I started laughing hysterically. "Is he there right now?"
"Yes. I'm actually at his house in Malibu."
"Hey! We're in Malibu, too."
"Oh good, I might have to come stay there depending on how the next few hours go," Becca joked.
I pulled the phone away from my ear. "Becca says that she might crash here tonight."
Liam cocked a brow. "Hope she enjoys hearing you screaming my name."
My mouth fell open. "Oh my god. Becca if you heard that—"
I could hear her saying, ewwww, even before I held the phone back to my ear.
I laughed, "Sorry. He can't be tamed… he’s just like Miley." I shook my head at Liam, but I couldn't wipe the smile from my face.
He flashed me an innocent shrug.
"You two are gross. I might have to stay here just to spare my ears from the madness," she said, and I heard Penn chuckle in the background.
"All right, well call me if you need me... and seriously, Becca, hear Penn out."
Liam yelled so she could hear him, too, "Yeah! Give my friend a second chance."
"Okay, okay. I'm hanging up now."
"Bye, Becs."
After I hung up, I sidled around the counter and started helping Liam with dinner. He'd given me one of his shirts to wear with my underwear and he couldn't seem to keep his hands from sliding under the cotton hem.
I'd stir the pasta and he would set his hand on ass. I'd cut some tomatoes for the salad and he'd have his arms wrapped around my waist, watching me work.
"You realize we just had sex, right?" I joked, twisting around to give him a chaste kiss. I felt his hard muscles against my shoulder as I spun back around. God, he was in good shape.
"You realize that, as your boyfriend, I'm allowed to appreciate how sexy you look wearing my shirt," he joked, before setting to work on the garlic bread.
"It feels weird thinking about you being my boyfriend," I admitted sheepishly.
"Why?" he asked, preheating the oven.
"I mean, I just watched one hundred thousand people chanting your name. Isn't that crazy? You’d think it would go to your head, but you're actually a really nice guy."
He laughed. "To be honest, I still feel like the same little kid spending day in and day out on the soccer fields near my house."
"Just a little more in shape," I winked, and he shook his head with a small smirk.
We finished prepping the rest of the meal and then sat down and ate at his breakfast table. I pulled the shutters open so that we had a perfect view of the ocean with the sunset. It was nice just being with him after the chaos of the past few days.
He was wiped out from his long day, so we cleaned up quickly and then cuddled on his bed. Everything felt so natural with us. Each step that should have been awkward was eased by Liam's confidence. Before I even asked for it, he'd pulled out a washcloth and spare toothbrush for me in case I'd forgotten mine. Which of course, I had. Then he had the covers on the bed pulled back so that I could just slip in next to him. I tried to tone down how giddy I felt as I cuddled into his side and inhaled his masculine scent. Be cool, Kins. My fingers dragged across his chiseled abs, adoring every single contour. This is your life now. You are the person that sleeps next to this set of abs. Also, this set of abs is attached to a man that probably has some major neurological damage since out of all the models in the world, he’s chosen you and your flat-ass.
“Hey, I like your ass. It’s not flat,” he said right after I realized that my internal monologue had actually been an external monologue. “Also, I’m more than just my abs.”
“Of course you are, babe. Of course you are.”
Don’t worry, abs. I’m actually here for you.
“Yeah, still out loud,” he smiled, pulling me into his side.
Chapter Twenty-Six
"Liam. Liam! Are you still sleeping at this hour?" A cheery voice rang throughout the house as I drifted into consciousness.
Then I realized what I'd heard and I shot up in bed. Liam was still sleeping soundly next to me, but I’d definitely heard the sounds of a woman humming and moving about the house. Then I noticed the amazing smell of sizzling bacon drifted closer.
Was there a woman inside Liam's house and was she cooking for him? What in the world? Did he have a housekeeper or some kind of weird estranged lover that broke in every now and then and made him breakfast?
That actually wouldn’t be so bad… free pancakes.
I turned toward Liam and shook him awake. "Hey, babe, wake up."
He moaned then blinked his eyes open.
"There's someone in your house calling your name. It's a woman and I think she's making breakfast. Do you have any crazy stalker fans that would do that?" I asked, only half kidding.