32

Alistair

Liliana trembled slightly as I drew her nearer, assuring her I would help chase away the chill in the room.

She was genuinely nervous about being stuck there until morning. I couldn't blame her. But I couldn't regret the situation either, because it meant more time with Liliana. And despite the coolness around us, more time holding her close.

I held her snugly, sharing warmth, and motioned toward the east wall.

"Come on. I know these fifty-pound malt sacks aren't exactly plush, but they'll be better than the floor."

"We really just have to wait it out, huh?" she asked, gazing up at me.

"We do," I confirmed, guiding her toward the stacks of supplies. "And in case you're wondering, I swear I didn't orchestrate this."

She chuckled. "I believe you. Although if you ever did plan something like this, I'd hope you'd at least manage to smuggle down a blanket or a nice picnic spread."

"Damn it. Knew I forgot something," I lamented, snapping my fingers playfully.

Liliana chuckled softly as we settled onto the sacks. We weren't lying flat but rather reclined, making the best of our makeshift bed.

Once settled, I drew her close again to ward off the cold. Even in the dim stockroom, confined until morning, I felt more content than I had since she left for New York.

Her body fit snugly against mine, her arms around my waist and mine around her back, cradling her close.

Before long, my hand moved to gently knead her neck, stroke her hair. It felt natural, and Liliana didn't resist.

She cleared her throat. "How's Julian? You mentioned he's doing well, but you didn't give many details. What's he been up to since I left?"

I returned my arm around her, gently rubbing her arm with my free hand. I knew caressing her hair or neck wouldn't lead to more in a stockroom. That wasn't where I envisioned reconnecting with Liliana after three years.

Yet, the desire to be closer to her was palpable. I sensed she felt it too and sought conversation to distract us.

"He had a rough patch initially. I think he reached out to you quite a bit during that time."

"For a little while," she confirmed.

“Everything he was already doing that was self-destructive, he doubled down on. Lost his job at the dealership, lost some friends, just couldn’t seem to stay sober and responsible. He cut me out of his life for a while, until Grandpa took a turn for the worse. It took that for him to take a long, hard look at himself and make some changes.”

“So you’re getting along now?” Liliana’s voice was soft.

Maybe she hadn’t realized how hard his life had been for a couple of years.

“We do. We have dinner and see each other on a regular basis. He got a job at another dealership, got off the booze and the drugs. He has a new girlfriend now, she’s in recovery and might end up being good for him.” I realized I was stroking her hair again. “We just had dinner the other day. He looked really happy when he talked about her.”

“I’m so glad,” Liliana said, and she sounded completely sincere. “Julian deserves to be happy.” After a long pause, she said, “Everyone does.”

“Everyone?”

Liliana chuckled. “Most people, at least.”

“Speaking of people who I don’t care are happy or not, how’s Austin these days? I know things were messy after that blow up.”

I was curious what had happened that day. I knew it couldn’t have gone well, judging by the flowers in her garbage.

She snorted. “He’s probably trying to control everything and everyone around him. Aside from that, who knows.”

“Trouble in paradise?” I teased, though I knew I was right.

“No, only because being with Austin, honestly, was never paradise.” She took a deep breath. “He broke up with me.”

“What?” I said with a laugh. “Hebroke up withyou?”

“He did.”

“Have we slipped into some kind of alternate reality where everything is the opposite of things that should happen?”

I couldn’t understand how someone like Austin, with Liliana as his girlfriend, could ever willingly let that go.

“Has he lost his mind?” I asked.

“You flatter me, but thanks. Want to hear something even worse?” she asked. “He did it over text.”

I laughed and put my hand over my eyes. “Wow.”

Liliana laughed softly. “That’s what I said.”

“Smooth operator, that one. I can’t imagine why he’d dump you in the first place, but not even in person?”

“Ew,” she groaned. “Dumped. That word makes it seem so much worse than ‘broke up with me.’ Dumped over text. Truly a life highlight.” She laughed, so I knew she wasn’t too broken up about it.

“Sorry. Dumpedisan ugly word, isn’t it? How about he made a huge mistake by not doing everything possible to keep you in his life? He fucked up at a level ten on a five-level scale? He did the stupidest thing I can imagine a grown man doing by ending things with you? Any of those better?” I asked softly.

My teasing was turning serious without me meaning to.

Liliana didn’t have a boyfriend anymore. I didn’t have to try to convince her to dump Austin. I felt suddenly light.

“Those are better. Mostly not true,” she said with a laugh, “but they sound much less awful.”

“Are you okay?” I asked.

I knew she would be, if she wasn’t already. Having an asshole like Austin no longer in your life could only be a positive thing.

And it was sure as hell a lot better for me.

“You know,” she said, sounding a little surprised, “I really am. When I got his message, I felt like I should cry or be upset. But I wasn’t.”

