Page 133 of Best Kind of Trouble
My heart swells until it feels like my body is all heart, no room for bones. “You have. You already have.”
His eyes glimmer with pleasure, but he shakes his head. “Not yet. I want to woo you, Briar. Don’t you think a queen deserves to be wooed? That’s what I did wrong from the beginning. I should have wooed you.”
“No, I think you’ve done a pretty good job of it. Right now, you could woo me in the bathroom of Sunshine Diner if you wanted to.”
He laughs. “Oh, I think we can do better than that. Have dinner with me tomorrow night.”
We’re closing early tomorrow so the staff has time to rest up before the long New Year’s party. I figured I’d spend the time at the brewery, preparing, or at home, worrying. But this? This is the dream I didn’t want to risk having.
Tears press against my eyes as I say, “Yes.But what about Hannah…?”
“I’ll talk to Hannah,” he says, his expression turning grim. “But if you’re willing to give us a real chance, I’ll be telling her, Briar, not asking her.”
And that’s it.
I grab the lapels of his coat and pull him down for a kiss. He groans into my mouth, his hand instantly lifting into my hair.
It’s so easy to get lost in Liam. It has been from the beginning. At first I thought it was another sign that I was overly sensitive and letting my feelings about him get in the way of my better judgment. But maybe this is how it’s supposed to be. Maybe getting lost in someone is a sign that you feel totally safe with them.
He pulls back, grinning at me like a wolf. “Come inside with me. Let’s see if their food is as bad as their whiskey.”
“Oh, it is,” I say, but I follow him in, because I have a special fondness for this place too.
I fell into his arms for the first time just outside of it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
LIAM
It should be impossible to get fried food wrong, but I’ll give Sunshine Diner this: they don’t believe in the word impossible. Sharon isn’t here, but Briar leaves a holiday card for her.
Yes. I’ve fallen for a woman who carries blank cards in her purse in case she wants to make someone’s day.
I drop her off at her apartment after we eat and order symbolic whiskeys neither of us wants to drink. She invites me upstairs, but I’m fixed on doing this the right way from now on.
“Not tonight. I have plans for tomorrow. Let me do this.”
She nods, and the hope in her eyes is nearly my undoing.
“We’re going to be okay.” It’s the only promise I can make, since I know it’s far from a sure thing that the brewery will survive the year.
“Is that a promise?” she asks.
“Damn straight.”
I ride back to my apartment, tempted to turn around and sayfuck itto my big wooing plan—why bother having plans other than being with the person you want? But I stay the course, since I’ve roped Otis and Cormac into helping me too.
When I open the door to my apartment and step into thedark interior, a small flame flares to life in the corner, illuminating the face of the person sitting in my green armchair.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Hannah.” My heart does its best to thump out of my chest as the tiny flame illuminates my sister’s face. “Do you want to kill me?”
“Jury’s out on that,” she responds.
“I’m taking your key back.” I flip on the overhead light.
Hannah hisses like a vampire and covers her eyes.
“How long have you been sitting in the dark?” I’d laugh, because it’s fucking funny, but I know why she’s here.
