Sugarlips (Beefcakes Book 2), Katana Collins [ebook smartphone .TXT] 📗

invited new kids to sit with you at lunch, even when they were clearly not cheerleader material.”

I rolled my eyes. “Inviting someone to sit with you at lunch doesn’t make you some kind of hero.”

“It did to the new kid.” He cocked a brow, challenging me to argue. “You joined a larping weekend just for fun—”

“Hel-lo! I got to play an Elvish Princess! Who wouldn’t want to do that?”

“You sat with Miranda Hovel in the hospital, bringing her and her mom food every night while her dad was in the hospital dying of Hodgkins.” A sheen of moisture glistened across the green depths of his eyes. “She wasn’t even your friend. But when you heard her dad was dying, you left in the middle of volleyball practice and drove to be at her side.”

My throat was clogged like the drain in my shower. “Compassion and human decency aren’t rare, Liam.” I blinked as a thought struck me. “How do you know that? That I left volleyball and went straight to the hospital—” My words faded as I remembered. “The bakery. I stopped at your mom’s bakery first to pick up cupcakes for Miranda and her mom.”

He nodded. “And I was there working after school. Your cheeks lacked their normal pink hue and your eyes were rimmed red even though you weren’t crying. You couldn’t figure out which cupcakes were appropriate to say, Sorry your dad is dying.”

“But—”

“Chloe.” The seriousness of his tone stalled my arguments. “You were and are one of the most incredible people I’ve ever known. You could have had your pick of any guy in school. Back then, I just never dreamed I could be that pick.”

He didn’t kiss me, but his lips hovered just above mine. This felt different than that first night we shared together. The heady electricity pulsed between us and every molecule in my body buzzed to life at the anticipation of his lips on mine. Even still, there was a niggling feeling in the deepest part of my soul. Liam saw me with rose-colored glasses. He had this vision of me in his head—with all the s’s—smart, sexy, sporty, sweet. But the truth was, dating me wasn’t a picnic. And if he went into our relationship thinking I was some goddess, he was going to be severely let down. He was going to leave me like all the rest did. My voice cracked as I said, “I’m not perfect—”

“I’m falling in love with you, Chloe.” He laughed, a bitter sound that cracked like a whip at the back of his throat, and looked up at the stars. “You’re not even really mine and I’m falling in love with you.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but he pushed his index finger gently against my lips. “Don’t say anything. Please. Unless your response is I love you, too. But I’m not going to stand here and listen to you try to talk me out of it, or drum up all the reasons why you’re not worthy of love. Because you are. I’m falling in love with you because you’re one of the most incredible people I’ve ever known.”

My gasp was almost silent—almost. But a quick flick of his eyes to my mouth told me he’d heard it all the same. “But—” He didn’t let me continue. Instead, he cut me off with the delicious press of his lips to mine. He swallowed my objections. My arguments were lost as his tongue delved into my mouth, exploring and searching.

Though perfection may not exist, that kiss came damn close.

I was terrified for the day that would inevitably come when Liam would no longer see the cheerleader/saint fantasy version of me he’d built up in his head.

At some point, he would realize I was just Chloe Dyker: Imperfect, messy, and fleeting.

And I was certain my heart couldn’t handle that.

32 Liam

A week had passed since the party. A full week since I told Chloe I was falling in love with her. A week since we saw Dan and his stupid presence that threw everything for a loop. She could barely dance with me without craning her neck over my shoulder to stare at him and Raina.

I didn’t want to push her too fast, but I couldn’t keep going like this. It would hurt like hell, but I’d rather rip off the Band-Aid now while we could still be friends and business partners than months or, God forbid, years from now when we would eventually hate each other.

And if she wasn’t over Dan yet, I didn’t want to be her consolation prize. Based on how obsessed she seemed with him that night at the party? It was a real concern, nagging at the back of my brain.

It wasn’t until we got off the dance floor and away from him and the party that she relaxed.

She deserved better than Dan. And I deserved better than a woman who was still pining for her ex.

The good news was, business was booming.

Not just a boom… it was like an A-bomb.

The Dump Truck was selling out of our online orders every morning before eleven—Beefcakes, too. Remy was a fast learner, and I was thankful for the one day off a week—and hopeful that when Neil returned, I could maybe even have two full days off.

Not to mention, Chloe’s consulting business was growing exponentially. She had six new clients on top of Beefcakes and The Dump Truck.

Which was why I was back here in the kitchen after having baked hundreds of cupcakes and donuts for our website orders, toasting a tomato-mozzarella pesto panini for Chloe.

I slipped the sandwich off the press and onto a plate, and grabbed a seltzer water from the fridge before backing my way out of the kitchen.

I momentarily lost my breath at the sight of her—as I always did. She sat at her usual table by the window. A ray of sunshine beamed in, catching the light of the crystals hanging there, and casted