64

NORA

When Mark showed up at my doorstep—sans flower bouquet—I had expected he wanted to take me to fine dining, but I was wrong. He had brought me to this quaint coffee shop.

I'd loved it even before we made our way inside, but as soon as we did, I almost regretted saying yes to Mark.

Liam and his girlfriend occupied the closest booth to us. They looked to be in a heated conversation followed by a weighty silence. But when Emily’s eyes caught mine, her face lit up like light bulbs on Christmas Eve.

Why was she so happy to see us?

My skin bristled with annoyance and irritation. I didn't know Emily as well, but I didn't like her. Not when she was parading herself on the arm of the man I wanted to be mine.

I contemplated turning around and booking it out of here, but Mark’s hand on the small of my backstopped me. “Did you know they were here?”

“Yes,” he nodded with a smile.

“You do know I've been avoiding him for weeks now, right?”

Mark shrugged, steering me in their direction with his hand on my back. “The plan’s not going to work if you keep doing that.”

“The plan has already failed,” I whispered harshly, but Mark wasn't convinced. For some reason, he couldn't seem to wrap his head around why Liam would want to date Emily after what she did all those years (he didn't tell me by the way). But apparently, it was so bad that Liam never wanted anything to do with her again.

And now he was dating her. I could almost scoff. How tragic.

Mark’s conclusion was very convenient: it was a fake relationship like ours. But I just didn't see why Liam would agree to it if she was as terrible as Mark claimed.

When we finally arrived at their table, Emily was the first to say hi. “I haven't seen you in ages, and you pop up at the one place I happened to be,” she said with a fake ass grin.

Mark shrugged, an equally fake smile plastered on his face. He leaned in to hug Emily, before pulling away to introduce me. “This is Nora, my girlfriend.”

“Oh, we've met,” I said with a smile of my own.

“Yes, we have,” she said to me. “Although it's a little strange that the boss’s brother is dating an employee. Don't you think?”

“Nah, you can't choose who you fall in love with,” Mark said, gesturing between an impassive-looking Liam and Emily. “Hello, brother,”

“Mark,” Liam acknowledged, his rough voice igniting a small ball of desire in the pit of my belly. I ignored it.

“Is it okay if we joined you guys? The café’s all filled up.”

It looked like Liam was going to protest, but Emily was quick to jump in with a “We would love that. The more, the merrier.”

And just like that, I was sliding into the booth next to Liam and Mark slid in opposite me.

The booths were sizable enough for two people to sit comfortably, but Liam was a big guy, and he’d already taken up most of the space. He scorched over so I could be comfortable, but I couldn’t, not unless I rubbed shoulders with him.

I could almost swear electricity sparked where the fabrics of our clothes grazed. But it was all in my head. The butterflies in my belly awoke with a roar, flapping their wings in anticipation.

Just the scent of Liam’s cologne almost made me heady. I cleared my throat, smiling when Mark asked what I wanted.

“Eggs and bacon,” Liam and I said in unison.

I froze and so did Liam. A shuddering breath escaped my lips as my head snapped towards him. His eyes were already on me and when mine met them, nothing else existed except us.

He didn’t forget my breakfast order. It had been months since those weeks at the resort, and he didn’t forget.

Our eyes bore into each other. A mixture of intense ocean blue and bright hazel. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve sworn Liam was about to lean in and…kiss me. But when someone cleared their throat, the reality of our situation slammed into us like an 18-wheeler.

Fidgeting, I looked away from Liam. And when I lifted my eyes, they met Emily’s calculative ones. She bit the inside of her cheek. “How did you two meet again?” She was talking to Mark, but her eyes never left mine.

And I couldn’t be bothered to look away either. Irritation pricked at me at the thought of her wrapped all up in Liam’s arms.

That should’ve been me. He should’ve chosen me. Why didn’t he?

I ignored all the questions in my head, focusing on Mark as he told the story of how we met—sans the whole fake dating date, of course. “Mom’s resort in Chicago. I was there for the holidays and so was she. I met her at the Christmas party and since then, it’s been nothing but love.”

The way Mark was smiling at me and gushing about how we met almost made me swoon. Damn, this guy was good at that. No wonder I almost fell for him in Chicago.

“Oh,” Emily said, leaning both her elbows on the table between us. She was dressed in a purple sleeveless top that showed off her amazing shoulders, and she wasn’t afraid to flaunt them. “And what did you do when you found out she was working for Liam?”

Mark shrugged, lifting a hand to wave down a waitress. “I didn’t mind. My brother knows his boundaries and I trust my woman.”

But Emily didn't seem convinced. We sat in an uncomfortable silence for a bit as I tried to calm the feral beating of my heart. When last was I this close to Liam?

He was wearing a basic gray tee that exposed his toned arms and stretched across his broad chest. The shadow of a beard he was sporting was nicely trimmed and did something for his jawline. His muscles flexed when he grabbed his water from the table, and it took everything in him to not combust on the spot.

Emily never stopped looking at me, not even when she fell into a conversation with Mark. Creepy much? Geez, it’s not like I'm going to steal your man right in front of you.

Mark was wrong. I had no chance against Emily. Not in this lifetime and not in the next. This was a mistake.

I felt tears prick the back of my eyes. Felt Liam’s gaze burning into the side of my face before he spoke. “Hey, are you okay?” I could almost cry. When did Liam last talk to me? The night at the club?

I nodded, too overstimulated to come up with a response. “I need to use the bathroom,” I announced before jumping to my feet, maneuvering through other customers as I made a beeline for the bathroom.