Until There Was You(66)

“Cordelia?” he said. No answer. Too bad, because he had quite the urge to kiss her again. And not only kiss her, either. He’d been right about what lay beneath all that flannel. Well worth finding. Lean, but not scrawny, everything in proportion. She was small—but in a nice way. Not underfed, just…nice. She was strong, too, and he hadn’t been afraid of hurting her or being too heavy. Her skin was surprisingly soft and sweet, and the way she smelled was like an addiction, that orangey, clean smell. And man, that mouth of hers… The girl could kiss, and when her legs had wrapped around his waist…yeah. Olympic covered it pretty well.

Liam got out of bed, groped around for his jeans and pulled them on. Maybe she was taking a shower. Maybe he’d join her in there.

The bathroom was empty. Huh. He padded down the stairs, curious. Even though Cordelia didn’t seem like the cuddling type, most women didn’t bolt after sex, did they? Back in the day, he was the one itchy to leave. Which made him kind of a prick, he knew. Using women for sex, however willingly they’d offered themselves up, was not something he was proud of. Not anymore. When he was seventeen, back in his idiot days, sure. Amazing how fatherhood changed a guy’s perspective.

One of the cats, the one with the big head, hissed at him and ran upstairs. Strange house, this old church. There was a light on in the kitchen, though Cordelia didn’t seem to be there, either. But wait. A door was slightly ajar. Ah-ha. He could hear the telltale rattle of a food wrapper. Liam opened the door, and there stood Cordelia in the pantry, turned slightly away from him and clad in her bathrobe, hair all messed up, stuffing four or five Ritz crackers into her mouth, the giant dog staring at her, drooling impressively. “Hi,” Liam said, folding his arms over his bare chest.

She jumped. “Urmph,” she said, a few crumbs flying. A blush crept up her neck. She swallowed thickly and gestured with the crackers. Her dog took this as an invitation to gently remove the roll of crackers from her hand, then stepped delicately around them both, leaving with his booty.

Cordelia swallowed thickly, then shoved her hands in the pockets of her robe, an aging blue-and-green flannel thing that reminded Liam of something worn by his alcoholic uncle. Her feet were bare. And cute. “Hi,” she said.

“I was wondering where you’d gone.”

“Oh…just a…snack. Do you want anything?”

“No, I’m good,” he answered. He stood there, looking at her. She made no attempt to leave the pantry. “You gonna stay in here all night?”

“Nope.” Still blushing, she brushed past him—there was that nice smell of oranges again—and sat at the kitchen table. He joined her.

She was uncomfortable, that was clear. And man, she was cute. Those big brown orphan eyes, that little chin. She definitely looked like an elf, though Liam knew that most women wouldn’t cherish the comparison. Her gaze made it about as far as his throat, then went back to his bare chest, then to his arms. She swallowed again, then looked at the sugar bowl.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Sure. Of course. What could be wrong?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t the one hiding in the pantry.”

“I wasn’t hiding. I just didn’t, um…want to wake you up.”

“Thoughtful of you.”

“My cousin will be home soon,” she said, eyes on the sugar bowl.

“Want me to leave?”

“Oh! Um…well, you can if you want.”

She still couldn’t seem to meet his eyes. He suppressed a sigh. Why didn’t women come with a user’s manual? She’d practically mauled him in her front hall and now wouldn’t even look at him. “Cordelia, I thought that was a lot of fun. Was I wrong?”

“Nope. It was fun. Very fun. Thank you.” The blush flared again. She bit her lip—he wished she wouldn’t, because frankly, he’d like to. He’d like to tug her up by the belt of that ratty robe, push it open and lift her onto the table and—

“Are you thinking about Emma?” she said, and Liam was so surprised that his head jerked back. “I mean, you must be. It’s natural. It’s fine. You loved her, she was your wife. I understand. It’s all good.”

Emma. Right.

“It’s just…you know. You and Emma were together a long time. And, um, you must be thinking about her. About Emma.” She finally met his eyes. “Are you?”

“Well, I am now. Since you keep chanting her name.”

She nodded. “Were you before?”

“Before when? Upstairs before?”

Her face fired up. “Um…yes.”

“No.” Emma hadn’t crossed his mind once. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Obviously, Emma was his main point of reference, the only woman he’d slept with for a lot of years. But not in an obvious way…just in the way that she was always there somehow or another. Now that Cordelia had brought it up, though…well, she was smaller than Emma. More, er, energetic. Her hair was short, and Emma’s had been long.

Cordelia tugged the robe more tightly around her. “Cold?” Liam asked.

“No. Are you? Because your shirt is…missing.”

Liam bit down on a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Good.” Eyes back on the sugar bowl, which apparently was like the Rosetta Stone or something for all the attention she was giving it. “Am I the first woman you’ve…um…been with? Since Emma?”