The Dating Plan(63)

“All these years I thought you didn’t care.” Her voice wavered with guilt at the memory of all her unkind thoughts. “You were just being a good friend. I hope he knew how lucky he was.”

His voice hitched and he shuddered beneath her. “He’s the one who sold his car to bail me out two days later. The owner of the stolen vehicle was someone he knew and he convinced the dude not to press charges. I got off without a record. He even gave me back the tux. But I couldn’t come and see you.”

“I would have understood, Liam. Dad and Sanjay, too. You made an incredible sacrifice to save a friend. No one could fault you for that.”

He dropped his forehead to her hair, squeezing her so tight she almost lost her breath. “I felt sick at the thought that I’d hurt you, and I was ashamed I’d been in jail. You were smart, beautiful, and ambitious and you had your whole life ahead of you—an incredible future with an amazing career and a partner who could give you the world. And I was everything my dad had said I was. No direction. No motivation. No prospects. That night I got a taste of my future, and I didn’t want you in it. I didn’t want to drag you down. I thought it was better if I left with you hating me than if I came to say goodbye.”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she relived the emotions of that night, knowing now that he was nothing like her mother, that he’d left because he’d thought he wasn’t good enough and not because she wasn’t good enough for him.

Turning in his arms, forcing him to release her, she pulled his head up, framing his face with her hands. “Thank you for telling me. It doesn’t take that pain away, but it makes all the difference now that I understand.”

Sensing her emotional distress, Max squeezed in between them, tail wagging, up on his hind legs, pawing at her shirt with his forelegs, trying to lick her tears away.

Liam gave him a rub. “I wish I’d had a Max back then.”

“He’s the best.” She gave Max a reassuring cuddle and reached for one of his new toys. “He also won’t leave us alone now. Emotional Daisy usually gives him a lot of attention.”

“We could . . .” He jerked his head toward the stairwell. “Go upstairs.”

“Hmmm.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I was planning to seduce you here, but it might be easier without Max watching.”

He smiled, and the last of the shadows that had darkened his face slid away. “I am delighted to be seduced anywhere by you.”

Daisy took Max to his basket in the kitchen with all his new toys and gave him a good-night cuddle. Liam was waiting at the top of the stairs when she was done. He dragged her against him and captured her mouth, devoured it, holding her so close she could feel his heart pound.

Sliding her arms around his neck, she walked him backward, reveling in the feeling of being in control. “Prepare yourself. Nothing has changed in my bedroom since I was a teenager.”

He slid one hand down to squeeze her ass. “I don’t plan on spending a lot of time looking at the décor.”

“The rules still apply,” she said. “One time. No obligations. No feelings. No expectations. No sleeping over. This is my make-up-for-prom fantasy. It’s all I want.”

Disappointment flickered across his face so fast, she wondered if she’d seen it. “I’ll take you any way I can get you.” He gave her a slow, sensual smile. “But I promise, one night with me won’t be enough.”

“We’ll see about that.” Once in her bedroom, she backed him up to her bed. Daisy had never had a man in her room before. It was her sanctuary, the one place she could truly be herself. Over the years, she’d traded the princess décor for shabby chic, but the white country-style furniture remained the same.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I like the contrast of Avengers posters on pink walls.” He nodded at the bed. “And the pink cover is very . . . girlie.”

Daisy laughed. “I’ve never been able to bring myself to change it. My mother decorated it for me before she left. I didn’t realize it was because she was planning to say goodbye. I kept it the same way hoping she’d come back. And when she did, she wasn’t even interested in seeing it. I should have redecorated it then, but I couldn’t be bothered.”

“Time for a change.” Liam sat on the edge of her bed. “Wipe the slate clean.”

“I’ve never seduced a man before.” She closed the door in case a curious Max came looking for her. “How am I doing?”

Liam gestured her forward, then pulled her into a straddle over his lap. “You’ve got me on the bed. I’d say you are ninety-eight percent there.”

“I want to see you.” She tugged on his Sharks jersey, and he obliged her by pulling it over his head.

Daisy licked her lips as she took in the hard planes and angles of his broad chest, the ripples of his six-pack and the narrow trail of hair leading below his belt.

“Sweetheart . . .” His voice dropped to a husky growl. “If you keep looking at me like that, you won’t have to seduce me. All you’ll have to do is take off your clothes.”

Daisy lifted an eyebrow. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you.”

“Very much.”

She ran her hands possessively over his chest. “You’ll have to wait. I’m enjoying my prom fantasy.”