When his phone began to ring, he didn’t answer, just stared at it, lost in thought. Cora couldn’t blame him; she’d been overwhelmed with everything for weeks, but the feeling had almost become familiar to the point where she could accept it, like a frog in hot water. She’d been simmering under the pressure of first John Brady’s murder, then Lindsey Albright’s, and then the Booze Dogs’ theft, and things just kept getting hotter and hotter with no relief. The captain was under even more pressure than the rest of them because he had to answer to the mayor’s office, and he’d been gone for a week. Coming back to everything after spending an emotional few days with a sick relative was enough to shake even the most steadfast person.
“Captain?” Cora asked hesitantly.
He didn’t answer right away. When his phone finally stopped ringing, he blinked a few times and looked around as if he were coming up for air.
Liam had been silent for most of their conversation, but now he leaned forward and rapped his knuckles on the desk. “Boyd, are you all right, man?”
Captain Thompson blinked again, then turned to Liam and said coldly, “I’ve told you not to call me that, O’Connor.”
“Oh, aye,” Liam said with a nonchalance that bordered on disrespectful. “So sorry,Captain. It’s only you’re beginning to look a bit like a teakettle someone forgot on the stove, and I didn’t want you to boil over.”
Cora cringed. Liam’s cocky attitude was a bad move. The captain was already angry, and this wouldn’t win them any points. She kept her face politely blank but kicked Liam’s foot with the heel of her boot. She was going to do more than that if the captain went nuclear—and he looked like he just might. Where was Liam’s sense of self-preservation?
The phone began ringing again, and this time the captain reached for it. Without looking at either of them, he said gruffly, “That’ll be all.”
Once they were in the hall, Cora elbowed Liam in the ribs. “You need to check that attitude, Officer, or you’ll find yourself pushing pencils at your desk while the rest of us do all the fun stuff.”
“My humblest apologies,” he said with a devious smile. “The last thing I want to do is miss out on all the fun stuffwith you.” Just like that, Cora was inundated with visceral images of their heated kisses back in her kitchen last Saturday. Paired with her vivid dreams of him over the weekend, her entire body flushed with desire and a hot blush scorched across her cheeks. They hadn’t discussed what happened, afterward. For the rest of the weekend, they’d gone about their business as usual. In fact, Cora even let Liam invite Finn over for dinner on Sunday night. It had been an altogether pleasant time, especially for her, because she now knew without a doubt that Liam cared for her. He liked her alot, and that gave her renewed hope. Even now, she felt lighter and more content because—as Liam had said—nothing was carved in stone. There was still time for things between them to grow into something more.
Liam burst through the police station doors and into the bright sunshine outside. He kept walking and didn’t stop until he was halfway around the block. Images of Cora’s flushed cheeks, the way her lips parted, the way her azure eyes grew soft and dreamy, threatened to break his careful composure. He knew he was playing with fire when he made that comment, but he couldn’t help himself, and it was clear she’d been thinking about their kiss over the weekend. So was he. He hadn’t stopped thinking about it ever since it had happened, and it was becoming a huge problem. Right now, all he wanted to do was storm back into the police station, toss her over his shoulder, and drag her back home, where he could ravish her properly.
Ignoring what had transpired between them was an exercise in futility. It had taken all his control to go about the weekend pretending like nothing had happened. Desperate to fix the slipup, he’d suggested dinner with Finn and was shocked when she agreed. Finn, true to his nature, had been charming and easygoing and the perfect dinner guest, and he’d even made Cora laugh a few times. Liam’s jealousy had been alive and well, no matter how hard he tried to fight it. Logically he knew it was good for Cora and Finn to get along. But deep down, he still wanted all her smiles and all her laughter for himself, especially now that he’d had an intimate reminder of just how good it could be. He wantedso badlyto hold her. To imagine a future with her. Every time she walked past him now, all he could think about was the sweet taste of her, and the way her body had felt, molded against his, and how very much he wanted to do it again.
