Bantering with him was fun. The only un-fun part was that we had to tiptoe around our parents. He would only be able to come to me at night, waking me up, or perhaps sometimes I’d wait up for him. Our nightly kisses were something I looked forward to.
Jet was throwing a party on Saturday and I couldn’t wait to have some alone time with him. Even though we had spent the night kissing in my room, I hated the feeling of sneaking around.
I was hoping he’d take me back to that plateau, up in the mountains again.
Yes, Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.
CHAPTER19
Liv
I wasn’t an aspiringphotographer or anything, but over the years, I enjoyed taking peculiar pictures. I then developed them and stuffed them in a box. At times, I looked over them and imagined what their life story might be.
Smiling, I thought about all the candid photos I had taken half an hour earlier. I’d just come back from a walk, taking pictures of the farmer’s market, when my mom called me. I was only a few steps away from the driveway when I picked up the phone.
“Hey, Mom! Are we still up for lunch at the Corner Bakery?” I greeted her as I held my camera that was wrapped around my neck before I inserted my hand in my pocket to fish out my keys to the house.
“Uh, sure, but honey, are you on your way home?” She sounded strained, breathless even.
Mighty weird.
“I’m outside. I just need to wash my face and freshen up then we can go for lunch,” I rushed out, knowing how my mother hated it when I lagged at getting ready.
She cleared her throat. “No, I need to see you right away. We’re in the living room. See you in a bit.” She then hung up on me before I had a chance to say anything else.
Besides, who was “we”? Mom and I did lunch dates, but did that mean Brett was going to join us now, too, since they were together? God, I hoped not. I barely got to see her anymore and sharing my time with her was difficult enough. I didn’t want to deal with Brett and pretend that I wasn’t kissing his son when they weren’t watching.
What we were doing was sneaky, however I had never had such fun in my life.
Grey’s kisses were… well, I looked forward to them, each and every day. His usual aggressiveness had toned down more than a notch, and I appreciated that greatly. My toes tingled at the thought of kissing him again later tonight.
“Liv?” Mom called out the moment I shut the door.
Why was she in a hurry? I groaned. I was all sticky from my two-mile walk.
“Coming,” I called out, rushing towards the living room. I was pushing my damp hair behind my ear when I entered the area and stopped in my tracks, shocked.
Fuck.
Shit. On. Me.
“Liam!” I whispered. What the fuck was he doing here? Didn’t he have classes? Fuck my life.
His gorgeous face lit up and his ice blue eyes snapped back at me before he rushed towards me, hugging me hard as he picked me up from the floor, stealing the breath out of my body.
Once he placed me back on earth, I stared shockingly at him, speechless.
“You still look beautiful surprised.” He grinned, looking hot and sexy with a short-sleeved polo, shorts and navy boat shoes on. “Your mom and I were just talking about you.”
I gulped. Was Grey home? God, I hoped not.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were visiting?” I breathed out as sweat broke out through my pores. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Yeah, panic didn’t look good on me.
“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” He gave me his dashing smile, but this time, it didn’t reach his eyes. He was studying me and I knew he was aware of what was going through my head.
Mom stood up, making me glance at her. “Liv, I asked Liam if he wanted to join us for lunch, but he asked me as a favor if he could take you out instead. I guess we’ll join you two for dinner. I’ll let Brett and Greyson know so they can come and join as well.” She strolled over to us, kissing me on the cheek before she gave Liam a big, welcoming hug. “It was great to have finally met you. I sort of lost my daughter to you all summer long, but I can see why she was so consumed with you.” She winked at me. “I’ll see you two kiddos later.” With that, Mom walked straight to her bedroom that she shared with Brett, leaving Liam and I alone.
Why did Mom leave in such a hurry? I needed a few minutes to think this through. I just hoped that Liam wasn’t going to grill me for questions. Not yet. I needed to strategize.