Liam's Lust Page 2
“Oh no, you’re leaving already? I’d hoped everyone would stay for a little while longer, especially now that we have such excellent news. I baked a few pies.” Mason politely insisted that he had to leave, and she shrugged. “Oh well, we’ll see you later. Don’t forget to have some pie when you come home.”
“Sure thing, Mom,” he nodded. He headed into the kitchen to rinse off his plate, but he heard someone follow him in. He knew it was his brother Will..
“What’s up, Liam?” Will asked, his voice soft enough that the others wouldn’t overhear them. “I know something is bothering you. I’m sure Mom and the others know too. No one wants to say anything to ruin the celebratory mood, aside from Noah, apparently.” He rolled his eyes. “Then again, he’s not known for being subtle.”
“It’s complicated,” Liam replied carefully, not wanting to talk about it. “Besides, I don’t want to bring down the happy mood in there.”
“Come on, man. They’re in the other room. It’s fine. You’re not great at hiding your feelings, which makes you an incredible friend and brother. Great at work, too. People know you’re being straight when them. Just let me in.” He cocked his head to the side. “This is about Cindy, isn’t it?”
Liam shook his head. Will was like a dog with a bone when he wanted something. Trying to make him leave this alone was not going to work. “Okay, fine. We’re no longer together. She didn’t think to tell me about accepting a job in New York City. Then she topped it all off by telling me about some lawyer who dated a celebrity that she’ll be working for. What does that have to do with anything professionally?” He leaned back against the counter. “I didn’t react well, we argued, and broke up. That’s it. It sucks, and I’m still reeling from it.”
Will looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe you’re overthinking things. You can’t let one bad relationship stop you. You’ve see how well things are going with Mason. Maybe you should sign up for the dating agency too? It worked out well for him,” he advised.
Dating? Now? Liam wasn’t ready for more heartache. The last thing he needed was to get involved with another woman. But he would love to find someone special like his brother had.
“I’ll think about it.” He chuckled at his brothers stern glare, which was the spitting image of their father’s. “Fine,” he relented. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
Will placed his hand on Liam’s shoulder as he shook his head. “You certainly have Sinclair stubbornness down, but I’m sure you will see this is a good decision. Hang in there, and if you need to talk, give me a call.”
Chapter Three
Olivia stared at her cell phone, trying to work up the nerve to solidify her decision to really do this dating agency thing. Sleeping on it had not helped much. Her dreams played back the date with Jared last night over and over again. But when it all came down to it, none of that was her fault. She was better off moving on with her life. He still hadn’t called her, not that she’d expected him to. Maybe it was another sign from the universe to stop thinking about him. He obviously was off trying to patch things up with his wife, and that was just as well.
That morning, another one of her friends reached out, having heard the news from Sophie.. She was so grateful for their kindness. . They did not judge her, regardless of how they felt about Jared.They cared that she was hurting and offered support and words of encouragement.. They arranged a girl’s night out on the town for next week.
She went to lunch with Isabella earlier that day. A few times, she thought about bringing up the dating agency. It didn’t feel right though, especially when Sophie had suggested she lay off men for a while. Maybe that was the right thing to do. If they knew she was diving into dating, would they think she was finding someone else to rebound from Jared? Was she rebounding?
But here she was, staring down at her cell phone as she typed in the number for Prince Dating Agency.
She kept worrying that she would be matched up with another married man, or someone in a relationship looking for a side piece. Then she tried to stop worrying. Surely a dating agency would be the safe choice for a woman in her position. It was likely better than meeting someone in a bar, like she had with Jared. .
She let out a breath and held the phone up to her ear as it rang. A young woman with a sweet voice answered, “Hello, this is Leslie. Prince Dating Agency where you’ll find the match of your dreams. How may I help you?”
