Crown Jewels (Off-Limits Romance #1)(52)

I’m sitting at the counter vanity, rubbing lotion on my cheeks, when my phone buzzes.

‘Want to leave in about half an hour?’

I text back, ‘Sure.’

‘I’ll hang a backpack on your door handle. Pack warm for tonight. Let me know if you need clothes and I’ll get some.’

I send him a cheesy smilie. ‘Prince Charming.’

A few minutes later, dressed in my favorite pair of worn designer jeans, a thin, indigo blue sweater, and brown boots, I open my door and grab a giant, suede-ish hiking pack that’s slung around the door handle. It’s heavy with the weight of…something. I stick my face into the top of the bag. Liam’s clothes.

God, they smell so freaking good. Kind of crisp like after-shave and…woodsy.

I can’t seem to stop myself from fishing around inside. My fingers touch soft cotton, and I pull out what turns out to be a white, V-neck undershirt. There are two tiny holes near the shoulder, which I find interesting. Liam could definitely afford a new undershirt, but I guess he’s like me: he likes his old, familiar things.

After one final sniff, I stuff the shirt back inside and pack my own clothes on top.

I refill Grey’s automatic-dispensing food and water container, then spend a few minutes with him on the foot of the bed, scratching him under his chin and rubbing the top of his head the way he likes. I turn on the TV hidden in an armoire, navigate to a channel that doesn’t seem to be nature-oriented—National Geographic scares the shit out of him—and tell him I’ll be back tomorrow.

My cell phone shows I have five minutes before it’s time to meet Liam in the hall, so I wander back into the bathroom, pulling a small vial of perfume out of my bag and dabbing a little behind my ears. I know it’s wrong to tempt him, but it’s kind of fun. Is it so terrible to have a little fun?

I feel a little wave of nausea as I step back into the bedroom.

Duh. I have to pack some crackers. I down three ginger snaps plus a swallow of water, then put the box of ginger snaps at the top of the bag. I’ll have to create some bullshit story about how I love ginger things. It’s not completely untrue. I really do have a massive thing for gingerbread.

I find Liam leaning against the hallway wall, wearing a long-sleeved maroon hoodie, black-ish jeans, and black boots. He looks incredible. He’s got his hair pulled back.

“Hi,” he says when I step out. His full lips tip up at the corners in a tiny smile.

“Hey, you.”

He takes the pack from me and slings it over his shoulder, then, with a quick look at my face, he starts walking toward the stairs. I fall in step with him. I realize I haven’t seen him since before I listened to his phone call. I kind of forgot about the phone call, but now I’m curious. What was that?

He wouldn’t put a dog through what bullshit. And then he said he didn’t want to put himself through it. What did that mean? Was he talking to a woman? I felt like he was. I forgot the name he called the other person, but it sounded like a woman’s name.

I steal a glance at him. I can’t help noting that all the earlier flirtation he was throwing my way has gone dormant. He seems…somber. As we walk down the stairs, he pulls a dark blue cap onto his head. I watch him pull his man-bun down a little so it fits right.

“Sox?”

He turns to me, smiling that small smile again. It fades fast, though, and then he’s looking at his feet.

As we step off the stairs onto the first floor, I bump him with my elbow. His eyebrows raise.

I smile. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

I wrap an arm around his waist and snuggle up against him.

Liam’s arm goes around me, too, squeezing for just a second before he lets me go. I lift my head off his arm and find him giving me a crooked smile. “What was that for?” he asks.

“Nothing.”

“You’re a strange one, Lucille Rhodes.”

When we start walking again, he catches my hand. He lifts it up. “I like this.”

“My polish?”

He nods. His fingertip rubs over one of my green nails. “Do you do them yourself?”

“I do lately. It’s really not that hard. Plus, out in Estes, I’ve kind of tried to keep to myself and stuff.”

“Have you?” His fingers close gently around mine as he leads me into what looks like a small library.

“Yeah.”

There’s a door in one corner. Liam keeps my hand as he shoulders through the door, then releases me so he can hold the door for me.

I grin. “Nice manners, Gael boy.”

He smiles back. “I heard that’s what you girls like.”

“Southern girls?”

He nods.

A few feet away, in the grass, I see a black Range Rover. Liam opens my door, tosses the pack in the back, and drives off down a road I’ve never noticed before.

“So how far away is this place?”

He gives me a smirk. “Afraid to be alone with me?”

“Pshhh. Not even a little bit.”

He shakes his head. “Not even a little. I’m losing my game.”

“You didn’t have it. Not with me.”

I watch with delight as his jaw drops slowly open, then his face splits into a grin. “I didn’t, did I?” he asks as he turns onto a little, cobblestone road.