“You what?” she said. “Slow down, slow down a second. I thought you said that that guy gave you the best sex of your life?”
Fuck, I wish I had not shared that with Emily.
Also, really wish she wasn’t reminding me of that. I could really use not thinking about Liam in any positive light, most especially when there are enough things going for him right now.
“He did, and if you only looked at that night, he was fucking fantastic,” I said. “But today I learned that he lied about his name that day, and that was probably the least offensive thing he did the entire time. Not only did he just disappear for the last two years, when I confronted him on it, he got incredibly angry. It was so…weird.”
The thought that came to mind as I finished my words was not just his anger—it was the way he climbed up on me on the bed. That moment was one of the tensest I had ever felt in my life—I really wondered if he was going to kiss me and fuck me right there. It would have made two years before seem like missionary between two virgins.
But nothing had happened, and so truly bizarre and impossible to believe was just weird.
“I’m sorry, Kelly, I never would have thought that that would have happened,” she said, but there was still a hint of disbelief in her voice, like she thought I was setting her up by laughing and saying the whole thing was a joke. “He’s not Mr. Rogers, but he was never a dick with me.”
“Yeah, well, you never let him come inside you.”
Emily sighed, but I could hear a smile behind it, like she was imagining being the one to get railed. I had to admit, it was pretty memorable. But no, that didn’t matter now, so it wasn’t anything I needed to spend more time thinking about.
“I need to know what you know about him, Emily,” I said. “Forget anything about him being a P.I. He doesn’t need to be hired now, and well, did you pay him?”
“Not yet, he said when the job’s completed.”
“Well, if he’s got any fucking sense, he won’t ask for payment so I won’t have to reimburse you. Fucking mess. Anyways, for all that, he’s still Charlotte’s father. Tell me about him.”
Why are you so curious? It’s not like he expressed an interest in seeing her. At most, he didn’t say he never wanted to see her, but that’s not really a bar.
“Honestly, I really don’t know much about him. Contacting him in the first place was so odd, and when he helped with Sean, he was damn good at what he did, but it’s not like we ever got drinks or went on a date. Although, from what you’ve told me, I know he likes to dominate his women in bed!”
“Not the time, Emily,” I groaned, but it wasn’t so much that the memory made me sour as it was the exact opposite.
“Sorry,” she said, this time sounding genuine. “My gut feeling is that he’s a really good guy. Maybe you caught him off guard. I don’t know, though; I’m just guessing. He’s very private and very professional with me. Even when the job was finished, he wasn’t one for letting me express my gratitude. He’s stoic, kind, and intense. Honestly, we probably bantered more talking about the job I thought you needed than anytime we worked together.”
I listened closely to her words, but they weren’t sinking in. Aside from the fact that they ran completely contradictory to what I’d experienced…what the hell did I do now?
Maybe Emily had a fair point. Maybe I’d shocked the hell out of him. After all, he probably never imagined taking this job and seeing a one-night stand from two years ago pop up with news that he had a child with her. It was all out of left field for all of us.
He’d been a massive jackass, but he was Dad to Charlotte. A part of me very much felt like I needed to give him another shot.
“You really think he’s a decent guy?”
“Again, gut feeling, Kelly, but yes. I think he just got caught up in a shitty situation for anyone, didn’t know how to react, and panicked. I don’t know any man that would have walked into that room, learned he had a surprise child, and handled it well.”
I sighed.
“Maybe I need to give him a second chance.”
“I would. But give him a couple days to cool off. A baby bomb just went off in his life.”
I chuckled at that. Baby bomb. It wasn’t the funniest thing I’d ever heard, but if I could laugh right now, that was a pretty good sign that maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as I’d feared.
“Well, thanks Emily, it’s much appreciated. How are you doing? Are you still feeling like you’re being followed?”
I could hear Emily gulp on the other end of the line.
“Yeah,” she said, followed by a long pause. “I really thought it would have ended by now, but I can’t shake the feeling. Maybe I’m insane, but—”
“For it to go this long, something is definitely up. Do you have help?”
I would have loved nothing more than to give her some of that “mountain woman” training that she seemed so shocked I had. Unfortunately, not only did Emily probably have no chance of acquiring such skill, it probably wasn’t even legal to own a rifle of my size in downtown Miami. Maybe it was—Florida was a bit crazy—but city girls weren’t exactly known for carrying weapons on them.
“I’m meeting a private security firm in two days to discuss having protection until I figure out what’s going on, but it just sucks. I—”
“Want Liam?” I said with a laugh. “He finished his job