Olivia opened her mouth and closed it again. She was glad that she called rather than going directly to their office. At least in the privacy of her own home she didn’t need to worry about her composure or how she looked answering questions. None of this felt normal for her since at work she was a calm, confident woman. “Hi, my name is Olivia. I’m interested in signing up, I suppose. Is there someone I can talk with that will walk me through the process or something like that?”
“Certainly, Miss...?” Leslie began.
“Tyson,” she answered. “My name is Olivia Tyson.”
“Miss Tyson, if you’d like I can set up a time for you to come in and speak with someone face-to-face, and if you’re content with our rules and guidelines, we can sign you up to find your perfect match. Ms. Prince, who founded the company, is our matchmaker. She’s incredibly successful. It’s almost magical how good she is at finding matches for our clients.”
“Great. Do you have any morning appointments available?” Magical? That was an interesting way of putting it, but maybe it was unintentional. Or maybe Ms. Prince really had a way with matchmaking. Olivia had never met a professional matchmaker. Her only experience with matchmaking was in high school when one of her friends tried to talk her into a blind date with one of the boys friend the baseball team. He was handsome, but his terrible attitude turned her off.
Olivia heard her typing and clicking from Leslie’s side of the phone.“Yes, of course,” she said. “Let’s see. There’s an opening with Kimberly on Monday morning, if that works well for you?”
Olivia glanced over at her wardrobe. Monday, huh? At least she had tomorrow to get her outfit in order, her nails done, and ready herself mentally before she met with the person at the dating agency. “Yes, that works great. Thank you.”
“You’re certainly welcome. Thank you for thinking of Prince Dating Agency. Have a wonderful day, and I hope you enjoy your meeting with Kim.” The line clicked after a few seconds, leaving Olivia alone, sitting cross-legged on her bed.
“Deep breaths,” she told herself out loud. “I’ve done crazier things than this before. If it doesn’t work out, no harm, no foul.” She took a few more deep breaths and leaned back on the bed, feeling excitement build up inside of her. This felt almost like an adventure. She went over to her closet, pouring over all of her dresses to find the right one. It took a little digging, but she finally found a blue dress that complimented her eyes. It was lovely, and it wouldn’t look too risqué at the office, especially with a cute lightweight sweater.
With a quick look at her nails and toes, she knew her next stop now that she’d found her dress. Besides, a manicure and pedicure would be a relaxing treat after the terrible dinner and subsequent break-up last night.
* * *
Monday morning came way too quickly. Olivia yawned as she sipped her creamy, hot coffee. Her schedule was fairly flexible as long as she was in the office during peak hours for her meetings and calls. With her early morning meeting at the Prince Dating Agency, she doubted she’d have a problem making it into the office. In fact, she might even be early since she would normally still be asleep right now.
She thought of surprising her co-workers with pastries from the delicious bakery down the street from their office building. She was in that good of a mood. Something about this felt right. After finishing up her coffee and rising her cup out in the sink, she double checked how she looked in the mirror, applied her lipstick, and exited her loft-style apartment. The drive to the Prince Dating Agency was quick, and she sat in the parking lot, feeling content..
“Not bad,” Olivia said, then she checked her face in the mirror before heading to the door. She wanted to make her best impression.
The young, blonde receptionist brightly smiled up at her when she walked through the door. “Hello, welcome to Prince Dating Agency. Ms. Prince will help you find your match shortly. May I have your name, please?”
Olivia walked to the receptionist’s desk and smiled back at her. “Olivia Tyson.”
The receptionist smiled. “Good to see you, Ms. Tyson. I’m Leslie. We spoke on the phone,” she said. “I’ll let Kimberly know you’re here. She’ll be with you shortly. Feel free to have a coffee or some hot chocolate while you’re waiting. We have a Keurig machine and light snacks in the waiting room.” She waved her hand in the direction of the machine.
