Chapter Four
Liam winced at the pain in his neck when he opened his eyes. Blinking, it took him a minute to orient himself. Isla was curled up on the other side of the couch, her features beautiful even in her sleeping, peaceful state. They’d watched Netflix, hardly talked, and just held hands. Jesus. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a night so innocent. Or enjoyed time with a woman so much.
With a wide smile, he stretched. Somehow, a night of doing nothing with an almost stranger had been hotter, more meaningful, than any of the connections he’d made lately.
Maybe it was because he sensed she didn’t let her guard down all that often. Pulling his phone from his back pocket, he sent a text to his cousin, who owned a bakery down the street.
Isla stirred, shifted, but continued to sleep. Liam used the bathroom, splashed some water on his face, and thought about the woman sleeping on his couch. When he came back out, she was sitting up, and her gaze landed on him. She had that tousled, sexy look of a woman who wasn’t all the way awake.
“Hey,” he said, wondering how she’d feel in the light of day.
“Hi,” she said, her voice a little rough and a lot sexy.
A knock sounded on the door, and she startled. Walking over, he ran a hand down her hair, loving the feel of it beneath his palm.
“I ordered some breakfast,” he said.
Going to the door, he opened it enough to see his cousin Davis, but not enough so Isla could be seen. Most women didn’t want company first thing in the morning. He didn’t know her that well—yet—but he wanted to. He felt a strange desire to protect her but had no idea from what.
He’d never thought about the intimacy of that before—the privilege of seeing a woman when she first woke up. He didn’t have a lot of experience with being around the morning after, which wasn’t a problem for the women he met—women who were fine with an evening of mutual fun. Liam didn’t have to know Isla well to know she wasn’t that kind of woman. Even if she hadn’t straight-up told him.
“Hey, man. Late night?” Davis asked, a tray with two coffees in one hand and a white paper bag with his logo across the front in the other.
“Yeah. Thanks for this,” Liam said, grinning when Davis tried to peer over his shoulder.
“Anyone I know?” His cousin’s easy grin made him laugh.
“Definitely not. Thanks again.”
“Hey, I think I might be able to head down to Florida with you for a few days of your spring training,” Davis said.
Liam looked over his shoulder and saw Isla wasn’t on the couch anymore. The bathroom door was closed, so he breathed easier.
He turned back to his cousin. “Cool. Let me know. Gotta go,” he said.
Through the closed door, he heard Davis’s laughter and couldn’t help but smile.
Isla came out of the bathroom and zeroed in on the coffee he was setting on the small table behind the couch.
“If that’s coffee, you are officially my favorite person,” she said, her voice more awake.
“Then we’re both in luck. Wasn’t sure what you liked, but Davis brought cream and sugar,” he said, popping the lids off and doctoring his as she did the same.
“Davis?”
“Cousin. He owns a bakery down the street.”
She stirred her coffee and put the little stick aside, bringing it to her lips. He tried not to stare at her mouth but couldn’t help himself. The look in her eyes when she took that first sip had his stomach tightening.
“Bit of an addict, huh?” He smirked and took a drink of his own.
“You could say that. What’s in the bag?”
Laughing at the eager tone in her voice, he set his coffee down and went to grab a couple of plates. When he opened the bag, he saw Davis had put a variety of muffins and pastries inside. He set them on the plates and gestured to them.
Isla stared with a quiet, fascinated smile.
“You’re good-looking, funny, kind, and make coffee and pastries magically appear. Do you want to get married?”
Laughing, he snagged an apple pastry and a napkin. “We should probably get to know each other a little better first.”
“Hey, I know all of the most important things,” Isla teased, grabbing a chocolate chip muffin.
They moved to the couch and sat close, angled toward each other, eating their breakfast and drinking coffee in a comfortable, if slightly charged, silence. He was trying to think of a way to ask her to stay. At least for another night.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at it on the table. Licking her fingertips, which had Liam biting back a groan, she wiped her hands on her napkin and picked up her phone.
Shooting him a glance, she shrugged. “I don’t recognize the number, but I should take it.”
He nodded, finishing off his pastry. His cousin was a master in the kitchen.
“Hello?” Isla said.
Liam made himself busy by reaching over the back of the couch and snagging a blueberry muffin.
“This is, yes… Oh. Okay. No, I’m in Nashville. I got in last night but not in time… I’m not sure. Have you contacted my father or brother— I don’t understand… Okay. Will there be a funeral? Oh. Okay. Yes. I can stay a few days.”
