I laugh and set my phone aside. “Sure, you do.”
I don’t know who they are, and the only ones who know where I am are those closest to me. People try and scare me all the time. They make false threats. Sometimes, someone gets ahold of my number and sends a preposterous message like this.
It’s absolutely nothing. And I have more important things to think about.
I could sleep out here. The covered dock corner just off of the boathouse is officially my favorite place on the property.
It’s shaded from the sun, and the furniture is soft and cozy. I sink into the cushions.
I’ve been reading Lauren’s book today. Liam and I have had several fantastic days together. We worked side by side the other day after the kissing lesson. We watched a movie on the telly.
I’d like to coax him into Sebastian’s small movie theater in the main house so perhaps I can have my way with him in the dark while the movie plays. I always saw that in films when I was young and thought it looked like fun.
But I haven’t seen much of Liam today. I’ve been lazy, reading and dozing with the warm summer breeze floating over me. I haven’t been this relaxed in ages.
Suddenly, Liam appears and kneels next to the couch, then leans in and kisses my nose.
“Napping?” he asks.
“Relaxing. I thought you wanted more privacy for this?”
“I was up at HQ, looking on the monitors, and I couldn’t find you.” His voice is calm, but there’s a brightness to his brown eyes that I haven’t seen before. An intensity. “So, I came to look. Didn’t find you in your apartment.”
“I’m not in my apartment. It’s called a flat, by the way.”
He leans in and kisses my lips. “And then I glanced over, and here you are, lying here, looking fresh and sexy as fuck.”
Well, if that doesn’t make a woman’s core tighten, I don’t know what will.
“That doesn’t answer my question about affection here, where anyone can see.”
“This pergola is on the monitors,” he admits, “but this particular place is a blind spot.”
“So that’s why you didn’t know where I was.”
He nods slowly. “But I found you.”
“And now that you have, what are you going to do with me?”
His eyes shoot down to my lips. His tongue flicks out to wet his own before he sinks his fingers into my hair and covers my mouth with his. Long and lazy, the kiss consumes me. Liam has a way with that mouth of his.
I want to pull him over me, feel the weight of him right here and now, but my phone interrupts us with a text.
I reach for it and frown at the same number from the other day.
Why aren’t you answering me? I know where you are. Do you want me to prove it?
“Who the fuck is that?” Liam asks.
“I’ve no idea,” I reply and move to set my phone down, but Liam takes it from my hands and scowls at the screen.
“This isn’t the first text.”
“No, but I don’t recognize the number. It’s probably some random weirdo who thinks it’s funny to taunt me.”
“You don’t get to make that decision.” He pulls back, quickly tapping on his own phone. “You give this shit to me, and I decide if it’s worth worrying about, Ellie. Damn it, you know better than this. How could you be so careless? So damn stupid?”
I sit up and drop my head, feeling defeated. “I apologize.”
“I’ll take care of it from here.”
His voice is cold. The playful, fun man from a few moments ago is gone.
“I’m headed to Aspen’s house at four,” I inform him as I stand and walk toward my flat. “Please don’t be late.”
“Are all three of you from Cunningham Falls, then?”
We’re sitting in Aspen’s living room due to a storm that blew through and got the deck wet. The weather has cleared, but we decided to stay in where it’s dry anyway. Aspen was right, she has a fantastic view of the mountains from her back yard. It’s a lovely place.
Liam’s sitting on the front porch.
I don’t care one bit if he gets wet. I’m cross with him.
“Well, Natasha and I are,” Monica says as she pours more salsa into a bowl. “We’ve been friends since we were small.”
“I moved here about two years ago,” Aspen adds. “I’m originally from Tennessee.”
“That’s rather far away,” I say in surprise. “What brought you to Montana?”
“I was tired of being sad, and I wanted a fresh start,” she says with a smile. “And that’s all I’ll say about that because we’re having fun. This is not the time for sad stories.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Natasha says and sips her margarita.
“Aspen was right,” I say. “You make the best margaritas I’ve ever had.”
“It’s a secret recipe,” she says and winks.
Natasha is stunning with long, curly, dark hair and brown eyes. She’s tall and lean and looks as if she could be on the cover of a magazine.
Monica is just as beautiful but the exact opposite in features. With blond hair, blue eyes, and a figure that would make the Greek Gods weep, she’s a stunner.
And don’t even get me started on how gorgeous Aspen is. I’ve never seen red hair like hers before, and her green eyes are just so lovely.
“Ellie, I don’t mean to be too forward, and I wouldn’t say this if I was stone-cold sober—which I’m not because this is my third ‘rita—but your bodyguard is kinda hot.”
Aspen and Monica nod at Natasha’s proclamation, and I scowl.
“On any normal day, I would agree with you. But I’m mad at him today.”
“Why?” Aspen asks. “Did he come on to you?”
I chew on my mostly numb lip, wondering how much I should say. I don’t know these women well. What if I tell them our secret and then they run off and tell the press?
“You don’t have to tell us,” Monica says. “Honest. It’s none of our business anyway.”
“It’s not that he’s been inappropriate,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “I received a weird text a few days ago, and then another one today. I didn’t recognize the number. Sometimes, if someone finds my digits somehow, they send me ridiculous messages. I usually just block them and get on with my life, no problem.
“But Liam saw today’s message and got really angry with me because I didn’t show it to him sooner. He called me stupid.”
I feel my cheeks heat at the thought of what he said.
“Well, that seems uncalled for,” Aspen says and frowns. “I don’t know Liam very well, or at all now that I think of it, but that seems harsh.”
“You should tell him that he’s not allowed to speak to you like that,” Natasha says. “You’re his boss, Ellie. You don’t have to take that.”
“It took me by such surprise, but you’re right.” I pull my phone out of my handbag and pull up Liam’s number. “I’ll text him.”
“He’s right outside,” Aspen says with a snort. “Just go and tell him off.”