11. Marley

11

MARLEY

M y eyes dart between Redpoint Brewery and my apartment building as I make my way home after work. It’s a pretty fall day with crisp sweater weather that makes me think of smores and campfires. And cuddling.

And Liam.

To be specific, cuddling with Liam.

Am I crazy? I think so, but I can’t help it. As it is I think I’m using about sixty-five percent of my brain simply imagining him tugging me close and kissing my lips. I spend hours thinking of the way I’d trace my fingers down his cut abs and up into his cleanly cut beard. Yes, abs first, beard second. There’s no other way.

I know I shouldn’t be thinking of him like that. I shouldn’t be thinking of anyone like that right now. I have too much on my plate as it is, too much on the line. But after he took care of me when I was sick and after the conversation we had last night, it’s like he’s invaded my brain like a sexy Alexander the Great.

I should go home, like a good girl, and work on putting together a schedule for the paper release, but the chill in the air makes me want to try the new apple cinnamon cider at Redpoint I keep seeing ads for. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. It can’t be because I want to see Liam. That would be stupid.

Go home , I whisper into the breeze, but my feet betray me by crossing Main Street and carrying me all the way to the door of Redpoint. I feel my heart leap into my throat as I open the door, but the incredible interior distracts me. A glass wall at one end encloses the glossy brewing vats, original brick, and tin ceilings add character, and a deeply polished wood theme makes the wide-open space somehow feel warm.

I love it immediately even if Liam is nowhere in sight.

“Welcome to Redpoint,” a gorgeous redhead greets me from behind the bar, distracting me from scanning the guests for a roommate with a beard and washboard abs. Her smile is genuine, and I don’t know how, but I like her already.

“Thank you,” I answer, climbing onto a stool at the bar.

Red approaches me. “First time here?”

I nod. “I’ve been seeing ads for the cider, I had to try it.”

Her eyes widen. “You will love it. I think it’s the best thing we have on tap right now.”

“Well now, I have to try it.”

She grins, grabs a glass, and pulls a perfect pint of reddish cider. “It’s got a little bit of a bite on the front end, but caramel notes on the back end.”

I can already smell the tart apple and the earthy cinnamon and my mouth waters before I even taste it. “God, it smells like heaven.”

Red chuckles and watches while I take a sip.

“Oh my God,” I moan as the sweet, tart, caramelly flavor coats my tongue. It instantly transports me back to my grandmother’s kitchen, waiting for a slice of her warm caramel apple pie. I’m speechless. I didn’t know cider could be that good. I didn’t know anything could be that good. I look at Red with wide eyes. “Holy shit.”

She laughs. “My thoughts exactly,” she puts out her hand. “I’m Gus; I manage this place.”

“Marley,” I answer, shaking her hand. “I just moved here.”

Her eyes widen with recognition, “Oh, you must be the one stuck living with Liam.”

I laugh and nod, tossing back another drink of cider because I can feel myself blushing already and I don’t know why. “That’s me.”

“You poor thing,” she commiserates. Checking over her shoulder, she lowers her voice. “How is that going?”

“Okay, for now,” I answer with a shrug. “He’s impossibly clean, but other than that, not a terrible roommate.”

“Ugh, the cleaning,” Gus sighs. “He almost got into a fistfight with his brothers over a single hair on the bathroom sink.

I giggle, feeling the alcohol relaxing my shoulders. “I buy that. He was desperate not to move back in with one of them.”

“That would be Elliot. He’s the youngest and couldn’t be more different than Liam. I don’t think either of them would have survived a minute longer together.”

As I take another drink, a giant man comes from the door to the brew house. He’s shockingly tall and fully bearded, and I can tell almost instantly by the eyes that he must be one of Liam’s brothers. “That one is Max,” Gus says conspiratorially. She waggles the diamond on her left hand. “He’s mine.”

“Yes, I am,” he grumbles, picking Gus up from behind and spinning her around.

I watch them and feel a small kick of envy as Gus devolves into a puddle of giggling goo as Max kisses her neck and whispers something in her ear that makes her flush a bright red. They look rapturously happy, fairy-tale happy, and I want that too.

When Max finally puts Gus on her feet, she nods towards me. “This is Marley . She’s new in town. She’s the one stuck with Liam.”

Max’s eyes round as he turns to me. I still can’t believe how big he is. “My deepest sympathies. Your tab is on the house tonight.”

I laugh. “It’s not that bad.”

Max shakes his head. “Yes it is, accept the gift. I have to introduce you to Elliot—he’ll want to thank you too.”

“You don’t have to—” Before the words are out of my mouth, he’s already texting.

I cringe when I hear a door slam open, followed by footsteps. “Is this her?” A younger, smaller version of Max asks. He has the Sutton eyes but also a carefree, slightly dangerous vibe about him.

“I am her,” I say, giving up because I should have known this would happen. Of course, they’d know about Liam’s living situation.

Without warning, Elliot throws his arms around me in a bear hug. “Thank you, thank you, you’ve saved my life.”

And of course, right then, when everything looks the worst it possibly can, Liam appears from behind an office door and spots his younger brother with his arms around me. I can feel his anger from across the room, see his nostrils flare, see his fists curl as if he’s trying to temper his reaction.

“What’s going on?” He asks, his voice clipped, his jaw tight. I’ve never heard him sound so intense. It sends a shock of desire right through my core.

Elliot springs away from me, clearly reading the fury on Liam’s face. “I was just thanking her for getting you out of the apartment.” He puts his hands up. “That’s all, I swear.”

Liam’s gaze flicks to me, and I feel it all the way to my toenails like a fucking lightning bolt. Holy shit . All I can do is nod to confirm.

“Well,” he addresses everyone, “you’ve met her now. You can stop crowding her.”

Elliot lets out a breath. “It was nice to meet you Marley, don’t be a stranger.”

“You too,” I answer as he slinks back to his office.

Max eyes Liam for a long time before he too makes himself scarce. Before long it’s just me and Gus and Liam and silence.

Until he spears a hand through his hair and mutters something about work to do.

Gus watches him walk back to his office before turning to me with wide eyes. “Well now, someone sounded a little jealous.”

I flare a deep, hot red and take a giant swig of my cider because how the fuck am I supposed to respond?