“I don’t think that.”
He could see that was true. So what gave her cause for concern? “Oh,” he drew the word out, “then you’re worried you’re going to try to seduce me.”
One corner of her mouth lifted in a self-deprecating grin. “As if I could do that.” She had visibly relaxed thanks to his bluntness.
“You aren’t giving yourself enough credit.”
She rolled her eyes, but refrained from arguing. “I thought you’d given up casual sex.”
“I have. Which should make you feel more relaxed about our circumstances.” He set his elbows on the table and leaned forward.
“Okay, maybe I’m a little on edge.”
“What can I do to put you at ease?”
“Nothing. It’s my problem.”
“But I don’t want there to be a problem.”
“You really aren’t going to let this go, are you?”
He shook his head. “What if I promise that whatever you say will not be held against you after we leave here?” He spread his arms wide. “Go ahead, give me your best shot.”
“It’s awkward and embarrassing.”
She paused as if hoping he’d jump in and reassure her again. Liam held his tongue and tapped his chest to remind her he could take whatever she had to dish out.
“I’m attracted to you, and that’s making me uncomfortable, because you’re my boss and I shouldn’t be having those sorts of feelings for you.”
He’d been expecting something along those lines and wished she wasn’t so damned miserable about feeling that way. “See, that wasn’t so hard. I like you. You like me.”
“And nothing can happen between us.”
“If that’s what you really want.” If that was the case, he would respect her decision. But nothing would convince him to like it.
“It is.” Her expression closed down. “I made a mistake once, and I promised myself I’d never do anything like that ever again.”
“You are too hard on yourself. Everyone screws up. You shouldn’t beat yourself up about it.”
“That’s what my best friend tells me.”
“Sounds like a smart friend.” Liam dropped the subject. Asking her to confide in him would only cause her to shut down, and he didn’t want that to happen. “What should we do after dinner? We could watch a movie. Or there’s board games stored in the front closet if you think you can best me at Monopoly or backgammon.”
“You don’t really want to play either of those, do you?”
“Not really.”
“I suppose if you were entertaining clients, you’d go out to a bar, or if you didn’t have the energy for that after a full day of skiing, you’d sit around drinking scotch and smoking cigars.”
“Something like that.” Neither of those activities sounded like much fun while his thoughts were filled with Hadley’s soft lips yielding beneath his and the wonders of her generous curves pressed against his body. Gripped by a fit of restlessness, Liam pushed back from the table. “You know, I think I’ll head into town and grab a drink. Don’t wait up. It’ll probably be a late night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Eight
Hadley sat in miserable silence for several minutes after the front door closed behind Liam, cursing her decision to push him away. Was it fair that doing the right thing made her unhappy? Shouldn’t she be feeling wretched only after acting against her principles?
With a disgusted snort, Hadley cleared the dessert dishes from the table and set them in the sink. With a lonely evening stretched out before her, she puttered in the kitchen, washing the plates and wineglasses, wiping down the already-immaculate counters and unloading the dishwasher.
None of these tasks kept her thoughts occupied, and she ran her conversation with Liam over and over in her head, wishing she’d explained about Noah so Liam would understand why it was so important that she maintain a professional distance.
After half an hour she’d run out of tasks to occupy her in the kitchen and carried Maggie upstairs. The baby was almost half-asleep and showed no signs of rousing as Hadley settled her into the crib. For a long time she stared down at the motherless child, her heart aching as she contemplated how fond she’d become of the baby and realized that the end of January was fast approaching.