Liam and I make love over, and over again, all through the night. Each time is better than the last. He whispers sweet nothings into my ears while teasing my mind, body, and soul. Finally, we fall into a deep sleep, holding one another tight.

I wake up in the morning to him peppering my naked shoulder with soft kisses. I stir awake, but don’t open my eyes. Tantalizingly slow, his lips move up to my neck until he gets to my ear where he softly nibbles. “Wake up, beautiful,” he whispers.

“I don’t want to,” I mumble.

“Why not?” he asks around more kisses.

“Because in this dream, I’m in a better place than being awake,” I answer, rolling over to face him, but not opening my eyes.

His right arm is under my neck and his left-hand cups my face. “What if I told you this wasn’t a dream?”

I open my eyes and I’m stunned by the brilliant blue that’s staring back at me. His eyes, they’re like being submerged in the ocean, only having a small window to look out, at the endless blue. There’s depth, and rough waves, but also a calmness that settles every amped up emotion that’s coursing through my veins.

“You’re definitely worth waking up for.” I offer up a sleepy smile and he leans down for a kiss that turns into so much more.

“Tell me something,” he urges, pulling me against his bare chest.

“Like what?” I ask, twisting in his arms so I can see his handsome face.

“Something that nobody else knows.”

I bite my lower lip while I think it over. “I lost my virginity to a boy named Topher Smellanitch. He had these black, plastic framed glasses, buck teeth, and dark hair that he always kept in a bowl cut. It was the night of my senior prom, but my prom date got drunk and bailed on me. I ended up sitting with Topher all night, sharing a flask of rum. One thing led to another, and we both had sex for the first time.”

“Yeah?” he asks, surprise clearly written across his face.

“Yes, and it was awful.” I laugh. “He had braces that cut my lip. And he was so nervous, he was shaking. All I can remember of the night, is his skinny body on top of mine, shaking like a chihuahua as he looked down on me with his eyes that looked like they were twice as big because of those thick glasses.” I feel my face burn with embarrassment.

“You never told anyone about it?”

“No way! Why would I?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. With a description like that, I can’t figure out why you wouldn’t tell everyone,” he jokes.

I jab him in the ribs with my elbow. “Tell me about your first time.”

“It’s nothing as epic as yours, I assure you.”

“So, tell me anyway.” I press my cheek to his chest, so I can listen to the deep rhyme of my heart while he tells the story.

“It was with a girl named Mercedes. I’d had a crush on her for as long as I could remember. She grew up right next door. But she blossomed into a woman long before I became a man. She was tall, thin, had these long legs, and was curvy for her age. I was still short and skinny. Didn’t have a single body hair on me yet.” He lets out a short laugh.

“Anyway, when we were sixteen, we went to this party. I had been drinking all night long, but I found her crying alone in the dark. I guess her boyfriend had broken up with her or something. We were both drunk, doing things we shouldn’t have been doing—young and stupid. So, when things started moving forward, I thought she must really like me. Turns out, she wasn’t drunk at all and she didn’t like me. She only used me to make her bigger, more popular boyfriend jealous.”

“Oh, no.” My mouth drops open.

“Yeah, the next day I came to school thinking I was the big man on campus. That is, until he found out, beat me up and shoved me in a locker.”

“He beat you up?” I ask, surprised.

“Yeah, but it was worth it.” He laughs. “At the time, anyway.”

“So, where’s this girl now?”

I feel him shrug his shoulder. “No, idea. Last I heard, she had married the guy that beat me up. He ended up cheating on her and leaving her alone with three kids.”

“Wow! I’d say that’s karma.”

“What about Topher? Where’s he?”

“Working for the FBI, actually. He was always super smart. I think he’s married to the girl he was secretly in love with back then. Her name was Lilly Gram.”

“I guess at least someone got their happy ending.” He releases me and sits on the edge of the bed, pulling on his jeans. “Are you going to come by the ranch today?” I pull the blanket up my naked body. “Maybe. I have to go to the animal shelter and put in my shift. Then I promised to have dinner with my parents. So, if I do, it won’t be until late.” He stands up and pulls on his shirt, making me a little sad to see that those nice, firm abs are covered.

“How about you have dinner with your parents, and dessert with me?” He sits down on the edge of the bed, leaning over me with his blue eyes shining.

A smile I have no control over, spreads across my face. “I don’t know. What are you fixing?”

He leans down and softly presses his lips against mine. “I was thinking hot fudge sundaes.”

“With a cherry on top?” I ask against his lips.

He snickers. “Whatever you want.”

“It’s a deal.”

He presses another long kiss to my lips and stands. “Don’t keep me waiting,” he coos, walking out of the room, to the front door.

When I hear the front door click closed, a smile spreads across my face, happy about the recent turn of events. I have been longing for Liam since I first heard his voice, but finally getting what I wanted, it’s better than I ever could have imagined. He held me close all night, said the most perfect things at the perfect time, and worked me over like no man ever has.

It all seems too good to be true, and that makes my heart pound with nervousness, waiting for it to end. Then I remember how I promised myself that I wouldn’t get close to him again, and the smile that’s been stamped on my face starts to fade. He is a playboy. He admitted to being with a lot of women. I bet at some time or another, every single one of those women felt this exact same way. That’s just another reason to keep my feelings in check. I’ll see how this plays out, but I won’t let myself get attached. I’ll play along, and when the game is done, I’ll move on to the next part of my life. A broken heart is the last thing I need.