Liam couldn’t hold back his grin. Looked like he wouldn’t have to do much persuading after all.
Her eyes met his just before she grabbed her purse from the floor and dug around in it, pulling out a pen and a small notepad. Liam shook his head, his smile wider. Who carried a notepad in their purse?
She jotted down an address. “Okay. Thank you. Yes, I’ll see you then.”
She hung up and put the phone on the table, her brows drawn together and her jaw tight.
“You okay?” Liam stretched his arm along the back of the couch and touched his fingers to her shoulder.
“Yeah. That was my grandfather’s lawyer. He needs to speak with me. Which is odd.”
He hated the sadness that overtook her features. Setting his half-eaten muffin down, he pulled her closer and was more than pleased when she put her head in the crook of his arm, on his shoulder. The scent of her hair tickled his senses. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so comfortable around another person in such a short span of time.
“Did he contact your dad?”
She tilted her head back and looked at him, bringing their faces dangerously close. “No, that’s the strange thing. My father knows his dad died, but it was only me the lawyer wanted to see. Which, when it gets back to my dad, will not go over well. He’d like to see me the day after tomorrow. There’s going to be a funeral, but Cordelia is being very particular about the guest list.”
His heart clenched. “You’re not on it?”
She shook her head. “I understand.”
“I’m sorry. If the lawyer isn’t going to call your dad, how will he know?”
She gave a sad smile that unfurled foreign emotions inside of him. “I’m here when he doesn’t want me to be. He always knows how to get the information he wants. Obviously, he knows how to keep secrets just as well.”
He could see how much that bothered her, and the fact that he was keeping his own secret didn’t sit right. In this moment, he was just a man who’d met a woman and connected on some level he hadn’t been aware of, and Liam didn’t want to wreck that. Other than not telling her what he did for a living, there’d be no other omissions. He just wanted today to be with her. Maybe tomorrow, if she could swing it. It was probably a selfish thought, but he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her yet.
“Think your dad will show up?” He wondered what her grandfather had done for a career that a lawyer would be contacting her this quickly.
She shrugged and lowered her chin. “I don’t know. Honestly. Growing up, I thought he was already gone…my grandfather. Both of my grandparents on his side, actually. I’d overheard conversations about the two of them being estranged, and then there was nothing. No mention at all. It was such a shock when I got the call. That I even had a grandfather. That he was dying. That he wanted to see me.”
Liam couldn’t help but wonder why a person would keep all of that information to themselves. Did her grandparents pose some sort of threat? “What about your mother’s side?”
Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath before opening them again. “This is going to be where you thank your lucky stars I’m not sticking around. My mother’s parents are both gone. My mother moved out when I was younger. She and my father never divorced, but we aren’t close.”
“Lots of families are complicated,” he said, not scared in the least.
Her brows drew together. “It’s strange that the lawyer wants to talk to me. Wills don’t usually get read so quickly, do they?”
Liam didn’t have any experience there, but he did have a very high-priced, solid lawyer. “I can ask a friend who’s a lawyer. I think it takes a while, but if there’re considerable assets or extenuating circumstances, it might just need to be discussed.”
Pulling out of his arms, Isla picked up her coffee, drumming her fingers against the side of the cup. Giving her the space to think, he picked up his own drink and finished it off.
“Was your grandfather well off?”
She turned and lifted her shoulders, dropping them slowly. “I know my father comes from old money. His family used to own several apartment complexes and commercial buildings. I know that’s part of how he started his own fitness enterprise. But like I said, I’m not sure who my grandfather was, let alone what assets he might have.”
Liam wanted to lift the weight off her shoulders. It didn’t sound like a lot of people put effort into making her happy. And Isla was a woman who deserved to be happy. He got the distinct impression that, despite the rather cold front that existed in her life, she was warm and caring to those around her, especially if they mattered. He wanted a chance to get to know her more.
“Do you know what you’re going to do today?”
He hoped like hell he sounded nonchalant. He didn’t play games. When he hooked up with a woman, she knew ahead of time he wasn’t looking for more than a good time, and he made sure she had one as well. This wasn’t a hookup. At all.
He didn’t want to add to the sadness she was carrying by asking her to spend the day with him if she had other things she needed to do. He also didn’t want to dig too deeply into what it was about this woman that pulled him so strongly. She was here only a couple of days.
