fourth controller!” Mila called, running into the room.
Her eyes shifted to me. “Actually, Haley, you can do it, but only if you know how to build good. Daddy makes the best horse stalls for us.”
I wanted to stay and just watch all four of them as they worked on whatever world they were talking about. I’d be happy to sit on the couch and observe, just be a part of whatever they were doing. But I had to create some separation, or this would get too complicated.
“That’s okay. I actually have to head out.” I lowered my head to avoid Liam’s gaze.
On my way to the front door, he trailed me. Hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats, he kept his gaze lowered while I pulled on my boots and grabbed my coat.
Then he asked, “You headed home?”
Shit. I didn’t want to tell him, but I wasn’t about to create drama by lying, and I owed him the decency of being candid.
My chin was to my chest as I zipped my coat and muttered, “Actually, I’m headed to McGrady’s.”
“What?” Liam’s voice came out sharp with a touch of surprise.
“Yeah, um…” I shrugged my shoulder, “Jeffery asked me to go with him, as a friend.”
Liam’s expression was guarded, but those eyes had flames dancing inside. His jaw tensed, lips turned down, and the rigid way he stood there spoke everything he wasn’t saying with words.
“So me telling you that I like you—that doesn’t mean anything to you?” he asked quietly.
It meant too much. More than I knew how to handle.
“Of course it does, but I’m not going romantically with Jeffery. We’re friends.”
Liam scoffed with a clench of his jaw.
“I guarantee you he isn’t thinkingfriendly thoughts about you, Haley.”
Why did I feel like my chest was on fire? Why did Liam look like someone had just stolen something from him? There was an edge to his gleaming eyes and coiled muscles.
I tried to keep my voice calm as I said, “You can’t know that. It’s just one night out. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the gym.”