She brushed her cheek up and down against my chest, getting more comfortable.

Curiosity got the best of me. How could someone like Austin give up someone like Liliana?

“Did he lose his mind, literally, and think he could find someone better? Or did you leave too many wet towels on the floor?”

“You’re such a good guesser. Both. Both of those,” she said.

“I’m serious. What could have possibly made him break up with you? What dark secret are you hiding that would drive a man like him away?” I couldn’t keep the laughter out of my voice. “Snoring? Chewing with your mouth open?What?”

When she stopped laughing, she shook her head.

“He thought he could tell me what to do, and when he found out he couldn’t, he’d had enough.” She paused, probably sensing that I was waiting for more detail I wasn’t sure she would give.

Then she sighed. “When he found out I was working with you, he demanded that I drop the campaign. And when he found out about the Colorado trip, he gave me an ultimatum. Cancel it, or we were through.”

I let that sink in. She’d chosen the trip over Austin. I was thrilled they weren’t together anymore, but now hearing that it was really her choice made my heartbeat tick up a notch.

“I’m glad you chose the trip. As long as you really are okay?”

“I really am. And I wouldn’t be, if there’d been anything worth saving there. We obviously weren’t meant to be.”

I stroked her hair, relieved, then rubbed her shoulder.

“You said something like that to me once. That we weren’t meant to be.”

Liliana tilted her face up toward mine. “That was different.”

“So you don’t think you and Austin were some kind of star-crossed lovers?” I smiled as I said it, but I held my breath while I waited for her answer.

“No. Not at all.” Liliana took a deep breath. “I wasn’t upset at the thought of not seeing Austin again. But you . . .”

I touched her cheek, let my thumb slide down her jaw. “Different story?”

Liliana nodded. “Very different.”

I dipped my head, bringing our faces close together.

“You leaving wasn’t easy on me, either. Every day I’ve regretted not telling Julian to take a hike when I came back from talking to the nurse. I kept thinking about that moment, when I could have explained that I was getting a divorce and kept him from winning you over.”

I felt her swallow hard. “Julian had already been pretty charming, you know,” she whispered. “It might not have changed anything.”

“It would have, and you know it.”

I couldn’t resist anymore, so I closed the distance between our lips and kissed her, soft and slow.

The kiss was an apology for screwing up that moment years ago. And it was a promise that I wasn’t going to make a mistake like that again.

I ran my tongue along the seam of her lips and she parted them, letting me kiss her deeper. She let out a small sound that vibrated right down to my cock.

It didn’t take long for the kiss to grow heated with me pulling Liliana closer, kissing her harder.

As much as I wanted her right then, a dark stock room and sacks of malt weren’t how I wanted anything like that to happen between us. I pulled back, breathless, and rested my forehead against hers.

Liliana obviously felt the same. She put a hand on my chest and leaned back. But in the dim light, I could see her slight smile.

“See, the universe does want us to be together. It even locked us in a room so we can’t be apart,” I said.

She laughed. “I’m starting to think you have a point.”

She rested her cheek against my chest with a sigh, and we didn’t need to talk about anything else. At least not for a while.

I watched the steady rise and fall of her breathing as she drifted off. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. I could almost imagine this was just a normal night together, falling asleep side by side like it was the most natural thing in the world.

She nuzzled in closer with a contented sigh.

Sitting there with her curled up against me, it felt perfect and right. Being close to Liliana just felt like home. I kept drifting in and out with those thoughts until I fell asleep.

When morning rolled around, I woke, groaning softly. Liliana blinked awake slowly, looking momentarily confused to find herself tucked against me. Then she quickly sat up, smoothing her hair self-consciously.

"Morning," I said softly. "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah, uh, not too bad," she stammered adorably.

I got up and got us a couple of bottles of water from one of the pallets, my legs stiff and a little tingly from the position I’d been in.

“Thanks, I needed that,” Liliana said after downing a third of her water bottle. I drank greedily too and stretched again, my back popping.

“Not as comfortable as the last time we slept together,” I said with another groan.

Liliana laughed. “Not nearly.”

I tried to smooth Liliana’s hair down with a laugh. It was mussed from rubbing against my shirt, and her makeup was smeared around her bright blue eyes.

She looked so damn adorable.

“You look like you slept a bit rough,” I said, grinning.

“How is it that you look like you just finished getting ready for the day?” She laughed and tried to smooth her hair. “I’ll bet I do look a mess.”

“You look a little like you slept outside in a bush, yeah,” I said, laughing with her. Then I cupped her cheek and brushed my thumb over her chin. “But you’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

I stepped forward, thinking maybe making love on sacks of malt wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. Liliana leaned close, so I dipped my head to kiss her.