“Good thing I know how to levitate,” Bennett said with a grin.
“Yeah, it’s impossible to stay off the carpet in here, isn’t it?”
“We’ll stay at my place.”
I was about to lean on the wall for my back rub, but I turned to face him instead. “What about Liam?”
“What about him? We’re on speaking terms now.”
“Yeah, but . . . me sleeping in your bed might . . . inflame things, you know?”
He shrugged. “He’ll have to learn to live with it. You love me, remember? You’re stuck with me now.” He turned my shoulders so I was facing the wall. “Say it again, Charlotte.”
A warm sensation spread from my head to my toes. I felt these words in my soul. “I love you, Bennett.”
He pressed a hand to the small of my back, massaging the spot that was chronically sore. As his hands moved over me, I realized we’d never have to worry about James walking in on us again. We wouldn’t have to muffle our sex sounds in bed anymore.
Maybe the next stage of life wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Bennett
Liam was snoring in the recliner when I walked into the apartment. I closed the door hard and he lifted his head up.
“What are you doing here?” he asked in a groggy tone.
“I live here.”
“You’re never here.”
I carried the bags of groceries in my arms into the kitchen and set them on the counter. Time to get to the reason I’d woken him up.
“Yeah, well . . . Charlotte and I are staying here tonight because she’s getting the carpet cleaned at her place.”
Liam folded down his legs, got up from his chair, and came into the kitchen.
“The couch is open.”
I shook my head. “My eight-months-pregnant girlfriend is not sleeping on the couch.”
“I meant you, douchebag.”
“Yeah, I’m not sleeping on the couch either.”
Liam narrowed his eyes in a glare. “Really? You fucker. I finally get to a place where I can ignore that you’re with my little sister and you’re going to bang her in the next bedroom tonight?”
“You better wear earplugs. She’s a screamer.”
With a hand on my chest, he shoved me until my back hit the refrigerator. “You want some? Don’t—”
“Relax.” I pushed his arm away. “You’re too easy. Charlotte’s not exactly up for banging these days. Have you seen her lately?”
“You know I haven’t. She’s always with you if we’re home.”
“So this is good, then. You guys can hang out. We’ll cook dinner.”
His jaw tightened with tension and he looked away.
“Liam, seriously. She’s on her feet a lot at work and she’s exhausted by evening. Can you cut the tension while she’s here?”
He nodded reluctantly. “I’ll try.”
I started unpacking the groceries. Liam lingered in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. He was either brooding or wanting to talk about something, I knew him well enough to know that. I also knew not to ask him what was up because he’d just make a comment and leave.
After a couple minutes, he finally spoke up. “So everything’s good then . . . with the baby? Charlotte’s not under too much stress, is she?”
“No, she’s good. I wish she wouldn’t work right up until she goes into labor, but she’s planning to so she can take a longer maternity leave. And everything’s good with the baby.”
He gave a skeptical hum. “Figure I’ll need to be a big part of my nephew’s life. You know, be a good male role model for him. Somebody’s got to.”
“Right.” I tried to keep the sarcasm out of my tone, but it crept in.
“Boy needs to learn how to treat women,” he continued. “How to respect them.”
It was all I could do not to laugh. Liam Holloway was a manwhore. At least he had been before Keri. But I wasn’t letting him get to me since Charlotte would be here any minute, and I refused to fight with him in front of her.
“You still seeing Keri?” I asked him.
“Yep.”
A minute of silence passed before I gave up on a conversation with him. I’d just started chopping vegetables for a salad to go with the pork chops and potatoes I was making when Charlotte knocked on the front door once and then came in.
“Oh . . . hey,” she said to Liam. “You’re here.”
“Hey, sis.” He crossed the living room and gave her a hug. “How’s my nephew doing?”
She grinned. “Big, as you can see.”
“He’s gonna be a hockey player like his uncle.”
I ignored the jab and winked at Charlotte as she walked into the kitchen.
“Hi, babe,” I said, bending to kiss her.
“Hey.”
Liam huffed his disgust. “Does Mom know you’re shacking up with this loser?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “We don’t live together, and even if we did, I wouldn’t care what she thought. She’d probably encourage me to live with him if it might be a prelude to marriage.”
“Marriage?” A vein bulged in Liam’s neck. “To him?”
“I’m right fucking here,” I said, pointing the knife at him.
“You know she’s all about getting her hooks in as fast as she can,” Charlotte said.