I nudged away from Liam and turned around. “I am. This is exactly what I want to do.”
He slowly smiled.
“Don’t fucking smile either,” I said. “I’ll kick you out.”
“You’re done with me?”
“That’s right. I got what I wanted. Bye.”
“I thought we had something, Em.”
“Nope. Nice dick. Now you can leave.”
Liam looked devilish in black pants and a white t-shirt.
I took a few breaths to keep myself from jumping into his arms again.
“I’m keeping that shirt too,” I said. “A symbol of my conquest.”
“Do you have a box full of dress shirts from guys you’ve slept with?” Liam asked.
“A box? I have a storage unit.”
“Damn, babe,” Liam said. “Good for you.”
I opened my mouth to keep our little banter going, but Liam moved at me.
His hands to my face, his lips to my lips.
Kissing me like… whoa.
It was a short-lived kiss, but it packed a big punch.
I blinked fast and couldn’t find my breath.
“Just keep going, Em,” Liam whispered. “Stand up for yourself. Be yourself. There’s a way to give and take at the same time. I know you’ll find it. I’ve always believed in you, babe. And this is not a mistake.”
I shut my eyes and felt like I could cry.
Stupid Liam.
He was lucky I loved him.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Liam
I walked out of the bathroom with a small cloud of steam behind me.
My hands balled up into tight fists, my eyes looking around the apartment, everything in me wishing I was back at Emily’s place.
This apartment was fancy.
Too fancy.
The kind of place where everything looked perfect and could never be touched.
It had the allure of two lawyers who lived together, but weren’t really together.
Emily’s place was cozy. It was more like a home. All its flaws made it that way too. The old building. The old brick. The sounds and smells. The old windows.
It was just…
I knew I had to get out of this place.
One way or another I had to be done with it.
Of course, the timing was terrible.
Miranda and I were locked into a lease that would be a pain in the ass to break. Then again, it was nothing a boat load of money wouldn’t fix. At this point, I would gladly pay out the rest of the lease just to be done with the place. Or pay someone to sublet it.
I skipped going to the bedroom and went to the kitchen instead.
For as much as I wanted things to be completely severed with Miranda, time had a strange way of twisting our lives together more than I cared to admit. It wasn’t like two people dating who decided not to date anymore.
I sighed as I picked up the engagement ring off the counter.
I took a few seconds to really think about it. To study it. To feel something.
All I saw…
Emily.
What it could have and should have been all along.
Emily sitting across from me at that table, eating the food that could have been at my wedding. Emily picking out the flowers that could have been at my wedding.
My heart squeezed because I felt nothing for the other side of the equation.
I put the ring in the junk drawer.
I thought about calling or texting Miranda.
I had never had an engagement relationship end before so I wasn’t sure of the rules here.
Truthfully, the last thing I wanted to do was call her.
Sooner rather than later we’d have to figure out all the pieces of our lives that touched.
Until then…
“Fuck it,” I whispered.
I walked to the bedroom to get dressed.
The bed was made.
There was a certain order for the pillows, blankets and all of that.
I put my clothes out on the bed and looked around once again.
Everything I owned was here yet it didn’t feel like home at all.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for my phone.
After going through a handful of emails and determining today wasn’t the most important day of work in my life, I closed my emails and decided to do something else.
Just for fun.
I looked for a new apartment… for Emily and I.
“Did you fuck her yet?”
“What? Who?”
Jackson laughed on the other end of the call. “Don’t play that game.”
“What game?”
“You showed up to my place, crying like a baby…”
“I did not cry,” I said as I reached the front door to Emily’s bakery. “Wow, I thought I was talking to a friend.”
“You were,” Jackson said. “I am a friend. Your best friend.”
“Cole’s my best friend. He has real advice.”
“What was his advice on this?”
“I didn’t ask him yet,” I said.
Jackson laughed. “You sound happier. Like you just ditched a ton of weight.”
“Careful, Jackson,” I said. “I still have a lot to figure out here.”
“No, you don’t,” he said. “You’re just looking for an excuse.”
“I have to go. I have a meeting.”
“Your dick with Emily’s sweet pussy?”
“Does Callie know you talk like this?”
“She loves it,” Jackson said.
“Hey,” I said. “If you ever bring up Em’s pussy again, I’ll kill you.”
Jackson cheered. “And he’s back. Go get her, Liam. You deserve to be as happy as you sound.”
I ended the call and entered the bakery.
Emily was behind the counter.
She looked right at me and waved.
The place looked busy and Emily looked busier.
I wandered toward the counter and saw she was alone.
She hurried to the side and I reached for her.
I had planned on pulling her close and kissing her.
Instead, she jammed an apron into my hand.
“What is this?” I asked.
“You’re here, you work,” she said.
“What?”
“Lucy had to leave,” she said.
“She okay?”
“Run the register,” Emily said. “Take the orders and we’ll talk after the line dies down.”
She smiled at me and I couldn’t resist her.
I couldn’t say no to her.
I wrapped the small apron around my waist and laughed as I tried to tie it.
Fuck this thing.
I put it on the counter and went to the register.
A woman stood there, looking annoyed as hell.
I pointed to her. “Now that pretty face needs a smile.”
The woman’s cheeks flushed a little. “Sorry. Just
