The Dating Plan(53)
“This isn’t the time.” She slapped his hand away and ran into Sanjay’s room.
“It’s like he never left,” Liam said as Daisy struggled with the window. “I recognize every book, every action figure, every Lego—”
“You can reminisce later,” she gritted out. “They’re going to break down the door if I don’t get downstairs.”
“I almost want to stay just to watch,” Liam mused, seemingly unconcerned by the danger of being discovered. “Your aunts must be great in a siege.”
Daisy shoved open the window and called out to whichever auntie had been sent to do recon in her backyard. “I’ll be there in a minute. Meet you around the front.”
“I thought I was supposed to meet some of your relatives.” Liam straddled the windowsill. “After everyone is inside, I could ring the doorbell and pretend I just arrived.”
Daisy shook her head. “It’s not in the plan.”
“Neither was this morning,” he said softly. “And you appear to have survived.”
Daisy’s face heated. What had she been thinking? Making out with Liam was against the dating plan rules. Her rules. It could complicate an already complicated situation. And yet, her skin still tingled and she ached for his touch. “We can talk about that later.”
He lifted his head and a cheeky smile lit his face. “What about a goodbye kiss for being such a good sport?”
With a sigh, she leaned forward, but what was meant to be a quick peck on the cheek became something more when Liam cupped her nape and dragged her closer, his tongue sweeping through her mouth, setting her blood on fire all over again.
Daisy pulled away, panting her breaths, her body tingling in all the wrong places. “You have to go.”
Liam stepped out onto the roof and studied the steep incline. “I’m not as young as I was the last time I did this. I need to tell you something in case I don’t make it.” He drew in a deep breath. “It’s about the night of the prom . . .”
“You want to talk about the prom NOW?” She grabbed the window, preparing to tug it down. “I have four suspicious aunties banging on my door. Sharing things about the past was supposed to happen when we were lying on the couch together.”
He gave an apologetic shrug. “You know I’m not good with plans.”
Daisy leaned out the window as he edged down the roof, following the well-worn trail over the tiles. He’d never looked this unsteady when he and Sanjay had snuck out at night, and her throat constricted
“Liam?”
He looked up, brow furrowed in concentration. “What?”
“Do you want to use the back door?”
“And run the risk of encountering a rampaging auntie?” He shook his head. “I’ll take my chances with the roof of doom. Maybe you should take a picture so the police don’t think you pushed me when they find my body in the azaleas. If I do survive, it might also be useful to show the trustees. Nothing says ‘legitimate relationship’ like having to escape down the roof.”
Daisy grabbed her phone and took a few pictures as he made his slow, perilous descent. “Liam?”
His head jerked up, fingers embedded in the tiles. “Yes?”
“Thank you for offering to explain about the prom. I’d like to hear it another time.”
“Good to know.”
“I really appreciated you coming to be with me at the vet,” she said quickly. “And taking my mind off Max last night . . .”
Liam grunted when his foot slipped. “Are you thanking me because you think I’m going to die? Not the vote of confidence I was hoping for.”
“And this morning . . .” she continued.
“Don’t talk about this morning when I’m trying not to fall off the roof. It could prove to be a fatal distraction.” He reached for the tree branch he and Sanjay had always used for the last, more precarious part of the descent. Daisy knew every step of their escape route. She had watched them too many times to count.
“But I have to tell you something. It’s important.”
He froze, teetered on the tiles, his eyes glistening in the morning light. “What?”
“I hacked Guitar Hero. There was no possible way I could have lost.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I know.”
Puzzled, she frowned. “Then why did you keep playing?”
“It made you happy,” he said simply. “Same reason I brought you math puzzles, played video games with you when Sanjay wasn’t around, tried to guess the after-school snack instead of looking at your meal plan, and offered to take you to the prom when you didn’t have a date. I wanted you to be happy, Daisy. I still do.”
His sweet words took her breath away. This was the Liam she knew. Kind, generous, selfless, and about to get killed climbing down her roof. “Liam! Wait.”
“I’m good.” His hand closed around the nearest branch, and her pulse thudded in her ears. A man who would do this for her, who had done so much in the past to make her happy, wouldn’t have left so abruptly without a good reason—a reason he’d been willing to share.
“Come back,” she called out. “I’ll think of something. I’ll tell them I’m ill . . .”