Molly awoke in her bed, unsure of the time or day. She was warm under the covers, lying with her head on the pillow and Liam’s arm wrapped around her. She turned to face him and found him fast asleep. Without the worry embedded into his eyebrows, he looked younger, and if possible, more handsome.
She slid out of bed and slipped on a pair of jeans to get dressed for the day. Her ankle felt more stable than it had just hours ago, but it was still tender, so she used it with care.
Downstairs was a disaster, but that was no surprise. She despised the drugs just sitting out on the coffee table for anyone to see. No stranger to this kind of morning, Molly set to work erasing all memory of the party. Only this time, she did it with a hint of a smile on her face.
Molly swept through the house like a hurricane with a sore ankle, doing everything except running the vacuum, so as not to disturb her guests. Then she set about making breakfast: crème brulee French toast, orange juice and scrambled eggs with bacon. Kyle was usually too hung over in the morning for her to bother making a decadent meal, so she relished the chance to let her cooking skills shine a bit.
She put the food on a tray and ambled up the stairs, glad no one was there to witness her lack of grace. She knocked on Nate’s door with her elbow and tried not to laugh at his serious case of bed-head. Brown hair like his brother’s, but slightly longer, lent to unpredictable angles and uncontrolled adorableness.
“Thought you might be hungry,” she mumbled, hiding her amusement by ducking her head.
He took the tray from her with wide eyes. “Whoa! You made me, like, the Ritz Carlton of breakfasts.”
“It’s my way of saying thanks for being a decent human being last night.”
“What do I get if I clean out your garage or something?”
Molly smiled. “Lunch.”
He sniffed the air curiously. “What’s that smell?”
“Bacon? Maybe cleaner? I straightened up downstairs.”
He sniffed like a bloodhound, moving closer until he was hovering over her head. “Just as I suspected. You stink of great sex.”
Molly’s blush attacked her cheeks in an instant. “What? We most certainly did not have sex!”
“Really? I was sure you two would’ve…” He took in her discomfort and smiled. “You thought about some filthy things last night, you dirty girl.” He ruffled her black hair and grinned. “Good for you. I would say you need it, but, you know, understatement.” Instead of shutting the door and devouring the meal that made his stomach lurch with hunger, Nate leaned down and pecked her forehead. “Thanks for breakfast, Little Luco.”
She left him to his meal and went to her room, silently opening the door and shutting it behind her. She put the tray down on her desk, and set about moving her important papers aside and stacking them where they would not get ruined. Liam was still asleep on his side, his mouth slightly open. His soft breath relaxed her more than she anticipated.
His mom is dying. He’ll leave to go be with his family after breakfast. How it should be. Don’t make a big thing of it. Just think of this as one great day. This needs to stay a good memory. It’ll keep you going until you make the offer on the land and get out of here. Just be grateful you had one great first kiss.
She watched Liam sleep as she tidied up her room, waiting for the scent of bacon to wake him. She was on the carpet, sorting through her caseload for the next week when he began to stir. He groped around the bed for her, frowning at her absence. Molly beamed at the simple confirmation that he actually might like her. He wanted her in the bed with him, and that thought reassured her that giving her very first kiss to him had not been a mistake. “Morning, sunshine,” she greeted from her place on the floor. Her papers were spread out around her in neat little piles, which she stepped over to retrieve the breakfast tray.
“Breakfast? You made breakfast?” he mumbled, his lips puffy as he tried to wake himself up. He rolled over onto his back and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, stretching to take up almost the entire bed. Molly gaped at his large form, one part in particular drawing her eyes. She averted her perverted gaze before he caught her indiscretion.
He sat up and stretched again, his biceps every bit as sculpture-like in the daylight. He stood and moseyed to the bathroom, tossing her a dreamy-eyed smile along the way.
The food smelled wonderful, but it was so rare Molly got to eat with another person. She wanted to wait for him, even if the breakfast went cold. She had seen her toothbrush next to his on the sink in the bathroom that morning. The sight looked too perfect for her to dwell on. He’s probably leaving after breakfast. Has to spend time with the people he actually came here to see. No big deal.
Liam came out with his teeth brushed, face washed, and emerald eyes that were much more alert. He leaned down to pull her up, kissing her lips by way of a greeting. It felt so natural, as if they did this sort of thing all the time. “Morning, beautiful girl.”
Molly melted into his embrace, feeling more at home in her childhood house than she ever had before. “Good morning. Are you hungry?”
“Always.” He kissed her again. “Fooling around makes me ravenous. Something you should know, since I’ll be staying here a few days.”
“A few days?” Molly tried to keep the glee out of her tone, but her smile gave her away.
“Or longer, depending. Is that alright? Kyle said it was fine, but I get the feeling we should’ve asked you, since you actually take care of the place.”
