“Look, I said I was sorry fifty damn times! Liz is being understanding about this. I forgot there’s a child here. You act like I purposely brought her here and told her to leave, knowing Bella was out there. Damn it, woman! We both know you’re just mad because you said you wanted nothing to do with me, so I went out and found someone who does.”
Kayla huffs, and as she’s about to start in on him again, Liz comes walking down the hall and gives me a smile that turns into a frown. I chuckle at that. She must’ve forgotten for a second that she’s mad at me. Figuring now is the perfect time to throw my plan into motion, I say, “Okay, well, first of all. Before we get into all that, Kayla, I have a job opening at the training facility and was wondering if you’d like to come work there. You would be working with Hayley and the fighters—”
I don’t even finish my sentence before she runs over to give me a hug as she chants, “Yes, yes, yes. You are a life saver!”
“You don’t even know the specifics. Don’t you want to know your hours and pay?”
“Yes, of course, but the job I am at now just let me go today, so whatever you’re offering I’ll take. The sooner I have an income, the sooner we’ll be out of here,” she says while glaring at Bentley.
I move on to the next part of my plan directing myself to Kayla still. “Also, about the living arrangements… After what I just walked into, I’m thinking that while you guys start saving for a new place, you girls can come stay with me. I have three extra bedrooms and I promise I won’t bring any other women home.” I look over at Liz and give her a wink. She just rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. She looks so damn cute when she’s mad.
Kayla looks between Liz and me, then smirks. “Actually, I think all of us there would be too much. How about Liz and Bella stay with you, that way you can spend time with Bella, and I can stay here. It’s just temporary. I can handle the whorehouse.” Bentley scoffs under his breath at that.
I look over at Liz and she’s shooting daggers at Kayla. I also notice Kayla is making it a point not to look at Liz. I already like this woman. Bentley jumps in and says he agrees it’s a good idea, and I know Liz can’t say no, not when everybody else is saying yes.
She throws her arms in the air, huffs, and says, “Fine. We’ll move in with you tomorrow after Bella gets home from school.” Then she moves toward me and gets right into my face. She’s so close I can smell the vanilla on her, and it’s taking every ounce of restraint I have not to grab her and kiss her right now.
She leans in close and says, “But know this, Cooper. I’m only there temporarily, and I’m only there for my daughter, so she’s not traumatized from the half-naked women wandering around this place. You and me, not happening. My mom taught me a long time ago that if you share your toy with someone and they break it, it’s their fault. If you share it with them again, and they break it again, it’s your fault. You have already broke my heart once, Liam Cooper, and you aren’t going to get the chance to play with and break it again.”
She turns to make a grand exit, but she’s crazy if she thinks I’m going to let her have the last word. I trail down the hallway after her, until we get just outside her door. Of course she turns around, raising her eyebrows, daring me to continue this fight.
But I don’t need to say shit. I just need to show her. So, I take her face in my hands and kiss her. She tries to pull away, but I hold on to her. When I finish kissing her, I trace my lips to the corner of her mouth and give her another soft kiss, then I move to the spot just under her ear and kiss her again. I know she’s affected. I can feel her trembling under my touch, trying to remain calm. I give her one more kiss on her collarbone, and then I turn and walk away. Before I get to the end of the hallway, I look back and see she’s staring at me, so I give her that wink that drives her crazy.
“See you tomorrow, baby girl.
Twenty-One
Liz
We don’t have much stuff since we lost everything in the fire. The only items we have are the ones Cooper purchased for us the other night, so it’s easy to pack everything up quickly. I drop Bella off at preschool and then attempt to scour the classifieds for a job. Living with Cooper is not a good idea. Sure, it’s the lesser of the two evils, but at least living with Bentley meant my heart was safe. I seriously need to find a job so we can move out as soon as possible.