Collided: Dirty Air (Book 2)(108)

“Speaking of your stomach, it’s digging into my back, and it kind of hurts.” I laugh as Liam backs up.

“I was just thanking Sophie for how much of a help she’s been with Kaia’s birthday. Imagine if you went with the pink bounce house instead of the purple one.” Lukas pretends our conversation never happened, and I let him.

Liam gasps. “The horror. Who knew Kaia had a sudden allergy to anything pink?”

“I did!” I stick my tongue out at Liam.

“Okay, Miss Know It All. I need to steal you away from my brother. Hope you enjoyed Sophie while it lasted, Lukas. She’s all mine. Forever and ever.” Liam grabs my hand and drags me down the hall.

“You’re such a weirdo.” I laugh as he guides the way toward his mega garage. The lights turn on one by one, the noise echoing off the walls. “Also, that totally seems like something from the Bat Cave.”

“Why are you obsessed with this garage and Batman? I’d be concerned about him if I didn’t fuck you against the hood of my McCoy Menace.”

My cheeks flush as I check out the car Liam references. “Har. Har. Hilarious.”

“Want to take her for a drive?” He walks to the wall that houses all the keys.

“On Christmas? It’s snowing and your family’s upstairs.”

“So? My parents are going to drink with your dad, and my brother’s going to put the girls down for bed. Santa needs to get moving.” Liam pats his ridiculous stomach prop.

“Does Santa have a special gift for me?”

He shoots me a smile as he throws me a pair of keys.

I rush to catch them. The key fob has a BMW insignia on them. “Liam, these are the wrong keys. This isn’t for the Menace.”

“Are they? My bad. Here, catch.”

“What?” I screech as I nearly drop the second one he throws at me. This one weighs more. When I check out the fob, I find the loop filled with other keys. “Another BMW one. Are you forgetting what your old logo looked like already?”

Liam closes the gap between us. He brushes a loose strand of hair out of my face, making my skin tingle from his touch. “Nope, I remember it. I wasn’t offering for you to drive the McCoy car. I want you to drive this one.” He taps on the fob, and a beeping noise sounds off.

I turn to find a BMW convertible with the tiniest bow on the hood. “What’s going on?”

“Check out the bow on that sucker. I mean, big things come in small packages, am I right?”

“Did you buy me a car?” I choke on the words.

“Remember when you told me you’d move to Germany if my parents offered you a BMW convertible?”

My head snaps toward his. “That was over a year ago. How do you even remember that?”

He taps his temple. “With you, I remember it all. Except my parents aren’t asking you to move here.”

“Are you trying to tell me you’re moving to Germany? I’m so confused.”

Liam tugs me into him. He leaves behind the faintest kiss before grabbing the key fob from my hand. “Nope. I’m asking you to move in with me. Period. All these keys belong to my different homes. I want you to be by my side every day. In the mornings. In the evenings, and every moment in between. No more sneaking around behind your dad’s back and no more uni dorms. Say you’ll move in with me?”

“Of course!” I launch myself into Liam’s arms. He kisses me to the point of breathlessness, leaving me aching for more.

“Thank fuck because I already had someone come in and customize a closet for your massive sneaker collection. I used to dream of your sneakers around my waist but turns out I really fantasized about keeping them in my house forever.”

I laugh as he kisses my neck. “I love you and thank you for the car. You never fail to surprise me.”

“Oh, babe. You haven’t seen anything yet. No need to wish on stars anymore when I’m here to make your dreams come true.”

I groan. “Your pickup game is so weak.”

Liam places me lightly on the hood of my new car. “How about my sexy game? Still up to your standards?”

He kisses me without me ever answering his question. There’s no point. With Liam, everything is exactly how I want it. He’s the man I want to spend all my time with. The man who continues to grow into a better person each day, no longer plagued by his past. The same one I dream of marrying one day.

Liam is right. I don’t need to wish on stars when I already have everything I could dream of.





Epilogue — Liam





Two Years Later





I always thought F1 was it for me, the idea of being with someone an impossibility. But I ended up finding love in the very place that was supposed to be my everything.

Sophie single-handedly turned me into an emotional fucker over the years. Ever since she came to spend her summer with Bandini years ago, she scratched away at my rough exterior until nothing was left to protect me from her. Her list captured my attention, but her essence stole everything else. Sophie accepted my secrets. She saw past the man on the stage, not taking my fake display of happiness as anything more than a show.

Sophie upgraded her laminated list to Post-its scattered around the house, the colors switching between neon shades depending on the task or mood. It’s a game we’ve played together for years. Pink Post-its have sexy stuff, blue are happy notes, green includes need to-do or buy items, and yellow has sweet messages she finds on Pinterest.