Page 33 of Seeking Stars
She arched an eyebrow but gave it to him.
"I'll take a picture of us," he explained. He double clicked it to open the photo app. "You can post it to social media, tag me, and say something about how fun it is to get to work with me. Only if it's true, of course. I wouldn't want you to fake anything."
His lips stretched into a teasing smile. Seemed he couldn't stop himself from flirting with her. He didn't even realize he was doing it, half the time, until warmth spread down from his navel at her reaction.
She rolled her eyes but her lips curled into a reluctant smile. "Oh, sure. I guess I can say working with you is fine."
He laughed and, lifting her cell, took a quick picture of them.
"There." He gave her the phone back.
Still with a grudging smile on her lips, she began typing. Taking out his phone, he opened Instagram and waited for the notification of her tag; she had written, "Liam is a really cool guy! It's awesome doing business with someone you could be friends with. So glad we're doing this documentary to show you all."
The warmth inside of him swept up into his chest and wrapped itself around his heart. It shocked him that he could react that way at reading her words.
"Nice, thank you," he said, reposting her photo and adding,she's a cool one too.
Not five seconds after posting, the app showed several reactions to his post. The same must have happened for her.
"Half of the comments say they don't believe this is business." Her voice seemed breathless. "Like what we said didn't matter."
He locked his phone and put it face down on the table. She did the same and turned to him, silently asking for an explanation.
"Yeah, that's how it happens sometimes. It's good to say what you want to say, if you really want to, but they may go wild with speculation anyway. So… maybe you let them go wild, next time."
"Next time?"
He nodded, and she sighed.
Chapter 10 - Night on the deck
Ana ignored her phone for the next few hours. Liam told her more about Sara, who broke Liam's heart by ending their four-month relationship before Valentine's Day, and Ana told him about her unrequited crush on Germaine, a French exchange student.
After sharing a simple pasta salad dinner, Liam busied himself putting dishes in the dishwasher; Ana sat on the sofa to text with Ely.
"I can hear you snickering from here," he called from the kitchen nearby. "What's up?"
"Ely and I are texting. We're talking about the reaction on the internet to our posts earlier. She's sending me screenshots of the wildest things she finds. "She chuckled. "There's a name for us, Liam. Apparently, our couple name is #mcana."
"You haven't asked, but I'd say don't get into that habit. It's like reading the comments section of the news." He started the dishwasher and washed the sink.
"No, I know, but Ely is having a field day over this. I'm not the one looking; I'm letting her decide what's worth sharing and then we laugh about it. It's nice to know she's looking and helping me make fun of it. It must mean it's not that bad, right? That it's happening."
He turned the tap off and dried his hands, before he came to stand behind the sofa. He leaned down and rested his hands on the back of it. She looked up at him; his eyes shone with playfulness.
"Mh. How good-natured is she?"
"She's the best, why?"
He lifted one of his hands to scratch his bearded chin. "What if you sent her a picture of my disapproving face?"
Ana grinned. "And what are you disapproving of?"
"Let's say I'm worried she's walking a fine line, going down that rabbit hole."
Still smiling, she framed him for a picture and he posed as if he were displeased at them. She sent it to Ely with the caption,someone isn't happy we're having so much fun.
"I told her I wouldn't send any pictures of you, so it'll shock her."