“No, of course. I was psyching myself up to be all adult and not make a big deal of you leaving this morning. You’re staying longer? That’s much better.”
He glanced over her shoulder at the tray that made his stomach rumble. “So this is my kiss-off meal? At least you sprung for bacon. Makes me feel like less of a prostitute.”
Molly blinked up at him with feigned innocence. “Actually, it’s my ‘will you marry me’ breakfast.” When his arms around her froze, she let out a short laugh.
“You’re kidding. That was a good one. Never dated a virgin before. Not sure on all the rules.”
Molly pulled away and motioned for him to sit on the bed, shifting the tray in the center of the mattress so she could position herself on the other side. She preferred to see his striking face when they talked. She also knew that if she was next to him, there would be nothing but kissing, and she actually was pretty hungry. “Rule number one: don’t call me ‘Little Luco’. It’d make me feel like I was kissing your brother, and I’ve got enough problems without adding that to the list.”
Liam chuckled as he shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth. “Got it. Whoa!” His eyes rolled back as he chewed. “What kind of bacon is that? It’s incredible!”
Molly shrugged. “Regular kind. But I fried it in some leftover rum and maple syrup.”
He took another piece, dramatically crossing his eyes to demonstrate his satisfaction. “I usually just have a cup of coffee and a bagel or something for breakfast. This is epic, baby.”
“I’m glad you like it. I did forget to make coffee, though. I don’t drink it, and Kyle doesn’t get up before noon. I can make you some, if you’d like.”
Liam leaned over the tray to kiss her. “You don’t have to wait on me. You also don’t have to be this perfect.” He motioned to the food. “Can’t tell you how great it is to sleep next to a woman. I don’t do a lot of that.”
Molly snorted as she drank her orange juice. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Sex isn’t the same as sleeping together. Sex is fun and great and can be really bonding with the right person. Sleeping next to someone? That’s intimate. I usually don’t do intimate.”
Molly frowned. “Oh, well I can sleep on the couch tonight if it made you uncomfortable.”
“I liked sleeping next to you.” He kissed her again. “Stop trying to be so perfect. You already are.” He cut a bite of French toast. “And don’t give up your bed to anyone without a fight. I can’t believe you were going to let me kick you out of your own room. No, no. Stand up for yourself. Say, ‘Screw you, Liam. This is my room, and I sleep here with or without you.’”
She repeated the mantra, murmuring “bitch” under her breath to make the statement her own.
Liam laughed loudly, making his whole face more endearing. He had beautiful white teeth that worked in perfect conjunction with his dazzling green eyes. His shoulders began to relax as they joked and ate together, as if they did this sort of thing all the time.
“Oh! I remembered what I was going to ask you,” Liam said with a mouthful of French toast. “Your escape plan. You mentioned something about it last night, but then you decided to be all sexy, so that distracted me. Nicely played.”
“Oo, you’re smarter than I thought. I guess I’ll just have to throw you off my trail again.” Molly grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up to her ribs. “Just kidding.”
Liam stared at her navel as if it held all the secrets of the world. “Master plan first, then we get a repeat of last night.”
She tried to temper her grin as she finished off her juice. “Hard bargain, but okay.” She stood and went to her closet, pulling aside a few long garments to reveal a sturdy safe.
Liam let out a low whistle. “That’s a serious-looking safe.”
“It better be. It’s the only place I get that isn’t subject to Kyle rifling through when he’s looking for cash.” She opened it and pulled out a lockbox, twisting the combination until it opened. A second box greeted her that could only be opened by its hinges. When she opened that and pulled out a third box, she remembered the doors. She stood and locked the bathroom entrance and the bedroom door to ensure their privacy.
“I don’t know if I’m scared or really turned on right now. Please tell me you have Inspector Gadget stuffed in there somehow.”
“Boy, are you going to be disappointed.” Molly fished a key out of an old pair of shoes in her closet and opened the third box. “Sorry. I know this looks crazy, but Kyle goes through nosey stages when he’s looking to get high. Thinks I hide fat stacks of cash around the house. He’s a sophisticated sort of lug nut.”
Liam ran his hands over his face. “You know, the more I hear your brother’s name, the more I want to kill him. I don’t know if I’m proud of Nate for cutting him loose when he left town, or if I should be ashamed he was friends with him in the first place.”
“I’d go with proud. Kyle wasn’t as bad back then. Your brother’s always been decent to me. Or indecent, depending on how you take his ‘humor’.” Molly used air quotes to show her low opinion of Nate’s dumb jokes. She opened the last box and pulled out a newspaper clip.
Liam skimmed the page. “You laminated this. That’s serious, Moll. What’s this about?”
