Chapter 21

Liam sat back and thought about the beautiful woman in his bathroom and realized that the last woman to be in here was a one-night stand, four years ago.

Any other woman he had been with had been at their place; never here other than that one mistake, after Tessa broke off the engagement and was just in it for the sex at that point.

He knew it wasn’t the best choice, but he needed to clear out his head and did for a good eighteen months before he calmed down.

He still never had more than a couple of encounters with Tessa since then, he thought, and that was a whole other story.

Liam was brought out of his musings when he heard the bathroom door open. Maggie came out in a gray maxi dress and her hair hanging in waves down her back.

“You are so beautiful!”

“Liam, you have to stop saying that, or I am going to get a massive ego!”

He laughed. “I don’t see a problem!”

She rolled her eyes as he took her hand and showed her around his house. There were five other bedrooms upstairs, each with its own large bathroom.

On the main floor, he showed her his office, the dining rooms, two bathrooms, and the sunroom.

He took her downstairs to a sort of garden-level basement where there was a workout room and a movie theater and a kitchen.

There were French doors that opened to an outdoor cooking area complete with a large grill and smoker.

“I had no idea that you made so much money being a lawyer!” Maggie said as they sat at the kitchen table, each with a glass of wine.

“Well, I do get bonuses for running the firm, and I have invested well.”

She nodded her head and shrugged. Liam turned his head to the side in thought as he watched her.

“It bothers you, doesn’t it? The money?” he asked as he slid a finger over her cheek.

“I’m just not used to being around so much of it. My grandmother worked hard for the money we had, and we were very frugal.

“Not that you didn’t work hard for yours. You have the right to spend it any way you want to, it’s just foreign to me to not set a budget and stick to it.”

Liam loved her simplicity and kissed her softly. He knew she wasn’t a gold digger and that she had a good and pure heart.

Joan listened to the conversation and knew every word she said was true; you could just feel her sincerity. Her husband Niall came in just as they were sitting down.

“Sorry, Joanie, I just finished fighting with that bloody beast of a motorcycle. I think I won, though!” he said as he kissed her cheek and helped her carry in the dishes.

They entered the dining room, and Niall stopped as he saw the young woman sitting next to Liam.

“Oh, and who is this lovely ginger at our table?” Niall asked, setting the large platter of chicken on the table.

“Niall, this is Maggie Sloan, my girlfriend. Darling, this is Niall Flemming, Joan’s husband.

“A pleasure, Maggie. You must be the lass that Liam keeps going on about. Welcome!”

“Thank you, Niall,” Maggie said, blushing.

Liam loved how she blushed; it tugged at his heart something fierce. They ate the delicious meal and talked, getting to know each other even more.

Joan watched Liam during dinner and saw that he was falling hard for the lady at the table. Niall asked Maggie about her family. Maggie was dreading the question but responded as best she could.

“My mom died in a car accident when I was six. I moved in with my gram; she raised me until she died from a stroke about six years ago, when I was in my sophomore year of college in Florida.”

Liam squeezed her hand.

“What about your dad? Is he around?”

Maggie cleared her throat and squirmed a little in her chair. “My father is not a good man, and my mom divorced him when I was little. I never saw him after my mom’s funeral.”

“I’m sorry, lass. I didn’t mean to upset you!” Niall exclaimed.

Maggie smiled back. “It’s okay, you couldn’t know. What about you? How do you know Liam and come to be in America?”

Joan grinned at Liam and Niall before she started talking. “Well, Beth—Liam’s mom—has been my best friend since primary school.

“We went all through school together and even university, Beth to law and me to business. She married Charlie and I married my Niall. Niall was a professional rugby player and we traveled a lot.

“When Niall was done playing, he coached for some years, but we missed traveling. When the opportunity came up for us here, we jumped on it, always ready for an adventure. So here we are!”

Maggie loved them and thought they were awesome, watching out for their best friend’s child.

“I needed someone to help me handle investments and make me Yorkshire Pudding, and Joanie was the only one around with that particular skill set!

“She has a mind for money management like you wouldn’t believe. Niall takes care of my properties and Joanie handles my accounts and the day-to-day running.”

They finished their meal, and Niall pushed them outside while they cleaned up, telling them to enjoy the lovely night.

After Joan gave Liam a dirty look, he relented and took Maggie outside. They lay by the pool in the twilight.

“So, you have been talking about me, have you?” Maggie asked with a smirk on her face.

Liam looked down at her as he held her on one of the double lounge chairs. “Darling, you have no idea how much I think about you and talk about you!”

“Really?”

“Maggie, you occupy a large majority of my waking thoughts, as well as my dreams! Before this weekend, I thought about how amazing we would be together and what I would do to you.

“And now that we have done it, I will be thinking about when I will see you next.”

No one had ever wanted her like this before or made her feel so wanted, desired, and truly beautiful.

“Thank you, Liam, for making me feel special. This weekend is something I will never forget!”

“I don’t want you to, and I plan on doing more things like this for a very, very long time!”

She smiled and kissed him softly. He pulled her closer to him, adding his tongue to her mouth.

Their tongues wrestled, but she let him win as his hand started pulling up the long skirt on her dress so he could grab her butt.

“You have such a lovely arse, darling!” he whispered in her ear.

“It’s too big!” Maggie replied as he started nibbling on her ear.

He pulled back. “Don’t ever bad mouth yourself again, Maggie! You don’t see yourself clearly with the trauma that you have been through at the hands of other people.”

“I know, but my ass ~is~ too big, and my boobs are bordering on too large too…”

“If that were really the case, would I have this issue?” Liam asked impatiently as he grabbed her hand and pushed it onto his growing bulge.

“Well?” he demanded.

“I guess not…”

“You guess not? Bloody hell, Maggie! Were last night and this afternoon not proof enough of how you make me feel?”

She looked down and shook her head. “I know you are attracted to me, I get it.”

“Darling, it goes so much deeper than attraction! Please let me show you how much you mean to me!”

Liam held his breath as he waited for her response. When she nodded, he kissed her hard on the mouth, taking her breath away.

He picked her up and quickly walked them back to the house and up to his room. He kicked the door closed, put her down on the floor, and pushed her into the wall with his body.