My face couldn’t possibly have gotten as red as what it did as soon as those words, and that name was hanging in the air between us. I tossed my face into my hands. “I am so, so sorry, Walker. God, I’m so humiliated.”
Depositing a friendly hand on my shoulder, he slipped onto the stool next to me. “Hey, don’t be sorry, it’s fine. Now eat before it gets cold.” We started digging in in silence, God, he was a good cook. “So what are your plans for today, darlin’?”
“I don’t know about today, but um”––I swallowed my forkful of pancake and took a sip of coffee––“I’m supposed to be meeting Liv tonight for a drink. Which reminds me,” setting my fork on the plate, I twisted to face him. He looked up at me with bright shining eyes, and all I wanted to do was fist my hand through his hair and down his gruff. I hated Liam with stubble, but Walker had the face to pull it off. “After what happened last night with that bloke and me freezing up, I’m a little nervous with going out. Feel free to say no, but…would you mind tagging along?” I narrowed my eyes and even I overheard my voice falter.
He sniggered with a raised brow. “You want me to come with you for a girls’ night out?”
I raised my shoulder opting for nonchalance. “Well, it’s not really a girls’ night per se. It’s only me and Liv.”
“And is Liv female?”
“Yes.”
“So it’s a girl’s night out then.”
Feeling terribly embarrassed, I fisted my hand through my hair and ousted a weighty sigh. “It’s okay, don’t worry, I shouldn’t have asked you. I’m sorry; my filter seems to be malfunctioning today.” I popped the last bite of pancake in my mouth and shunted myself from the stool.
A firm hand wrapped itself around my arm, holding me still as a current took over every cell and nerve ending, leaving an addictive charge of desire to caress my flesh, shunting the air from my lungs and encasing my body in goose bumps. I watched the way his brow pulled down and together, the tiny twitches of his lips. Each time I looked at him with that facial hair, I just wanted to glide my hand over it, feel it under my palm, against my neck…
“I’ll do you a deal. I’ll come to your girls’ night out, if you come to McGinty’s with me on Thursday night.”
I leaned my weight into my hip, my eyes flared. “McGinty’s?”
“’Aye, its karaoke night on Thursday’s.”
I dashed my tongue across my lips, snickered and shook my head. “I don’t do karaoke, Walker. I dance, I bake apparently, singing? Nope, sorry, I have to draw the line somewhere.”
“Come on, Kady, it’ll be fun. You used to live in Dorchester, right?”
I nodded.
“Have you been back there since the accident?”
I shook my head sullenly, silently marveling at why it hadn’t crossed Liam’s mind to take me back there, to a place I knew, a place I would recognize. “No.”
He shrugged his broad, well-defined, tanned shoulders and cocked his head. His fingers loosened around my arm, until they were finally stroking gently up and down the length of my inner wrist. I noticed a large tattoo of a Celtic-style cross on his right bicep. “So, it might help spark something.”
I hated the fact he was right, and therefore I had to concede to his resolve. After a few moments I muttered, “Fine, but bring the ear-plugs. I sound like a bag of cats being slaughtered.”
I rinsed my plate before slipping it into the dishwasher, taking extra care to not bend down with my back facing Walker. I didn’t want to subject him to another, Kady flaunting her body, show. “So what are your plans for today?”
“Well,” he shoved himself from the stool, picked up his plate and rounded me. “I have to love you and leave you, because I am late for work.”
“Work, fuck. Oh my God, Walker, I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry,” I gushed, rapidly scanning the kitchen, “I’ll do you some lunch to take with you.”
“Hey, Kady,” he settled his thumb under my chin, his fingers cradling the side of my face. “It’s okay, stop fussing. I’m lucky the boss is on a business trip, or he’d be wearing my guts for garters.”
I have to say that made me smile.
I walked him out into the hallway and watched hypnotized as he sat on the stair and shoved his feet into his heavy, sandy-colored boots. “If you give me a moment to get some clothing, I’ll give you your shirt back.”
He pushed himself up straight. He towered over me, easily six-foot one. I didn’t need to see what was under his tank top to see that he was built like a fucking God. My body heated and screamed as his eyes roamed over my slender figure which was screened to mid-thigh in his black and red plaid material, the buttons half undone and exposing a modest amount of cleavage. “Don’t worry about it; it suits you better than it does me anyway.”
Arms open wide, he asked for a hug, and I promptly stepped into his embrace. With my body pressed against the length of his, I had to contend with the craving to brazenly wander my hands over his body. However, I wasn’t a miracle worker. My fingertips hitched up a few inches of his top, and I made small, stirring circular movements over the warm, smooth flesh of his lower back. As he kissed the top of my head, I found myself unconsciously breathing him in once again.
He dropped his hands from me, unlocked and opened the door. “I’ll pick you up at 7.00 p.m.”
“Okay.”
“See ya later, darlin’,” he purred with a wink, and as I stepped back inside, closing that door behind me, I felt slightly unnerved by the feelings that were stirring inside of me, feelings that should be aimed towards my boyfriend, not his Irish, hot-as-fuck employee.
I set about my day of chores which took a lot longer than anticipated. I suppose that’s what happens when you move from a two bedroom apartment, to a two bedroomed, massive, detached house.
I switched the vacuum off on the upstairs hallway, and twisted the doorknob for Liam’s home office. I jiggled it and nudged it, but, safe to say, the room was safely locked.
Why would Liam lock his office?
I promptly pulled my hand away; relieving the brass knob as though it’d just burned me. I lost several minutes of my life resting against the opposite wall, staring at the secured dark wooden door with a perplexed expression, hoping that the longer I stared, the sooner my Superwoman powers would kick in and burn a laser hole through it.
“Liam, Liam, Liam…what am I going to do with you?”
The house phone began ringing its God awful, drilling sound. I shot down the hallway into the bedroom, and flounced over the queen-sized bed to Liam’s nightstand.
I picked up the receiver and pressed the button.
“Hello,” I panted.
“Hey, Kady,” he did it again, he made my fucking name sound like Katy, and every time he did it, I turned into a puddle of mush.
Lying on my stomach, I grinned down the speaker, “What’s up, Walker?”
“I’m so sorry, I know I said I’d pick you up around 7 p.m. to meet Liv, but I have to make up time for being late this morning. So––”
“Don’t worry just finish up work and if you want, you can come straight here, have a shower and whatever then we can leave. Liv won’t mind me being an hour or so late.”
“Um…are you sure? That wouldn’t be too weird?” I knew he was scowling, his lilt became a little thicker and little strained, but it was still the sexiest accent I’ve heard in my life.
“No, of course it won’t be. We’re friends right? Liv and I used to do it all the time. So, just make sure you have a change of clothes.”
“Okay, thanks, Kady.”
I was just about to say you’re welcome when I heard a stern voice shouting out, “Walker, you’re on my fucking time, ass off the motherfucking phone.”
“Walker, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get you into trouble. I’ll go––” I was just about to hang up when he called my name. “Yeah?”
“Why are you doing this, darlin’? You’re forever apologizing, three times today already.”
I grimaced and stilled. I do it with Liam all the time, yet I hadn’t even noticed I’ve been doing it. “I hadn’t even noticed, I––”
“If you dare say you’re sorry one more time darlin’, I’ll walk off site, come to yours and throw you under a cold shower.”
A throaty laugh that I had no hope in Hell of subduing was released down the set. I buried my face in the satin throw, and attempted to catch a breath.
“Okay. Go back to work. I’ll see you later.”
“See you later, darlin’.” And then he was gone.
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