Liam & Maddie Duet

Chapter 2-3

Liam and I clean the house before Mason and Sophie return home this afternoon. While he vacuums the living room, I wipe the counters in the kitchen and make sure there are no dirty dishes. Sophie’s particular about her space and will kill us if we don’t pick up after ourselves since I know she probably cleaned before they left. As soon as we’re done tidying everything, I hear a car door slam and know it’s them. Excitement streams through me, and I stop what I’m doing to rush outside. My arms are wide open, and all I want to do is hug and congratulate my big sister.

“Ahhh! Lemme see! Lemme see!” I scream, needing to know exactly which ring Mason bought. I’ve been stalking her on social media for the past few days, but she’s been completely silent. My curiosity has nearly killed me.

“What?” Sophie asks, confused as I nearly tackle her to the ground. Sometimes I forget how much power I have behind me. Mason steadies her, and I can’t stop laughing at her shocked expression.

“The ring! Let me see!” I exclaim, trying to catch my breath, but she furrows her brows at me. I half-wonder if she said no and then start to worry. “Oh my God. You said yes, right? s**t, did Mason chicken out?”

All weekend Liam’s told me not to ruin the surprise. What if Mason didn’t propose and wanted to wait, and I just ruined it?

“How did you know about the ring?” she asks, then glances over her shoulder at Mason. “I thought you said you only told Liam.”

“Yeah, and Liam told me,” I say. If she doesn’t show me the ring soon, I might combust. The anticipation is too much.

Mason growls and shakes his head in frustration. Before he can chew Liam a new one, I explain what happened. “Okay, well, to be fair, I made him tell me.”

Sophie immediately starts laughing.

“And why are you here?” Mason asks as I follow them into the house. Sophie hasn’t stopped smiling.

“Well…there was a fire on campus and—”

“What?” Sophie interrupts with concern evident on her face. “Did your apartment burn down?”

“No, thankfully. The one next to us, however…anyway, they evacuated us because of smoke damage. I packed all my s**t and called Liam.”

Sophie slaps me on the shoulder and scolds me. “Why didn’t you call me? I’m your sister!”

We walk into the living room where Liam is already lounging in the recliner with a beer. Mason sets down their luggage and scowls, and it has me snickering because Liam just grins.

“Liam texted me before you guys left and told me I wasn’t to bother you! He said it was your special weekend, and if I needed anything, he was on call. Of course, that sounded fishy as hell coming from Hulk, so when I did ask him to come get me, I bugged him enough until he finally told me and said I wasn’t allowed to reach out to you.”

Mason smirks at him. “Way to play it cool, man.”

“Well, I didn’t expect her to actually need something! Go figure the one weekend you guys leave, she gets evicted.”

I exaggerate a gasp. “I was not evicted!” I wait for him to say another word, but he doesn’t. “Anyway, I’m not sure when they’re going to allow us to go back. I heard it’s pretty bad, though.”

“Don’t worry, you can stay here as long as you need to,” Sophie tells me, and I know Mason will agree. I’m not so sure about Liam at this point, but either way, he’s outnumbered.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Well, I’m glad because I have nowhere else to go, and I’ve been sleeping in your room. Also, I’m broke as f**k so…” I shrug because they’ve already heard me complain about all of this at some point. “Now.” I grab her hand and yank her closer so I can get a better look. “Let me see this rock.”

“Isn’t it stunning?” she asks proudly. It’s a beautiful double halo diamond, and if I remember correctly, it cost a small fortune. It was one of Sophie’s favorite designs.

“Yeah, it’s perfect.” I give Mason a look and grin. “Wonder how he knew what you liked?”

“No clue.” Mason shrugs. “Guess I’m just that good.”

I want to smack that sly smirk right off his face. “Oh, don’t even play!” I say, pushing a finger into his chest. “You’re welcome.”

“Pfft. I would’ve figured it out, ya know?” Mason gives me a wink, and I know he’s thankful.

We continue joking around, and I pick on him about having me as his sister. Eventually, Mason says he has to get ready for work in the morning and gives Sophie googly eyes. “Guess you’re sleeping with me tonight…” he tells Sophie, waggling his brows, but I already know she’s been sleeping in his bed for a while.

“Oh hell, I’m gonna need earplugs, aren’t I?” I groan, crossing my arms, but I’m happy for them. They make the cutest couple in the world and totally give Hunter and Lennon a run for their money.

After we’re done chatting, Sophie takes her suitcase and walks toward her room, and I know it’s because she wants to chat in private.

“So did you tell Lennon about the proposal?” I ask, following her.

“Not yet,” she says as she starts unpacking her bag. I watch her, the smile not fading from her face since the moment she came home engaged.

“How do you think Mom and Dad will react?” I ask, sitting on the bed as she tosses her dirty clothes into an empty hamper. I don’t even give her time to answer as I contemplate my own situation. “You two are really making it hard for me. By the time I have a baby or get married, they’re going to be expecting the worst.”

She laughs and shrugs. “Perks of being the little sister.”

“They’re not perks! But maybe that means they won’t give me any s**t for anything I do. You two will have worn them down by then.”

I think about Lennon getting pregnant before the motorcycle accident that killed Brandon, Alison’s father. Then Sophie with her crazy ex who pulled a g*n and ended up getting shot, the k********g, moving in with Mason, and now she’s engaged. It’s been a hell of a year for her.

“See? There ya go. You’re welcome,” she says before grabbing her now full hamper and walking out of her room.

When she returns, she mentions Lennon putting our parents in their place when they found out she was pregnant out of wedlock and how it has toned down their overbearing. Concern still covers her face, though.

“It’s the being engaged before they met Mason that might hurt them. But it’s not like it’s on purpose. We don’t live in Utah, so it makes it harder to just introduce them to the guys we’re dating.”

I nod and grin. “Well, and if you factor in the first time you guys hooked up, you’ve been dating for over three years.”

“Ha-ha, funny. I’m not going to tell them that, and neither are you.” She points her finger at me. “They know our story, and once they do get to meet him, I have no doubt they’ll love him.”

I think back to the first time I met Liam and realize our story is so similar to Mason and Sophie’s, but I don’t dare admit that. Instead, I push the thoughts away and try to bury them.

“They totally will,” I reassure. “I really am so excited for you guys. You two deserve it so much.”

I stand and wrap my arms around her, giving Sophie a big hug. I love my sister and want her to be happy more than anything. Having a man who truly loves her is everything she’s ever deserved. When we pull away, I can see the happiness in her eyes, sparkling like the diamonds on her finger.

“Thank you. I’m still in shock, I think. But it was awesome to spend the weekend together just the two of us, so…thanks for not calling.” She bursts out laughing when I scrunch my nose at her. “Oh, I bet you loved being here alone with Liam anyway.”

“It hasn’t been so bad, I guess. I mean, it’s only been two days, and he sleeps till noon.”

Sophie nods, not prying into the details. “Yeah, he does that when he’s between bounties because he doesn’t sleep that well on the road. He stays up for long hours at a time, plus hotel beds suck.”

I arch an eyebrow at her. “It was nice to just hang out. I’m gonna wear him down eventually.”

She smiles at my determination, then wraps her arm around my shoulder and squeezes. “I have no doubt that you will.”

Operation Break Liam Down has already been activated. I just hope he doesn’t break me first.