Chapter 24
SHANE
I rush into my room and strip off my clothes before taking a quick shower. When I come out, I put on a red dress that has a slit on the right thigh and a somewhat plunging neckline at the front. I slip on my black heels, apply my makeup, and leave my hair down. I grab my black purse and put all my things in it. As I step out, Marc and Steven, who are on the living room sofa watching TV, look at me.
“Damn, it’s a shame I’m gay,” Steven says. Marc playfully hits him on the shoulder.
“That was my line. But he’s right: you look stunning, babe. Wherever you’re going on this date, go all out and dazzle everyone,” Marc comments.
“I’m just planning to dazzle one person.”
“I love you guys, you’re the best cheerleaders,” I blow them a kiss before leaving the apartment. I don’t want Marc to see Liam. I know he heard me cry last night and I don’t want him to worry.
As I step out of the building, a beautiful black Bentley parks in front and Liam gets out of it.
“Hello, gorgeous,” Liam says, his velvety voice caressing my ears as he approaches me and gives me a light kiss on the cheek. His gaze glides down my dress and a slight blush creeps onto my cheeks.
“Hi,” I mumble, feeling the words get stuck in my throat.
As we reach the car, I can’t help but smile at him. The way he looks in that impeccable suit and his confident smile wipes away any trace of tiredness I felt earlier. He opens the door for me, a gallant move that reinforces the butterflies dancing in my stomach.
As we drive off, I can’t help but wonder where he’s taking me.
“Can I ask where we’re going?”
“I was thinking of taking you to the place where it all began,” he proposes, and those words manage to freeze me in my seat. The place where it all began? I feel the gears in my mind start to work full speed, trying to pinpoint the exact moment this started. Is he taking me to the mall where I met him? I don’t know why, but that revelation dampens my mood a little.
“Is something wrong? Are you okay?” he asks, the concern palpable in his voice.
“No, I’m fine.” Liam places his hand over mine, which rests in my lap, and squeezes it gently. Apart from that, he doesn’t say anything more.
As we drive through the streets of Chicago, I quickly realize where we’re headed and my heart starts to race. We’re not going to the mall, where I thought everything had started. How silly of me. As we approach the residential complex I know perfectly well, I can’t help but remind myself that, of course, it all began in his penthouse when I remodeled it. When we arrive, Liam parks the car in the building’s private parking lot. He is the first to get out and walks to the front of the vehicle to open the door for me. I extend my hand and he easily takes it, feeling how his hand melds with mine, now larger and rougher.
“I think this is where it all started, Miss Shane.”
“I’m afraid so, Mr. Liam.” We both joke as we walk toward the building’s entrance. Upon entering, I greet the concierge behind the registration desk; he just nods with a smile while I grin back. But a deep growl makes me straighten up and look at Liam, but he’s not looking at me; his gaze is fixed on the elevators.
“Have you growled again? Really, this is becoming quite normal for you, isn’t it?”
“Maybe. Does it bother you?”
“No, it just seems strange for a human.”
“Then let’s say I’m something more.”
I look at him, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course, you’re something more. You’re a CEO, after all.”
“Sure.”
When we reach the elevators, we head to the private one in the corner that goes directly to Liam’s penthouse. He takes out an access card and swipes it through the slot, activating a green light. Then he inputs the code that I set myself, which I see hasn’t changed at all.
“You should change that code. I just set it to make it easy to remember.”
“And I’m just leaving it so it’s easy for you to get to the penthouse whenever you want,” I can feel myself blush; he hasn’t changed it for me.
“Do you know what those numbers mean?”
“No, but I’d love to know,” he tells me as he leads me inside the elevator and presses the button that indicates his floor on the panel.
“23-10 is the day and month I was born.” In the reflection of the doors, I can see the little smirk that Liam makes-“You already knew!” I accuse him, watching as I roll my eyes.
“Yes, and you didn’t just do that.”
“What thing?” I’m a little disoriented. Liam’s gaze is intense.
“Nothing.”
“Okay.” I roll my eyes again.
In a heartbeat, I find myself pressed against the wall, my arms above my head, completely stretched out, held by just one of Liam’s hands, and his lips devouring mine. He bites my lower lip before pulling away.
“It’s rude to do what you just did. I’ve been on this side long enough to know it’s rude to roll your eyes.”
My brain takes a moment to register his words as I’m left dazed by that kiss. Sometimes I feel like he speaks strangely, as if he’s from another era. I don’t have time to respond because at that moment we arrive at our destination; the doors begin to open and we step directly into the lobby of his penthouse. My heart races and nostalgia washes over me because I hadn’t thought I’d be back here again, despite this wonderful place I created. I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. Liam takes my hand and leads me inside.
“It’s still the same as the last time.”