LIAM excerpt (Storm Brothers Book 4)

“Daddy, will you come to Montana?” Lulu asks as she perches on my lap. We’re sitting in the private lounge of the New Orleans airport, and I look down and smile at her.

Her blue eyes, which look so much like my ex-wife’s, stare back at me. My daughter is full of innocence, but she’s wiser than she should have to be at three years old. Her parents divorcing took away her belief that life is full of happily ever afters, and I feel the guilt of that every time I look at her.

“I will, baby. You’re going to fly there today with Uncle Hunter and Aunt Winter. But I’ll be there before you know it.”

“Good.” She bounces up and down on my lap, her stuffed unicorn nestled with her. Her blond ponytail bounces with her movements. Her hair’s gotten so long. “Daddy, I want yum-yums!”

“You just had some goldfish crackers,” I remind her. “Can you read your book?”

She picks up her animal picture book and half-heartedly flips through the pages. Sometimes I feel like she’s three going on thirteen, I swear. 

“The plane ride will go by quickly. And when you get to Montana, you can see a lot of animals for real.”

“Like the zoo?”

“Better than the zoo,” I tell her. “Wild Ranch has animals on the property. Like horses.”

“Neigh-neigh.” She giggles.

Behind her, the sun is setting outside the lounge’s floor-to-ceiling windows. 

Feels like my past is laid out in front of me. I block out the dark memories and focus on where I’m headed. To Montana for the summer. My little brother’s getting married, and I’m about to take a solo cross-country road trip. Once I arrive at Wild Ranch, Lulu and I will hang out and chill for the off-season. She’s my favorite girl in the world, and there’s nothing I want to do more than spend every day with her.

Big sky, here we come. 

“Daddy, I need to go potty.”

“Okay.” I stand up and head for the restrooms that are within sight. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Haley

She’s not coming.

I bite down to try to quell the devastation hitting me and toss some bills on the table. I leave the table and smooth down the front of my blue and white button shirt and black mini skirt. Then, with my head held high, I grab my rolling suitcase and march out of the airport coffee shop.

I keep my shoulders back as I roll my suitcase down the corridor, but inside, I’m trying not to lose it.

I’d never had the urge to meet my birth mother before. I love my parents, and if it weren’t for their nasty divorce, I might never have been curious enough to seek out Mindy. But after Mom caught Dad having sex with his—wait for the cliché—receptionist—our happy little family kind of fell apart. I felt a bit lost, and I decided to undertake the process of locating Mindy Latano. And today is my thirtieth birthday, which seemed like the perfect day to take the chance and set up a meeting with her.

I could use a friend as I hustle through the airport, my tears no longer hidden behind my eyes but now starting to prevent me from seeing clearly in front of me. The fact that I wear glasses is just making the whole situation worse because the tears are now staining my glasses.

My younger sister, Debbie, has always stuck to me like white on rice, and traits I used to find endearing when she was a kid I now find grating, to put it mildly. She’s helpless to do anything on her own, and she comes to me to clean up her messes. Which are frequent. On the flip side, she’s rarely there when I need her. Like right now.

My parents have already both called to wish me a happy birthday. Dad sang to me like he always does. I was still in good spirits then because I hadn’t been stood up yet.

But now…

I’m an expert at locking down my emotions, but even I can’t stop the tide.

Tears make a person illogical, and I’m desperate for privacy, so when I pass the lounge for VIP customers and someone steps out, leaving the door open for a half second, I slip inside.

She didn’t show runs on a loop in my brain, and by the time I find the signs pointing toward the restrooms, tears are streaming out of my eyes and down my cheeks.

As I go to blink them back, they keep coming. I take off my glasses and march toward the lit Ladies’ sign like it can save me from drowning.

I’m nearly there—I can see the sign a few feet in front of me—when I drop my purse. The heel of my combat boot catches on the shoulder strap.

I go headlong into space and slam into someone.

Someone solid.

An arm comes around my back and steadies me as I flail my arms, wildly looking for purchase.

My glasses leave my hand as the aroma of man plus…goldfish crackers?...hits my nose.

“Daddy, is she okay?”

Oh, God.

I’ve landed in the arms of a dad.

How utterly humiliating. He’s probably laden down with kids, and his wife’s going to be feeling sorry for me and…

I step back from his solid chest, swipe at my eyes, and look up.

Straight into the eyes of Liam Storm. 

