“Now I am,” she said, pulling back a little so she could look up at him. He was still smiling.
“I have a surprise for you. Come with me.”
They went back up to the roof. Katya wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it certainly wasn't what was waiting for her. She burst out laughing as she took in the small, blue, plastic kiddie pool that was now sitting in front of the old loveseat.
“You dragged this up here?” she snickered, walking around it. It was filled with water, which she discovered was ice cold when she leaned down to drag her fingers through the liquid.
“Yeah. There's a hook up over there, I stole a hose from maintenance.”
“Naughty. I won't tell if you don't.”
“It's okay, I'm pretty tight with the owner.”
She laughed again, glancing back at him. He wasn't looking at the pool. He was only looking at her. She cleared her throat and reached up to pull her hair into a ponytail.
“Let's take this baby for a spin.”
She'd carried her margarita up with her and they shared it while they sat on the loveseat. They'd both rolled up their pant legs and were soaking their feet in the subzero kiddie pool. It was funny, she'd spent a lot of time trying to talk Wulf into taking her to the pool he said he had on his own building – and here Liam had brought one to her. It was kind of a beautiful moment.
So many moments. Moments with Wulf. Moments with Liam. So different.
“So, how was your vacation? How is Mom?” he asked, leaning back into the sofa.
“Mom is good. Really good. I, uh, I told her about you.”
“Really? That's nice.”
“And the other guy.”
“Wow, angel cake! You're getting braver every day!” he laughed. She threw him a glare over her shoulder.
“Hey, it was hard for me. My mom and I don't talk about stuff like that,” she told him.
“I know, I'm teasing you. I'm impressed. It couldn't have been easy. Good for you,” he said, and she felt his fingertips near her temple, gently pushing a stray hair behind her ear.
“She was totally cool about everything, I was kind of shocked. You'd really like her.”
“I'm sure I would.”
“Yeah.”
“And what about the new guy?”
“What about him?”
“Did Mom like him?”
Katya cleared her throat again, turning to stare out over the neighborhood.
“Yes. My mom likes him very much.”
“Lucky for him.”
“Yeah.”
“Katya,” Liam sighed, and she felt him lean forward. “Is everything okay?”
She bit into her bottom lip. This was not something she could cry about to Liam. What could she say? “Hey, thanks for all the great sex and opening my mind to new possibilities and ways of life and fucking me six different ways to Sunday, but I think I'm falling in love with this totally closed off douchebag asshole, and I don't know how to stop it from happening, and I don't know how to make him love me back” just didn't sound like something she should blurt out to him.
Why couldn't you just fall for Liam!? He's so perfect! He owns his own property, runs a successful night club, is so hot he burns just to look at him, and is the best thing to happen to the female sex since vibrators.
But she hadn't fallen for him, and that's why she couldn't talk to him. It was between her and Wulf. Their moments were their own, she wanted them kept private. Things they'd only ever share with each other.
“Yeah. Just a long week. New guy can be kind of temperamental, and my mom threw a huge neighborhood barbecue right before I left. Just drained. Ready for a couple more margaritas and a nap,” she said, finally managing a smile for him.
“Margaritas I can help with. But a nap? Are you five? I can think of some other activities that might help relax you.”
She felt his hands on top of her shoulders, squeezing and massaging. She closed her eyes. It felt natural when Liam touched her, but she knew it was wrong. She was just helping him dig himself into a hole with her. The same kind of hole she was standing in with Wulf. She wouldn't do that to another person.
Katya moved so her back was against the arm rest, then she put her feet in his lap. Let him massage those. They laughed about life in suburbia and he talked about his childhood and his family. His parents were divorced, but it had been amicable, and they were still really close friends, which was encouraging to hear, she felt.
She also learned about his brother, the other sibling who had inherited one of the Twin Estates buildings. For some reason, she had always assumed it was a younger brother. Maybe because of his age, she didn't know, but then Liam casually made a comment about his brother being his twin, and Katya almost fell off the couch.
One Edenhooferhoffen was almost too much for the world – there were two of him!? Another carbon copy of Liam running around somewhere? She wept for the women of the world and prayed that his brother was at least the settling down type. Those were some genes that needed to be propagated.
“Edenhoff. Say it with me, angel cake. Edenhoff.”
The second Edenhoff brother – “technically he's older, by about four minutes” – was in Guatemala. He was a former ER doctor and he traveled around with different aide groups, providing medical services in third world countries.
Talk about night and day. One twin runs a sex club at night, the other saves starving children in Latin America. She almost wondered if Liam was making it all up.
The sun set and the stars came out and it got too cold for the kiddie pool. Cold enough that he wrapped his massive hoodie around her. She'd figured he would go back to his club, but when she asked him, he told her he was where he was needed most. Then they finally went back to her apartment, where they drank margaritas till Tori came home. Katya left them together, laughing around the kitchen table, while she quietly slipped into bed.
I do need Liam. I would've stayed home all day pining for Wulf if it wasn't for him. But I don't want to use him. I just want … this all to not be so complicated anymore.
*
Katya had the rest of the weekend off, and she refused to spend it whining and crying over Wulfric Stone. He had a life. He had a business. He had property in Malibu he was trying to sell, apparently. His life didn't revolve around her, and that was okay. So he hadn't gotten in touch yet, so what? She was a modern woman, having a very modern relationship. She would not freak out. He'd get in touch when he had the time.
She kept herself busy, going back to her strip-aerobics class. They'd served their purpose, but she really did enjoy it. Candi was glad to have her back – the classes were always fluctuating, so it was nice to have a regular.