I quickly shower and dress in a pair of jeans and my volunteer shirt. I let my hair hang free today, and only put on a little lip gloss and mascara. I’m walking into the animal shelter shortly after, to find Amy dancing around with Daisy, at the center of the floor.

“Someone’s in a good mood today,” I say, dropping my bag onto the table.

She looks up at me with a big smile. “Daisy is getting adopted today!” Her eyes are wide with excitement. “Aren’t you Daisy?” she asks, excitedly.

Daisy barks and jumps around, happy to have someone to play with.

“That’s great.” I fall onto my knees, petting her and scratching behind her ears. She flops down onto the floor and rolls onto her back, so Amy and I can scratch her belly.

“Daisy gets a bath, so she can smell pretty for her new family,” Amy coos.

“Looks like we need to put in a tracking chip too,” I say, standing up. “Let’s get busy, Aims.”

Amy stands and dusts off her pants. “What did you do last night?”

“What?” I ask, turning my back to her so she can’t read me.

“You look different.” She takes a few steps to my side, peeking at me. “Did you do something different with your hair or makeup?”

“No, nothing is different.” I roll my eyes and grab the clipboard.

She gasps loudly, and when I turn to look, she’s covering her big smile with her hand. “You got laid!”

“Shhh! Seriously, why are you so loud?”

“You did, didn’t you?” She’s pushing against my shoulder and nodding her head vigorously.

“Liam came over last night,” I admit.

She screams and jumps up and down.

“Shhh. What the hell, Amy?”

She’s laughing so hard she doubles over. “I’m sorry. I just so fucking excited!”

“Why are you excited? I’m the one that should be excited.”

Suddenly all her noise making goes silent. “Wait. Are you not excited? Did he suck? Was his,” her eyes flash downward, “too small?”

“What? No!” I shake my head. “It was perfect, everything I thought it would be and more.”

“Then what’s the problem?” She places her elbows on the table and leans down to study me.

I shrug. “Nothing. I’m just trying to keep myself in check before I get attached again and he leaves.”

She nods slowly. “Good idea. Don’t put too much thought into it and enjoy while it lasts.”

“I can do that,” I tell myself.

Amy and I spend the day getting Daisy ready for her adoption. We put in the tracking chip and update all her vaccines. Then give her a bath and a haircut, paint her nails, and put a bow in her hair. She’s happy with all the attention she’s getting, and after the grooming, her gray coat is shiny and smooth, looking more silver than gray.

I bend down to my knees and pet her head. “You’re going to be so happy with your new family!”

“Ves, Daisy’s new owners are here,” Amy says, walking in the door behind me.

I hug her close. “Okay, Daisy. Don’t be nervous. They’re going to love you!” I stand and lead her from the room up to the front where an older couple stands, eyes wide and smiles in place. The lady drops down to her knees and opens her arms up wide. “Hi, Daisy!”

Daisy automatically recognizes her name and she runs into the woman’s open arms. I’m so happy that Daisy found a home with people who will adore her, but I’m also sad to see her go. This is the best and the worst part of my job.

When I pull up at my parents’ house, Dad is standing in front of the garage, flipping the steaks on the grill.

“Hi, kitten,” he says as I exit the car and close the distance between us.

“Hi, how you feeling? Mom mentioned you’ve been a little under the weather.” I lean in and kiss his cheek.

He waves his hand through the air. “It ain’t nothing that can stop me. Youre mom’s inside. Go tell her to stop fussing about everything, and to sit down and take a break.” He shakes his head. “That woman goes ninety to nothing all day long!”

I laugh. “Okay, I’ll tell her.” I leave Dad standing alone to go inside and check on Mama. When I walk in the kitchen, she’s dancing around to an old Conway Twitty song while preparing dinner. I smile as I lean against the door jam, listening to her sing along and watching as she dances with the music. It reminds me of being a little girl again and doing this same thing with her while she prepared dinner.

“Oh, you scared me,” she says when she spins around to find me watching her.

“Daddy said you need to slow down,” I say around my smile, now understanding why. I look at the island that’s covered in food. BBQ ribs, coleslaw, baked beans, corn on the cob, and potato salad is all laid out.

Dad walks in with a tray. “Here’s the steak.” He places it on the island next to everything else. “I don’t know why you wanted to fix all this. It’s going to take us a week to eat it all.”

She shoos him away with the dish towel in her hands. “I wanted a BBQ. We’ll send a plate home with Vesper. Maybe she can take it to that man she’s been seeing.” She looks at me from the corner of her eyes as a small smile spreads across her lips.

“Damn it, Amy,” I mumble. “How has she even had the time to tell you? I just left her at the animal shelter.” I move deeper into the kitchen and pour myself a glass of sweet tea.

“She called me as she was walking out the door,” Mom says, taking some plates from the cabinets. “We just want you to be happy, dear. You work too hard.”

I roll my eyes and grab the silverware, carrying it to the island. “I just wish you would all stay out of my personal life.”

“Good luck,” Daddy says, fixing his plate.

Mom ignores me and starts fixing her own plate. “I have the patio table set up out in the back. I thought it was too nice of a night to waste it in doors.”

Everyone fixes their dinner and heads outside to sit at the patio table. The food is delicious, but I’m too lost in thought to engage in much conversation. I keep wondering if I should try harder with Liam or if I should stick to my original plan of keeping some distance between us outside of the bedroom. It seems like everyone is rooting for us, and his words still echo in my mind: I want you by my side every single day.

Maybe I’ll just have fun while it lasts and see where it goes.