The hot single dad who also happens to be a huge hockey star for the New Orleans Fire. His twin brothers are engaged to my two friends; one is my bestie, and the other, my coworker. 

Which makes avoiding Liam next to impossible.

But I try.

Oh, do I try.

It helps that he lives in New Orleans and I’m in Montana. 

But this morning, I’m in New Orleans. And…

I may not be wearing my glasses, but I’m only two feet away from my savior, and I’d recognize those laser-green eyes anywhere.

Like this day could get any worse. 

Liam’s face is half-hidden beneath a ball cap, and his dark hair peeking out beneath matches his neatly-trimmed goatee. He’s dressed casually in worn blue jeans and a long-sleeved forest green shirt that shows off his gorgeous eyes.

He’s holding tightly to the hand of a blond little girl with the bluest eyes.

I suck in a mortified breath. 

Liam and I had a rocky start, mostly due to my big mouth, and we never really recovered. 

I was at a bar with my girlfriends when Liam showed up with his brothers after a hockey game he was in town for. Everyone was laughing about how Liam got hit on outside the restroom by a woman who asked him to sign her bra. Everyone except for me. The flash of jealousy that cut through me shocked the heck out of me, and I opened my big mouth.

“Gross,” I couldn’t help saying. 

“Then, she slipped him her number,” my friend, Jamie Beth, said laughing.

Liam shrugged in a way that irritated me even more. “She called herself a super fan.”

“More like a super flirt,” I muttered.

Liam glanced at me like I was an irritant he was only just noticing. “Fans like their autographs,” he said slowly.

“On their boobs?” I groaned. “Please.”

“Some of the women I’ve met really know and love the game,” he said.

“True.” I glared at him. “Some women do. But those women don’t normally give out their personal phone numbers, do they?”

“I don’t mind.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” I wanted to wipe off his amused expression. “What man doesn’t mind a woman who throws her bra, her number—and herself—at him? Personally, I don’t find an athlete attractive.”

“Oh yeah?” His green eyes assessed me. “What’s your type?”

“Smart,” I snapped. “Serious about things that matter—like protecting the planet, or saving koalas from extinction, or making sure everyone has access to clean water.”

“Liam’s really into the environment, too,” Hunter said. “Maybe you two can…”

“We can’t,” Liam said quickly.

He shut me down.

That stung.

And yet…I couldn’t look away from his irritatingly confident stare. 

Our staring turned to glaring, and then it felt almost…sexual. Like the way I’d feel if I were having hate sex with someone. Yet Liam and I weren’t even touching.

Someone at the table changed the subject, and the moment was broken.

So we’re not exactly enemies, but we’re far from friendly.

Liam stares back at me now, his normally stormy green eyes soft with what I perceive as pity. “Haley?”

His southern accent gets me every time. Slow and sexy. I never thought I cared about a Southern accent until I met him.

“Hey, Liam.”

He immediately bends down to retrieve my glasses, which he hands over to me.

“Thank you,” I get out while I thank God for small favors that the glasses aren’t broken.

He picks up my suitcase next from where it had fallen a foot away from me. I take the handle from him and secure the suitcase next to me.

“Are you okay?”

I wipe at my eyes again before putting my glasses back on my face. “I’m…doing fine.” 

He bends down again and then hands me a tissue from the little pink backpack at his feet.

“Um, thanks.” I laugh shakily and make a quick attempt to both stop my crying and also blot the tears on my cheeks with the tissue.

When I think the worst of the waterworks are under control, I shove the used tissue into my purse and look up at Liam again.

His lips turn down in a frown. “You’re not okay.” He says it in the gentlest tone I’ve ever heard out of a man.

I suck in a breath. 

Shit. With three simple words, this man just took my air.

I open up my mouth to deny it. But… 

The strangest thing happens.

No words come.

I can’t lie to him. I’m an expert at lying about my pain—to myself and to others.

But to this man that I hardly know and don’t even like, I can’t fucking lie.

“Ma’am? Excuse me, but you didn’t check into the lounge.” 

I turn to face a frowning airport attendant.

“Can I see your pass please?”

My face turns hot. I certainly don’t need any more humiliation.

“I’m sorry.” I start to back up. “I came in here by mistake…”

“She’s with me.” Liam flashes the attendant his VIP pass along with a megawatt smile I didn’t know he had in him.

She hesitates. “Is she family?”

“Yes.” He gestures to Lulu. “She’s our nanny. I’m a single dad.”

The woman takes a second look at Liam’s handsome face and flashes him a big smile.

