She bit her lip and stepped back. “Come in. I’ll get Beth.”
I stepped past her, the scent of her skin hitting me. It was light with various hints of floral notes. As if I were standing in a garden on a summer day, inhaling the sweetness around me.
I wanted to inhale her.
Our gazes locked as I sidled by her, my sheer size making it impossible not to brush up against her. Her tongue darted out, wetting her bottom lip, and it took all I had in me not to cage her against the wall, lower my head, and take that tongue in my mouth.
Somehow, something told me she would let me. She’d open up and allow me to have her full mouth, delve inside and discover the sweetness hiding behind those full lips.
I had to shake my head to clear my thoughts.
I had no idea where they were coming from.
For a moment, we stared. Her breathing kicked up, matching mine. I forced myself not to reach out and touch her.
“Beth?” I managed to get out.
Paige blinked. “I’ll get her.” She put a hand on my arm, her delicate fingers looking pale and small on my tanned, roughened skin. “She’s beside herself, Liam. She’s so nervous,” she whispered. “I’ve been so worried about her.”
I patted her hand, covering it with mine. “Ronan needs her. I think they need each other.”
“I think so too.”
A moment passed with me holding her hand to my skin, our eyes locked, a silent conversation flowing between us.
Then she stepped back. “I’ll go get her.”
“I’ll wait here.”
She nodded. “Good idea.”
She disappeared down the hall, and I leaned against the wall, rubbing my eyes, feeling as if I had just been hit by a Mack truck.
What the hell was that?
Directly below me, I heard voices. I tried not to laugh as I recognized Paige’s dulcet tone and heard her words.
“My God, Beth, your ride is here.”
Another voice responded. “Okay. Is it Ava or Gracie?”
“It’s his brother. The non-triplet one. Heavens, he is enormous. And incredibly sexy.” There was a pause. “I want to climb him like a tree.”
“Oh, baby, I’d let you,” I muttered, straightening my shoulders as I heard them come upstairs. I smiled at the woman I recognized from the office on that terrible day.
“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Beth.”
I enclosed it in my grip, shaking it firmly. “Hi, Beth. I’m Liam. Ronan’s other brother.” I winked, looking directly at Paige. “The non-triplet one.”
I heard her squeak, and I tried not to laugh. But my smile couldn’t be contained.
“Considering I’m a landscape architect, the tree reference was particularly pleasing.” My gaze never left Paige’s face. “Climbing can be arranged. I’ll make sure Beth has my cell number.”
Beth glanced over her shoulder. Paige’s face was flushed, her eyes locked on me. Once again, her breathing was deeper. Mine matched. It was all I could do not to throw Beth my keys, tell her to drive herself, then grab Paige and drag her down the hall to her bedroom.
The struggle was real.
“Okay, then,” Paige responded. “I’ll, ah, I’ll be leaving now.”
She turned and hurried away, and my eyes locked on that rounded, perfect ass. I could imagine the way it would feel, filling my hands.
I looked at Beth, who was watching me with amusement. I lifted one eyebrow in a silent question. “Single, right?” I said quietly.
“Yes.” She paused. “With a daughter.”
“Lucy,” I confirmed. “Ronan thinks she’s adorable.”
“She is.”
“I’ll give you my number in the car.”
“Okay, then.”
“Now—” I grinned “—let’s get you to my idiot brother. He has no idea his miserable little existence is about to take an upswing.”
“I only agreed to talk to him.”
I leaned close, smiling. “I’ve got a good feeling. And, Beth? I am never wrong.”
Chapter Two
Liam
I chatted with Beth in the car. She was intelligent, funny, and, as Paige had said, nervous. Her hands twisted in her lap so much, finally, I reached over and covered them with mine.
“It’s all going to be okay, Beth.”
She let out a shaky breath. “You seem so positive.”
I glanced at her. “I’ve never seen my brother so devastated. He knows he fucked up, and he regrets it. Seeing you today will help him.” I paused. “You forgiving him would mean the world.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she said, but the words lacked conviction. I had a feeling she was in as much turmoil as Ronan had been.
“So, Paige…” I trailed off.
“What would you like to know?”
“Single, has a daughter—divorced, I assume?”
“Yes. That rat bastard,” Beth muttered.
“He hurt her?” I asked.
“He was, is, a narcissistic, arrogant, closed-minded, nasty, worthless piece of trash.”
“Tell me how you really feel.”
“He didn’t treat Paige well anyway, but once he found out about Lucy’s partially developed limb? The bastard deserted her. Both of them,” she spat. “He deserves nothing but contempt.”