“The articles on the Manscaping blog are doing well,” Carter said to the morning meeting but was looking at Liam and Mia. “Liam won the last round of voting, but this week looks like it will go to Mia. There's lots of interest, and not just in Darius. Good work.” Mia flushed with the praise, her body warming under the glances and soft applause of her co-workers. She wasn't familiar with the feeling; public praise wasn't something she'd ever received much of. It felt good. “What's next for our two contestants?” “Waxing,” Liam said with an evil grin, and the people gathered around the table laughed. “We have a couple of appointments this morning at a salon that specializes in ‘manscaping.’” “Have you spoken to them about buying some ad space on the blog?” Carter asked. “They approached me,” Liam replied. “They’ll be sponsoring this blog post and another six weeks’ worth.” “Excellent,” Carter replied rubbing his hands. “Okay then, if that’s everything, get back to work.” Mi
Mia squeezed his arm once then removed her hand and waited for him to explain. He seemed to be struggling to find the words. He ran his hand over his newly cut hair and rubbed his neck, tipping his head back to the sky before he spoke. “The reason I was late this morning was because I had a meeting with my manager and coach.” “Okay,” Mia replied slowly. “Is there a problem with the blog?” “No,” he shook his head and even managed a crooked smile. “That’s actually one of the better things in my life at the moment.” “Okay, so what’s going on then?” “There’s someone threatening to go to the press,” he said. “They have….photos of me.” “Photos of what, exactly?” Mia asked, trying not to judge him but also being fully aware of his past behavior. “That’s just it,” he said. “I don't know and they’re not saying. All they’ll say is that they’re embarrassing for me and may bring disrepute on the game.” Mia knew that was a cardinal sin for a football player. Bringing the game into
But that would be wrong…right? Darius pushed through the door into the salon and smirked at him and it was a very near thing that Liam didn’t throat punch him. “Your technician is waiting for you,” he managed to get out between gritted teeth. “No problem, boss,” Darius said, sauntering past Liam and down the short hall to where a salon employee waited for him. “Are you okay?” Mia asked, looking up at him. “I am now,” he replied as he lifted his hand to brush her hair away from her face. He continued to slide his hand behind her neck and draw her close enough that he could breathe her in and then drop a kiss on her lips. “Liam,” she whispered, pulling away from him and tilting her head up to search his face. “What are you doing?” What was he doing? He was trying to replace the scent of Darius that he imagined lingered on her with his own. He wanted to touch every part of her where Darius had had his grubby hands and erase his touch, replacing it
Liam knocked on Mia’s door. “Mia, it’s me. Please open up and talk to me.” Mia had avoided and ignored him all day. He knew he fucked up but he couldn’t apologise if she wouldn’t talk to him. He knocked again, the bag of takeaway Thai food swinging in his hands, all but forgotten. He’d even bought her a Vodka Cruiser because he remembered she didn’t like beer. He could hear the soft noise of the television, so he assumed Mia was home, but so far he hadn’t heard her moving around inside. “Come on Mia, sweetheart. I know what I said was wrong and I want the chance to apologize to you face to face. Please let me in.” “Do you really mean that?” Mia’s voice came through the closed door. “That I was wrong?” he asked, leaning his head against the door. “Yeah, I do. I acted like a bastard and I’m sorry.” “And what if I do decide to go out on a date with Darius to help him out? Will you be okay with that?” Liam gritted his teeth and tried to keep his breathin
She broke the kiss, tipping her head back as the realization hit her. She loved him even though she’d tried not to. She wasn’t ready to fall in love. They weren’t even dating, not really. Sneaking around behind everybody’s back, hooking up in dark corners, and behind closed doors wasn’t the most auspicious beginning for a relationship. And she was pretty sure he didn’t feel the same way about her. She had never expected him to, at any rate. She wasn’t the type of girl men like Liam fell in love with. “Fuck baby,” Liam groaned, thrusting into her and bringing her back to the present. “You feel so fucking fantastic.” “So do you,” she breathed. And he did. Her body couldn’t get enough of him. Despite her minor freak out, or maybe because of it, she could feel her body racing toward another orgasm. If she was going to fall in love with anyone, Liam was a pretty good choice. He knew her body, knew how to get every last bit of pleasure out of it. Yeah, she couldn’t complain about
“How was your week?” Liam asked his mother after they’d sat down at the table. “Pretty fantastic, actually,” Loretta replied. Liam tried to be happy for her, but it hurt that she had been in Melbourne for a couple of weeks and he’d only seen her at Sunday lunch. At least this time Jonathon wasn’t with her. He wanted her to get to know his brother, he really did, he just wanted it on his terms. It felt like she’d forsaken him for Jonathon. In every way Jonathon was better than him; he had more money, he was more famous, he had a bigger company, he had rich and powerful friends, and now he had their mother too. Not to mention Jonathon grew up with the benefit of a father and grandparents. All Liam had was his mother and now he felt like he was losing her too. “Tell me about it,” he managed to choke out before reaching for his water glass. “It’s actually why I wanted to see you today.” Huh. He’d thought she wanted to see him just to, you know, see him. Obviously
Liam turned and stormed out of the restaurant. His chest hurt and he was so angry that he wanted to punch something. No, he wanted to punch someone. He wanted to have it out with Jonathon and trade a few blows. Even better, he wished his father was still alive so he could hit him and yell at him and tell him just how much he fucked up his life. Despite the violence he felt, more than anything, he wanted Mia. He wanted to hold her in his arms and let her soothe the ugly feelings inside him. But he couldn’t go to her. She was at her parents’ house and he wasn’t welcome. Yet another place he didn’t fit. Another family who didn’t want him. He slammed the door of his car and gunned the engine. He had nowhere to go except his empty apartment. He had no one to confide in, no one who would understand, no one who could help him sort through the ugly, messy feelings that had him tied up in knots. He drove home. He might not have somebody waiting for him but he did have a cup
She made her escape and ground her teeth together. Her mother was trying to set her up with one of her friends’ sons. And she was doing it in front of Mia’s brothers. Mia felt sorry for Jason, but it didn’t stop her from being mad. Why was Maria so determined to marry Mia off? It wasn’t like she was a burden on the family. She was financially responsible for herself and had been for the last few years. She worked hard and was taking her first steps toward her career of choice. The very last thing Mia wanted was to settle down and have a family. Okay, sure, she might like the idea of settling down with someone, but she wasn’t ready for marriage and she definitely didn’t want to be with someone who was afraid of his own shadow. She needed someone who could stand up to her brothers and her parents and not be bullied. She needed someone like Liam, who saw her worth and wanted to make sure everyone else saw her worth too. Mia shoved the flowers into one of her mother’s crystal vases and