“Of course.” The woman nods. “Thank you.”

When she leaves, I look at Liam. “Nanny?”

He shrugs. “It just popped out. Must be because you said you used to work as one.”

He remembers that?

I mentioned it off-handedly the second time we met. Honestly, I’m half-surprised he even recognized me out of context.

Instead, I clear my throat and turn to smile at the little girl still holding tightly to Liam’s hand. “Hi. I’m not usually this messy. I’m Haley.”

“This is my daughter, Lulu.” He smiles at his little girl, and God, his smile is filled with such love. “Lulu, this is Haley Laine. She lives in Montana near your uncles.”

She gives me an adorable wave. “Hi-hi.”

She’s wearing a cute pink dress with a heart embroidered onto it.

I wave back and gesture to her stuffed animal. “I love your unicorn. Does she have a name?”

“Yuni.”

“Yuni’s a great name. Can I pet her?”

Lulu beams up at me and holds out Yuni.

I pat her furry back and then playfully tug at the horn.

Lulu breaks into peals of laughter.

Her joy is infectious, and Liam and I join in with her.

His eyes catch mine, and in my head, I’m thinking one thing. Okay, I’m thinking lots of things, like how incredibly gorgeous his smile is and how much I love seeing him with his daughter. But one thing is stuck in my mind.

“You know my last name?” I blurt out.

Christ!

He cocks his head like I’ve surprised him. Then, he gives me the barest of nods. 

“What are you doing at the airport?” I ask him.

“How long are you in New Orleans for?” he asks me.

“As short as possible,” I say without thinking.

Liam raises his eyebrows.

“I’m here on…some family business, which concluded earlier than anticipated.”

I’m relieved when a woman passing by us squeals. She abruptly stops to beg Liam for an autograph. He politely obliges her request, and as soon as she walks away, Lulu squeezes his hand.

“Daddy, potty.”

Liam glances toward the family restroom. “Someone’s still in there, darling.”

“I have to go now.” Lulu starts shifting around in what I always called the pee-pee dance when I nannied.

“I can take her to the ladies’ room,” I offer. “If you’d feel more comfortable with that option than the men’s room.”

Liam visibly exhales. “If you don’t mind. I’ve taken her into a men’s room before, but I prefer the family restrooms for her sake.”

“I totally understand.”

He’s such a good, protective dad shoots unbidden through my mind. I shove all positive thoughts of Liam away and focus on the little girl with the biggest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.

Lulu immediately drops Liam’s hand and takes mine.

“I’ll watch your suitcase,” Liam offers.

“Thanks. We’ll just be a minute,” I call over my shoulder as Lulu drags me into the restroom.

I choose the regular-size stall due to the lower seat, unwrap the toilet liner, and help Lulu onto the toilet.

While she’s peeing, I attempt to tame my hair.

I must look a freaking mess.

“You know Daddy?”

She’s staring up at me.

“Yes. We’ve met a couple of times.”

My mind immediately takes me back to when Liam’s eyes locked on mine that first meeting. He made me feel like every inch of my body was suddenly alive. I touched myself to the memory for months afterward. 

I clear my throat and drag my mind out of the gutter and back to the present where Liam’s daughter is staring up at me. “Are you all finished, honey?”

She nods, and I hand her some toilet paper. 

Lulu raises her arms to me, and I lift her off the seat.

She pulls up her underwear and adorable little jeans on her own, and we exit the stall.

I pick her up so she can wash her hands and then grab a paper towel to dry them.

I take a moment to toss water on my face and blot it with a paper towel.

My mascara is nearly gone. I don’t wear makeup often, but I went the extra mile for my birth mom. When I look in the mirror, I cringe at my red blotchy cheeks and swollen eyes.

I could hardly be called high-maintenance, but it’s human nature to want to appear somewhat put together when out in public. Especially when you’re interacting with the guy you’ve been ridiculously attracted to since you first laid eyes on him over a year ago. 

I nearly slap my own face as I stare at it in the mirror. 

Stop lusting.

His daughter is right next to you.

I don’t get in deep with men.

Especially hot men who make me feel things that are scary and big.

But Liam is a dad.

And I love kids.

And he adores his daughter.

Figurative face slap.

Leave it be, Haley. This is your last warning.

Want to continue reading? 

DOWNLOAD LIAM HERE

Buy the whole series to bundle and save!

DOWNLOAD HOCKEY BUNDLE HERE