Liam let out a growl of frustration, startling a jogger on the sidewalk. The man gave him a large berth and crossed the street. Turning back to the station, Liam steeled himself to do what needed to be done. He could still succeed with the task the angels had given him. All he had to do was steer clear of anything physical with Cora. It didn’t help that she seemed to feel just as strongly for him as he did for her, but he could still fix this. It would improve his chances if he had more time on his side, but it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Though people often grew into love, easing into a romantic relationship over the course of many years, it wasn’t the only way. Sometimes people crossed paths on the street for the very first time, and all it took was a single glance. One heartbeat of time when a soul recognized its match. Hadn’t the very thing happened to him? He’d climbed through Cora’s bedroom window all those lifetimes ago, and within their first conversation, he was already falling for her.
By the time Liam reached the police station parking lot, he’d managed to wrestle the memory of their shared kisses into the background of his mind.Barely.It helped to focus on what he needed to do next, so with renewed determination, he began plotting another evening for Cora and Finn. Time was not on his side, but they could still fall for each other as long as he took himself out of the equation. All was not lost. Love was nothing if not surprising and unpredictable, and this could still work. It had to. He was betting his life on it.
14
“THERE HE GOES again with that gym bag,” Otto said as Happy stalked out of the station on Tuesday afternoon.
Liam watched the tall, lanky police officer disappear down the hall. Happy was a private man who didn’t like to mingle with the rest of the officers, but it didn’t faze Liam. Some people were just born quiet and contemplative, and making the effort to engage in small talk was draining for them.
“Maybe he’s having a late lunch with the captain,” Mavis chirped as she added a ream of paper to the copy machine in the corner of the pen. “Although something tells me his wife, Alice, wouldn’t put up with Happy being the third wheel on her weekly lunch date with her husband.”
“Why would anyone willingly want to have lunch with Happy?” Rob asked from his desk as he repeatedly tossed a rubber ball into the air. It had been a slow day, and with the captain out, the atmosphere was more laid-back than usual.
“I would,” Otto said cheerfully. “Happy’s not that bad, once you can look past his gruff exterior.”
Rob snorted. “Speak for yourself. Happy’s gotten more and more surly over the past few months. Although, when you get right down to it, having lunch with his charming mug staring at you couldn’t be any worse than having to eat lunch with Alice.” He gave an exaggerated shiver of distaste.
“Rob,” Cora admonished. “That’s not very nice.”
“But.” He held up a finger. “You can’t say it’s not true.”
Liam had to give the man that. Alice looked nice enough, but underneath, she was bitter as sour ale and tough as hardtack. He’d rather guzzle coffee than spend time in her presence, though the muddy sludge of a drink was only slightly less offensive. Granted, he didn’t know much about Alice in this lifetime, but her personality seemed the same as it was back in Ireland, and she’d nagged Boyd incessantly.
Cora waved Rob off and walked up to Liam’s desk. Today she was wearing jeans and a fitted top the color of Irish bluebells. It matched her eyes and highlighted her curves to perfection. He tried to forget the memory of those soft curves pressed against him, but it was futile. She was standing too close. He had to force his attention back to his computer lest he do something unforgivable like drag her onto his lap and finish what they’d started in that kitchen.
“I’m in the mood for lunch at the Rusty Spoon,” Cora said, leaning against the edge of his desk. The faintest trace of lavender and sun-warmed vanilla floated over him, making him ache. “Want to come with me?”
Yes.A hundred times, yes. But that wasn’t the correct answer. Liam bit the insides of his cheeks and forced himself to say, “I’m very busy right now.”
She leaned over to see what he was working on. “Browsing YouTube?”
He minimized the screen. “I was researching something.” Nothing in particular, but ever since he discovered these fascinating videos, they served as a great diversion. It seemed like anything under the sun was there to learn and explore. It was unfathomable how much information people shared just for the hell of it. In his old life, when people didn’t know something, they just shrugged and said, “I guess we’ll never know,” and moved on. Here, the moment you posed a question, you could satisfy your curiosity with just the push of a button on a computer. It was a form of decadence he’d never even dreamed of, something that went beyond material things like food and shelter. More importantly, it was a powerful form of distraction, which he desperately needed.
“Come on, Liam. That stuff will be there when you get back. Let’s go get cheeseburgers. With the crispy onion straws?” She gave him a knowing smile, and he felt his resolve crumble because, well, he was only human.