God, I like seeing him relaxed and easy.
"Coffee." Trish saves me from over-thinking overload. She places mugs in front of me and Liam, then she drops a pot and fixings in the middle of the table. "You too, Adam?"
"Share with your girlfriend," Liam says.
Adam's eyes meet mine. Something passes between us. Some knowledge we're playing a part and pulling it off.
It's easier than I expected.
I like him.
I don't have to pretend.
"Sure." I take a long sip of my coffee. Mmm, sweet, creamy, deliciously full of caffeine. "Drink as much as you want."
His fingers brush mine as he takes it. He brings the mug to his mouth, wraps his soft lips around the rim, takes a long sip. "Too sweet."
"Isn't that you in a nutshell?" Liam shakes his head. "Everything is too sweet for the most miserable man in the world."
"What about the most miserable man in the mansion," I offer. "Alliteration."
"A beauty and a poet." Liam blows me a kiss. "I like you more than… shit, when's the last time Adam had a girlfriend?" He makes a show of scratching his head. "College, maybe. What was her name? The nerdy redhead with the thick glasses?"
"Lauren," Adam says.
"Lauren. She was cute. Whatever happened to her?" Liam asks.
"Last I heard from her, she was moving to California with her husband," he says.
"Getting away from the cold." Liam nods. "Genius. I was freezing my balls off outside. How do you deal with it?"
"You don't live in the city?" I ask.
"It's ten degrees colder here. And then the breeze." He shakes his head no thanks. "But now we're getting off track."
"We are?" I ask.
He nods. "You want to see me naked."
"She's a photographer," Adam says.
"Oh, so you want to photograph me naked. Kinky. I like it." He stage whispers, "But we can't tell my brother."
"Do you think this will make me jealous?" Adam asks.
"I think it is." Liam draws a line around his brother's face in the air. "You rock the poker face, Adam, but I see the envy in your eyes. It's a classic fear of having a smaller dick. But I talked to Lauren. You've got nothing to worry about. Right, Danielle?"
I nearly spit out my coffee.
"What?" Liam plays dumb. "Is it not true? Did Lauren lie? Is it tiny?"
"Oh my god." I barely stifle a laugh.
Liam looks to Adam for support.
Adam chuckles.
Then it's a full-blown belly laugh.
Beautiful and vibrant and bright.
"You're just like my brother," I say.
Liam draws a tear running down his cheek, but he persists. "But you do want to photograph me naked?"
"If you'll sign a release," I say.
"Only if you show me your work." Liam looks me in the eye. "I need someone who knows how to capture true beauty." He pulls out his cell. "Do you have a site?"
So he doesn't know.
"Social media maybe," he says. "Give me all the details. Where can I find Danielle Bellamy's work?"
Chapter Fourteen
Danielle
Adam watches his brother carefully. Looking for signs to Liam's intentions.
Because he's used to his brother ribbing his girlfriends?
Or because he knows I'm naked on the Internet?
"You should see the way Danielle's decorated the spare room," Adam says.
"You put your girlfriend in the spare room?" Liam shakes his head how awful. "Really?"
"It's my studio," I say. "Well. Half of my studio. I'm using the empty room on the third floor too."
"You're living here?" Liam asks.
"I am," I say.
Liam makes that hmmm noise, adding everything up in his head. Then he shrugs, back to effortless playboy. "So you can take my picture here anytime."
"I don't remember agreeing to this." I try to keep the tone light. As if I don't have an anonymous site full of half-naked photos. As if Adam and I aren't pretending we're in love and the three of us aren't awkwardly avoiding the subject of their brother's death.
Totally and completely light.
No problem.
"Right." Liam perks. "Naked people. You were going to show me some."
Adam's eyes flit to me. He looks me up and down carefully.
Like he's seen me halfway out of these pajamas.
Or maybe like he spent the night picturing me—
Well, he hadn't seen me in the pajamas. But he does want to fuck me. It's entirely possible he spent the night picturing me naked.
"Danielle?" Liam asks.
Right. "I did pick out photos for the spare room. They're on the gallery site." I tell him the address to buy myself time to think.
Liam's eyes go wide as he pulls up the gallery's site. The collection is still on the home page. It's still named after my favorite photo, The Voyeur. "These pictures are there." Liam points in the direction of the spare room.
"Do you want to see them?" I ask.
"Fuck yes." He jumps out of his seat. "You two will give me twenty minutes in the room alone, right?"
"That's eighteen more than you've ever lasted," Adam says.
Liam isn't remotely insulted. He smiles with pride. "Did you just make a sex joke?" He beams. "Am I finally corrupting you, after all these years? Or is it your beautiful new house guest?"