Turning her head, she smiled. “I guess I’ll check into a hotel, since I need to stay a few days.”
Liam set his cup down and reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to do that. You can stay here…or whatever.” Dammit. He felt like a bumbling school kid. Here or whatever?
Her genuine smile eased some of the pressure in his chest. “You’re a really good man, Liam. Thank you for being so kind to me.”
His heart squeezed. “It’s no hardship to offer a little kindness, Isla.”
The look she gave him was far too serious. “That doesn’t mean everyone would.”
He grinned, needing to lighten the moment. His gaze moved down her body and back up. “Trust me, most guys would bend over backward to offer you anything you wanted.”
Turning to face him more directly, she studied him. “So, you offer a place to stay to all of the women you’re attracted to? Even when they don’t sleep with you?”
He laughed, his neck heating up. She was direct. He liked that even if it put him on the spot. Might as well be honest back, since he didn’t get a lot of chances to spend time with a woman who had no clue who he was. “No. I don’t. But this is different.” Cue awkward feeling in his chest. He forced himself not to look away. “Or is it just me feeling that?”
She inhaled deeply and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, then shook her head. Whether she meant to or not, she leaned in to him. “No. Not just you.”
Liam’s breath caught. She was close enough to kiss and looking at him like she’d meet him halfway. Stroking his thumb over her cheek, he resisted the urge.
“Spend the day with me. Let me show you Nashville.”
She nodded. “I’d love to. Do you mind if I shower first?”
That easy. No games or playing coy. It was more refreshing than the first sip of his coffee. Pulling back, he stood up and gathered their breakfast plates. “Not at all. I’ll run home and get changed. Pick you up in an hour?”
He set everything on the counter, and when he turned around, she was standing in front of him. Resisting her was not easy, but he didn’t want to take advantage of the emotions he could see simmering.
Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around him, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world to pull her closer. She fit into his body the way a ball curled perfectly in the pocket of a glove.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his ear.
A shiver racked his body. Damn. He was in serious trouble if a few hugs and heartfelt looks were hooking him like this, making him think a couple of days wasn’t enough.
Isla stepped back, grabbed her huge bag, and smiled at him before disappearing into the bathroom.
Because his restraint went only so far, he grabbed his phone and his keys, heading for the door. When he glanced down at his cell, he frowned. He had over thirty messages and twice that in notifications from Twitter. What the hell?
Scrolling upward, he checked the newsfeed, and his heart dropped to his feet, knocking the wind out of him. He leaned against the door, trying to pull in a breath. The water turned on in the background, but it just added to the dull roar in his head.
There was a link to the story, but he didn’t click it.
Shaking his head, his breath coming in short bursts, he tried to sort out his thoughts. The owner of his team had just died.
Walter was a good man. Liam didn’t even know he’d been sick. An unfamiliar, sharp pain made his chest feel too tight, his words to Isla playing in his brain. Death is hard. You can never predict how it’ll hit you.
Or when, clearly.
Slipping his phone into his pocket and his shoes onto his feet, he wondered what would happen now. His mind whipped through memories of the last couple times he’d seen the man. Who would get the team? Walter didn’t have any family other than his wife.
Liam’s eyes widened. His fourth wife.
He shook his head. Crazy strange coincidence, yes. Likelihood the two were connected? Zilch.
He left the apartment and went around to the back of the bar where he’d parked his Land Rover the night before. When he started it up, the DJ on the radio was talking about Walter and the Nashville Slammers, who hadn’t had the greatest season. They weren’t at the bottom, but Walter had been making some changes for the past couple of years, trying to build a stronger team. A winning team.
Liam was supposed to be a saving grace. The player who’d wanted to hit for his home state team, who’d been shuffled around as he broke records and made a name for himself. When he’d finally been traded to Nashville, he’d been ecstatic. He was nearing the end of his career, but at least he was doing it at home. He got to play the sport he loved, in the place he loved.
Gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles blanched, Liam shook his head. Now the owner was gone. The team would go through more upheaval and some heavy decisions that could impact him on several levels. What concerned him more, however, was that for the first time in longer than he could remember, baseball wasn’t consuming his thoughts.
He was sad about the owner, about the loss for the team. But what was worrying him right this moment was that if he wasn’t mistaken, Liam had already tripped the first few steps into falling for a virtual stranger—and one who was in town for only a couple of days.