“Thanks. Good to see you too, Leslie,” Olivia replied. She bypassed the light, organic snacks, not wanting to have anything stuck in her teeth when the time came for her meeting with Kimberly. Her gaze descended over the coffee and hot chocolate options, and decided a second cup could not hurt, especially since she was up earlier than usual this morning.
Her gaze slid over to a man who was walking into the building. He was dressed well, and for a moment, her heart fluttered at how handsome he was. She felt her heartbeat quicken.Letting out a breath, she grabbed a pouch of dark roast coffee before giving the display a final once over to make sure she picked out what she wanted.
Chapter Four
After considering his younger brother’s words on Saturday morning, Liam made an appointment for the Prince Dating Agency that afternoon. Because he still lived at home like his other unmated brothers, he made an early morning appointment with the agency before anyone else in his house would be awake to ask questions about his activities.
He walked into the office after sitting in his sports car for a few minutes. Not long ago, he convinced his brother to try this out and now he was attempting to give himself the same pep talk. What if Cindy was an example of what he’d face in the future?
The cheery receptionist greeted him as soon as he walked in. “Welcome to Prince Dating Agency. Ms. Prince will help you find your match shortly. May I have your name, please?”
“Hi,” he said, walking up to the young woman’s desk. “It’s Liam Sinclair. I know I’m a little early.” He flashed her his grin, and he wasn’t surprised when her eyes widened a little and she licked her lower lip. Cindy always said he had grin that melted hearts and panties.
“R-right, Mr. Sinclair, it’s nice to meet you,” she replied, clearing her throat. “I’ll let Ms. Prince know you’re here. She’ll see you directly. She’s currently in a meeting, but if you’d like to have a cup of coffee or some hot cocoa, there’s a Keurig machine and light snacks in the waiting room.”
“Thank you.” He tilted his head to her, still smiling, then he walked off toward the Keurig machine she’d mentioned where a woman in a blue dress stood, browsing the different options. “Finding anything good?” he asked.
She spun around, looking surprised as her gaze slid up his body until it meet his eyes. It took a moment since he was likely a foot taller than her. “Huh? I...” Her eyes widened. Her lips parted for a moment before she closed her mouth. “It’s just the usual selection, I guess. Good variety.”
“I see. What are you leaning toward?” He glanced down at the K-cup in her hand. A dark roast. “That sounds good. I’ll have one of those too.” He gently took one from the rack and popped open the machine. “So, are you a regular around here?” He looked at the couple of other men and women sitting in the waiting room. Some were reading magazines while they drank their coffee while others looked at their phones.
“Me? No. It’s my first time. I barely know what I’m doing,” she said as he lifted the coffee from the machine and handed it to her.
“Funny. Me too. My brother did this not long ago. I actually encouraged him to give it a shot. Little did I know, I’d be here myself trying it out too.” He shook his head. He instantly felt comfortable talking to this woman, without really understanding why.
Once his coffee was finished brewing, he walked with her to a couple of chairs away from the rest of the crowd in the waiting room. He waited until she sat down before making himself comfortable.
She sipped her coffee and raised her eyebrows at him. “Your brother came here? How did that work out for him?”
Liam lifted his own eyebrows with a shrug. “Pretty well I’d say since the two of them moved in together and are expecting their first child.”
“Really? That’s great,” she smiled at him, and a genuine warmth and sincerity radiated from her. “I bet they’re so excited!And you’ll be the proud uncle, huh?”
“Really. They are thrilled. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my brother this happy. He wasn’t interested dating because he was such a workaholic.I helped convince him that he should go for it.”
That was only half of the story, but he could not very well tell her that the real reason for using dating agency was their father’s ultimatum that Mason find a mate or lose his position as the CEO of their family’s business and his rank of alpha. More importantly, it would ruin his relationship with their father. It had not been easy for him, but it provided the push he needed to go beyond his comfort zone. Now Mason’s life was better than ever.
Liam felt drawn to this mystery woman. His bear could feel it too since he wanted Liam to get much closer, but crowding the woman wouldn’t be polite. He barely knew her, and the last thing he wanted was to drive her away.
