Accidental Proposal (A Year Agreement Book 1) (9 page)

I watched Liam open the fridge angrily and take out a container of food. He stomped around the kitchen like a five year old who was told they couldn’t have candy. He didn’t even glance in my direction as he dished out his food.

“Do you even cook?” I asked out of the blue. I hadn’t really had time to go grocery shopping yet, but I would later this week. “Microwaving food gets old.” He still didn’t reply, and I rolled my eyes.
What a baby.
Liam grabbed his bowl after the microwave beeped, heading to the small kitchen table by the door, which was as far away from me as he could get. It irked me, the way he was acting. Getting up, I went and sat across from him, smiling at his glaring eyes.

“Where should we say we met?” I looked at him, but he just silently ate his food. “I like that idea about the coffee shop. We could say I worked there and we ran into each other one day. How does that sound?” I stared at him, waiting for him to answer. “Liam, I swear to God if you don’t say something, I will come over there and cut your balls off. Then I’ll tell your parents what is really going on,” I threatened him. “You are acting like a child.”

“That story sounds fine to me. You saw me and then asked me out that day.”

“Liam.” I groaned. “You’re not helping!”

“You said answer, and I did,” he replied. I let my head fall down onto the table, and a bang echoed through the room. Ignoring the pain from my forehead, I sighed deeply.

“You know what? You’re no help. We’ll just wing it tomorrow, apparently. But one thing we do know is we met at the coffee shop across from your work…what is it called?”

“Juice N Java,” he said then stood up, taking his plate to the sink. “Okay, fine. That is our plan.” I lifted my head off the table and stood up. My stomach rumbled, and I finally noticed the time. It was a little after seven, and I hadn’t eaten since noon, when Lennon let me eat at the mall. I went to the fridge and pulled out a random container of food. The kitchen was silent, and I figured Liam had left. Putting my plate in the microwave, I turned and almost jumped seeing Liam standing there staring at me.

“W-What?” I stuttered.

“Thank you,” Liam said, his voice gruff. Without saying anything else, he walked away.

Okayyy.

As I stood there waiting for my food, I looked down at my hand. I didn’t know when I would get used to seeing the ring there. Once my food was done, I grabbed a fork and headed to my bedroom to eat. The sun was starting to set, making the hallway glow a light pink and orange. Everything was silent as I made my way to my room and shut the door. When I went to my bed, I stopped, noticing a small red velvet ring box. Remembering Liam had it and that he was kind enough to put it on my bed, a small smile appeared on my face.

I ate in a matter of minutes before sitting there staring at the TV in my room. I’d honestly forgotten about having one in here until now. Deciding to turn in early, I went and changed into my PJs, washed my face, and slipped my ring into its case. Grabbing my dishes, I padded barefoot to the kitchen. After I put them in the dishwasher, I was heading back to my room when I heard a groan. Wondering what it was, I headed down the opposite hall and up the stairs toward a light coming from a room.

When I came to the room, I peeked my head around the corner and saw Liam sitting at his desk, his head in his hands, pulling his brown hair. I wanted to go in and see what was wrong, but knowing I would only get yelled at made me stay where I was. I wished Liam would just cooperate with me and try to be nice. It wouldn’t hurt him to do so. Knowing there wasn’t anything I could do, I turned and quietly made my way back downstairs before I got caught.

Closing my bedroom door, I leaned against it, wondering about tomorrow. It was going to be very interesting, to say the least. I guess I’d better get my acting on, because if not, this whole deal would be for nothing.

Chapter Nine

I woke up the next morning to a pair of hands shaking me and a voice calling my name. Groaning, I swatted away the hands while mumbling. I think everyone would agree that being woken up by someone is just as bad as an alarm.

“Jenna, get up!” the voice said again right above my head. I rolled over, away from the hands, onto my side. I just wanted to sleep! “Fine, you asked for it.” I heard the person’s footsteps disappear, and I sighed, snuggling deeper into my pillow.