Defiant light bubbled in Molly, and even though Kyle was at Gina’s, she spoke quietly in case somehow her plan might be prematurely found out. A steady gleam lit her from the inside as she let the only person aside from the bank and her realtor in on her plan. “I’m buying an orange grove.”
“You’re what?”
“In one month, this piece of land goes up for public auction. It’s been owned by a family for like, a century, but the son who inherited it doesn’t want it. I have just enough to bid five grand under the asking price, which is dirt cheap. My plan is to offer cash, so if someone tries to outbid me, I’ll still have a competitive edge. See this?” She pulled out another laminated picture taken by a surveyor. “This is twenty acres that they’ve been doing nothing with. Twenty! They make their profit off the ten that have orange trees on them. But this back area has nothing.” She pulled out a series of blueprints and technical drawings that made Liam’s brows knit together as he tried to decipher them. Molly was too excited to wait. “Those are plans for a solar farm. Like, a whole solar grid.” Goosebumps erupted on her flesh as her plan poured out of her like water from a faucet. “It’s big enough to power the entire city.”
Liam was awake enough for banter and breakfast, but solar grids? He shook his head to try to catch up with her fast-working brain. “You want to build enough solar panels to power the city?”
“Yes.” Molly nodded, a maniacal gleam in her eyes. “Anyone providing their own energy gets a stipend from the energy company for the excess power they provide that can be gleaned and used to supplement their supply. I talked to a friend of a friend who works for the company. If this works, I’d pull in more than enough to run the farm and retire comfortably at thirty-five, give or take a year.” She took the schematics back from Liam, whose jaw was on the ground. “And that’s assuming the orange grove is a flop, which it won’t be. It’ll be a rough three years until I can get the soil up to snuff, but after that they’ll boom like you’ve never seen. They family is sweet and all, but they don’t understand pH balance as well as they should. That, combined with the supercharged fertilizer I’ve been working on and the tweaked diatomaceous earth to get rid of their slug problem? Three years is a modest estimate. I might see complete turnaround in two summers.”
Liam was flabbergasted. He was utterly floored at the expanse of her intellect and quiet tenacity when she was properly motivated. “You… Okay, let me see that again.” He looked over the solar contraption. “You have enough to buy a farm and the parts for this? How much do interpreters make? Solar panels aren’t exactly cheap.”
“My real parents had life insurance that got put in a trust fund for me. I get that when I turn twenty-six, which is in a couple weeks. Between that and saving every penny I can, I have enough for the farm now, but I’m still shy on the panels. I’ve got a few extra jobs coming up that’ll help. Though truthfully, I can buy all that later. I’d rather have it all right when I buy the place, but that might not be realistic.” She shook her head. “But it’s not realistic to wait for the perfect conditions, either. Bruises don’t bother me all that much, but they don’t make me happy, either. I decided after graduation that I was done being unhappy. So I made a plan, saved every penny and waited. Why do you think I’m really here?”
“I thought it was because your parents asked you to look after Kyle.”
“Sure, that’s one reason. But I live here rent-free. I can bide my time and endure whatever Kyle dishes out if it means one day I’ll finally be free of him for good.” She smiled lovingly at the picture of the orange grove. “My own little paradise. I won’t even tell him where I’m going. I’ll just be gone, and he won’t be allowed on the property. My property.” She traced the farmhouse with her finger wistfully. “I’ll be free, Liam.”
Liam took in her vivacious determination. He examined her fierce grip on independence. He lusted after the spark in her eyes that caught onto him with its zeal. “You’ll be free.” He handed her the papers to put back in her series of boxes. “Molly, this is incredible. You… you’re something special. I hope you know that.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls you seduce with those green eyes.”
“How can I help?”
Molly scrunched her nose. “Seriously? Um, I’m not sure. Moral support for the auction? Busting the kneecaps of anyone who tries to outbid me?” She shook her head at the silly thought. “You won’t be here. You live out of state, right? Just having someone to finally talk to about this is help enough. That’s all I need. Thank you.”
After she tucked the numerous boxes back in her safe and re-hid the key, Liam pulled her onto his lap. Lavishing her neck with kisses, he grinned into her flesh at how easily her body lent itself to his. “Oh, I’d make the trip out for that. Give me a date and tell me the place. I’ll make it happen.”
Molly pulled away. “Really? But we don’t even really know each other.”
He resituated her on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. “When someone in your life does something this exciting, you have to drop everything to be a part of it. If you hadn’t already sworn me to secrecy, I’d ask you if we could tell Nate. Bring him along on the adventure.”
“No,” Molly said firmly. “No one else. Just you, me, the banker and the realtor. Is that okay?”
“Hey, it’s your party. I’m just happy to be along for the ride.”