Chapter 25

VIVIANNE

The day passes so slowly, but not in a bad way. We’re both at our desks, pretending to work harder than we are. Every so often, Liam brushes past my chair a little too close, like there isn’t a whole office to walk through.

It’s still tense between us, but at least he isn’t radiating his disdain anymore.

When I catch him looking, he doesn’t bother to look away. Just lifts an eyebrow as if he’s challenging me to say something.

“You need something, or are you just stalking me in broad daylight?” I ask, not looking up from the screen.

He leans in close enough for me to catch the scent of his cologne. “Can’t a man admire his favorite coworker?”

“No, not when these are the first words you’ve said to me since last night.” I struggle not to spit the words, but they land sharp anyway.

His eyes flicker—something soft settling there.

“I’m sorry,” he says, catching me off guard.

Damn him. My walls start to lower without my permission.

I sigh heavily, meeting his gaze, unsure of what to say.

His eyes plead with me. “I overreacted. I know how much your family means to you. It was stupid of me to think they wouldn’t be a factor. It’s just that things with us are still so…new. I don’t want anything getting in the way.”

“Okay. I’m sorry too,” I say, closing the gap between us.

He slides his chair back and pulls me into his lap, holding me close. I rest my head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his cologne. Of him.

“Can I get a redo?” he murmurs.

I laugh, the tension easing as we settle into each other.

“Remind me again why I should keep my hands off you during business hours?”

Lips twitching, I sing-song, “Sounds like an HR violation.”

“Guess I’ll have to risk it.”

I call Jenna into the office and ask her to run out for coffee, mostly to break the spell before I forget I’m still technically on the clock.

When she glances between the two of us, I know she notices something different. She doesn’t say a word, just smirks on her way out.

“Need anything before I go?” he asks, leaning over me.

“An uninterrupted thirty minutes and a miracle,” I say without looking up.

“I can give you one of those,” he says, and when I glance up, he’s smiling like he knows exactly which one.

“Later, sir.”

He laughs under his breath and heads off to his meeting.

***

When my break rolls around, I stretch and head over to my special couch. I curl up with a book, legs folded, shoes off, the hum of the office settling into the background.

A few pages in, I sense him before I hear him.

“You always look that cozy when I’m stuck in meetings?”

Liam leans in the doorway, one hand braced on the frame, eyes trailing down to my bare ankles and back up again.

I look up, holding his gaze. “Only when I know it will mess with your focus.”

He crosses the room in three slow steps, and for a second, I forget to breathe. He stops in front of me, looking down like he’s memorizing something.

Then, quietly: “You have no idea what you do to me.”

My book slips from my lap.

And then he’s kissing me—no hesitation. Just heat, hunger, and a hand at my jaw, the other at my waist as he leans down, pulling me into him.

I gasp into his mouth, surprised by how badly I needed this.

He breaks the kiss, and there’s a long beat of silence before he speaks.

“Hey, can we talk?” Liam’s voice is soft, almost careful.

“Of course.”

He shifts, his gaze searching mine. “Listen, we’re supposed to have dinner with my mother tomorrow night.”

I watch him, unsure where this is going.

“You want to go alone instead?”

His eyes widen. “No—” he says quickly. “It’s not that. I…just don’t want my mother to grow attached to you if this ends early. If last night ruined things for you, I don’t want her to—”

He breaks off with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I want.”

I blink at him, caught off guard by the mix of honesty and confusion.

“You really care about your mom,” I say quietly.

He nods. “She means the world to me.”

His sincerity is refreshing. But it also stirs something uncertain in me—questions I don’t know how to ask, feelings I haven’t fully sorted.

“I kind of thought that—well—that you’d have a relationship with her similar to the one with your father,” I admit.

“No, no. My mother’s…different.” He pauses, a sad smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t even know how they managed to get together, really.”

“So…what do you propose, then?” I ask.

He shrugs slightly. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I guess I could go without you, it wouldn’t be all that odd.”

“Oh.” I’m surprised at the sting I feel at the thought of not going.

“Or, if you want to go, I would love to have you there,” he says. “I’m sure she’d love to meet you.” He watches me closely, gauging my reaction.

“Okay. I’ll go, then.” I nod, more for myself than for him.

He nods too but doesn’t move—just stands there watching while I process my decision.

“Liam—” I stop myself, biting back the words I want to say.

I hate how the question rises in my throat—~what are we? What is this?~ I don’t want to be ~that ~girl, but right now, it feels like we’re standing in the middle of a gray area.

I want to ask him about us, what it means to be giving this a real chance.

But part of me is afraid of the answer.

His words from the day he hired me echo in my mind—~I don’t want anything real~, he’d said.

“What?” he asks gently.

I shake my head a little and walk back over to my couch. He’s still watching me, expectant, but I can’t help but feel like I’ve let him down. And maybe myself too.

“Nothing,” I say quietly. “I think I just wanted to say your name.”

I swallow the lump in my throat.

~How could I have let this happen? ~

~Is the money worth this? ~

There’s still what feels like a lifetime left of this contract. With the tension already creeping into whatever this is, I don’t know if I can handle it.

But it’s too late now. I’m locked in.

And I’ve fallen for him.

Hard.