“So, why did you decide to follow in your brother’s footsteps?” She sipped on her coffee, but she kept her gaze on his. The tone was conversational, but Liam sensed her curiosity.
“It’s a long story, but I think it’s worth a shot if I could find the right girl. Maybe I could be as happy as my brother is, you know?” He looked away for a moment, feeling a little uncomfortable, but his bear followed it’s instincts. Looking away was a sign of weakness and submission. He would become his brother’s second-in-command in their pack. He wasn’t a submissive, so he met her eyes again. “How about you? What brings you here?”
Her face fell when he asked, and he wished he could take the words back the second he said them. “Like you said, it’s a long story. I’m here to see what things are like,” she explained. “Check out the process and maybe sign-up. But I saw a commercial on television. It seemed different, so I figured why not give it a try. Surely it’s better than meeting someone in a bar or wherever people are supposed to meet these days.” She chuckled, but it didn’t sound entirely happy.
“I know how you feel. That’s one reason why I’m doing this too. I’m a busy guy with meetings, a company to help run, and then there’s my family. I don’t want the stress of trying to meet someone on my plate as well. And I know how well it worked out for my brother, so I guess there’s that too.” Just from talking with this woman, the whole trip felt worth it to him. He was no longer wondering if Mason’s success was a fluke. If the women here were anything like her, then he made the right decision.
“A businessman?” she smiled at him and glanced down at his suit and tie. “I guess you’re not just dressed up for this meeting, then?”
Liam flashed a grin at her. “You could say that. I do clean up pretty well though, or so I’ve been told.” He shrugged a shoulder, deciding that sounded like he was talking about other women. He pivoted. “Then again, my mom always says the nicest things.”
She choked a little on her sip of coffee before giving him a bright smile. “Moms tend to be biased, but your mom isn’t lying. You look pretty good in a suit.” A pretty pink blush ran up her neck toward her cheeks after she said that, and he could feel any nervousness toward his upcoming meeting with the matchmaker fade away. “That was probably a little forward. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I’ll gladly accept a compliment from a woman as beautiful as you are. That’s a stunning dress.” He looked down at it before maki
ng eye contact once more. “It goes well with your eyes, too.”
The blush intensified and she lowered her gaze, but he knew she was looking at him through her long lashes. “That’s one of the reasons I bought it. It’s good for all sorts of occasions. I’m headed to work after this, and from the front, it’s modest enough.” She picked up her sweater that laid across her lap. “That’s one reason why I have this with me. And office buildings are usually on the cool side. So what do you do—”
“Miss Olivia Tyson?” a female voice cut in. When Olivia looked up to make eye contact with the woman, she smiled and continued talking. “Hello, I’m Kimberly Smith. I’ll be meeting with you today to discuss our process here at Prince Dating Agency, and hopefully get you all set up.” She looked between the two of them. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Olivia Tyson? That was a lovely name, just like the woman it belonged to.
Olivia glanced over at Kimberly. “Hello Kimberly, thank you. I’ll be there in just a moment,” she said, and looked back at Liam. “It was very nice talking with you.” She paused for a moment before standing up. “I know you will find a great partner like your brother did.” Her hand brushed against his, igniting something inside him, and drawing his bear toward the surface of his skin.
Every instinct within him wanted to take her hand and lead her out of this waiting room. He wished that he could take her somewhere to get to know her better, and eventually make her his mate. Work and other responsibilities be damned. But he knew that was impossible. “It was great talking with you too. I hope you find someone as well.” He had to let her go. At least he was in the right place to find the right woman. It happened with his brother here, and now believed it was possible for him. Meeting Olivia proved that. He watched her walk away with Kimberly. They talked as they walked, but he smiled when Olivia glanced back at him before disappearing down a hallway. Maybe he wasn’t the only one feeling optimistic.