Never mind that Liam probably did know more about cars and engines than the mechanic who’d taken over care of Jo after Uncle John died.
“Well, I think it’s awfully nice of him.”
It was nice. The overgrown Boy Scout. More than nice, it was exactly what his father would’ve done, and probably either of his brothers. But none of them made her nervous. Grown adult Liam wouldn’t be as oblivious to that fact as teenage Liam had been. Being around him made her feel fifteen again—gawky and awkward with a terrifying desire to depend on him. She’d been able to do that once, but going back there would be a mistake of epic proportions. That she even thought about it just pissed her off. Riley knew she’d been ungrateful and rude in her haste to get away from him. But she’d deal with the necessary apology later.
“I don’t want him to be nice,” she groused. “I don’t want him to be anything but out of my hair.”
Which was a complete and total lie. She wanted Liam any way she could get him. God, this had been so much easier when all she felt was the impassioned hero worship of her early teens. Adding sexual awareness to the mix was killing her.
“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”
Unwilling to rise to the bait, Riley closed the ledgers and carted them back to the safe. Clearly she wasn’t going to finish these reports before start of business.
Naturally, Autumn followed. “You like him,” she drawled.
“You are an incurable romantic and want to see love everywhere.” Ledgers stowed, Riley went into the storeroom to grab the next box of stock.
“That doesn’t make me wrong. Remember, I’m the librarian. I know your reading preferences. He pretty much fits your hero type to a T.” She gave Riley a knowing smirk.
Riley pointed a finger at her. “You know perfectly well that’s confidential. You’re supposed to be like a priest.” She marched past Autumn to the appropriate aisle. Nobody else need know about her penchant for steamy romances with Marine heroes.
“Why don’t you just ask him out? You’re both available.”
Riley attacked the seal on the box with more force than necessary and managed to slice open several packages of Band-aids. She set the box cutter aside before she created reason to use them. “Look, it’s complicated. We have a history.”
“Oooooooh. Dish, girlfriend.”
“Not that kind of history. The known each other forever, and he’s never going to see me as anything but another little sister kind.” Or maybe it wasn’t that he saw her as a little sister but as a victim. “You, of all people, should know how that can get in the way.”
Autumn’s long and complicated history with Judd Hamilton had certainly seemed to do more to ensure that they stay permanently in the friend zone rather than catapulting into connubial bliss, despite everyone’s expectations to the contrary.
“Then maybe it’s time you made him see you as something else,” Autumn declared. “You are a confident, sexy woman.” She waved her hands in an hourglass motion. “A real woman’s woman. Men love that.”
Riley fisted both hands on her hips. “And how, pray tell, do you suggest I show him that? Dance on a table in my corset?”
“Well, that would do it. But no, I had something a bit less revealing in mind. Drool Night.”
“What, pray tell, is Drool Night?”
“It’s a relic from my college days. An excuse to dress up in all your finery and go out on the town. It’s a ritual all about female empowerment and favorite dresses. And if it also serves to show the guys exactly what they’re missing, so much the better.”
Riley could see the appeal. There was no confidence booster like a favorite dress. “Unless you’re planning to kidnap him to make sure he’s wherever we decide to go on Drool Night, I fail to see how this is a viable plan.”
Autumn waved that away. “Details. There’s also the time-honored tradition of just planting a big one on him. With tongue. Because if you lick it, that makes it yours. Be hard to look at a woman as a sister after that.”
In that case, Liam had a lot of inches she wanted to lick. So. Not. Happening. She shook her head to clear the image. “No, then he’d just think I was a crazy person.”
The bell on the door jangled.
Riley turned to say good morning to Jessie, but the words died as she saw Liam striding her way.
Why didn’t I lock the door?
He’d changed out of the workout gear that had so wonderfully displayed his muscles in the early morning light. Not that the cargo shorts and plain black T-shirt did anything to hide his impressive physique.
“Morning, Autumn.”
“Liam.” Autumn nodded a hello in his direction. “I’m just gonna leave you two.” She waggled her eyebrows at Riley and skedaddled out the door before Riley could come up with a reason why she shouldn’t be left alone with him.