Just as I got comfortable again, I suddenly felt something wet and cold land on my exposed neck and shoulders.
What is that?
Before I could understand what it was, I was doused in cold water. There wasn’t a lot, but there was enough to make my head and my PJ shirt wet. I sat up with a gasp, feeling as the cold water ran down my neck. I turned and stared at a smug Lennon standing next to my bed with an empty cup. I narrowed my eyes at her.

“You know I would have gotten up without the cold water.”

“I know.” With that, she set the glass on my bedside table. “Okay, up and at ‘em. We have a lot to do before you leave.”

“But, Lennon, it’s nine in the morning!” I whined, looking at the clock. The last few days of being able to sleep in had already got me hooked.

“You have an early lunch and entire day with Liam’s parents, so it’s time to get up and get ready, or do you want me to get Liam in here?” With one last glare at Lennon, I got up and headed to the shower.

As I showered, I thought about how weird it is to spend the
entire
day with Liam’s parents. I thought we were just going to dinner with them, not lunch and dinner. Was that even normal? On that subject, nothing about this was normal. I got out of the warm shower ten minutes later, wrapping a towel around me just in time for Lennon to come barging in.

“Lennon!” I shouted, clenching the towel tighter around me. “Get out!”

“Jenna, come on. It’s not like I haven’t seen anything like that before.” She rolled her eyes at me. I just stood there staring at her like she was crazy. “Okay, fine, I’ll leave. Yell for me when you have your underwear and bra on. I’ll be right outside your bedroom door.” I watched her as she left, waiting to hear my bedroom door close before I even moved a muscle.

Shaking my head, I quickly dried myself off before sliding on my panties and bra. I grabbed a new towel, wrapped the dry one around my body, and wrapped my other one around my head to dry my hair.

“Lennon, you can come in now,” I called out, taking a seat at the edge of my bed. She instantly came in, shutting the door behind her.

“Okay, let’s get you all dolled up,” she said, rubbing her hands together and walking toward me. The look on her face made me not want to go anymore. “Makeup first, clothes second, then your hair,” she muttered under her breath as she grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the vanity on the other side of the room. Pushing me down on the seat, she got to work pulling out the drawers that held the makeup we bought yesterday.

“How did those get in there?” I asked, confused. I didn’t remember putting those things in there last night.

“I did it while you were in the shower.” She waved me off. “Okay, you have great skin, so I’m going to do your makeup light and natural. You don’t want your makeup overdone.” She talked to herself as she grabbed this and that. I watched her, confused. I didn’t really know much about makeup since I had no one to teach me. The only things I knew were mascara because that’s a given, foundation to cover up my eye bags, and lipstick. Lennon made me close my eyes so I wouldn’t look while she worked.

“What are Liam’s parents like?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“They are honestly the nicest people I’ve ever met. Lily and Adam are like my second parents, and Julie is the sister I always wanted. Being an only child and my parents always gone, I spent more time with Liam and his family than with my own.” I sat there silent as she talked. “They’ll like you, don’t worry.” I debated asking her what Liam was like when he was younger, the pictures I’d found of him at the back of my mind. I wanted to know a little bit about him before meeting his parents.

“Lennon…what was Liam like when he was younger?”

“He was the greatest guy ever, and I’m not being biased because I’m his friend. Everyone in school loved him, even the boys. He became the youngest captain for the football team his sophomore year, and they became state champions too. He was on the basketball team, and baseball too. For our school, he was the ‘it’ kid. He was captain for all three sports and won state two times for football, once for basketball, and twice for baseball.” As she spoke about Liam, I stopped myself from saying anything about the rings and pictures I’d seen the other day. “He was basically everybody’s favorite person.”

“What changed?” I asked before thinking. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” I quickly added.

“It’s fine. I know what you mean. He isn’t the same guy he used to be. He’s more shut-off and cold, but once you get past his hard exterior, he can be the most loving, fun, caring guy.” I tried not to scoff at that because that sounded nothing like the Liam I knew. I realized that she didn’t answer my question, but I didn’t push it. It wasn’t my place to go asking.

“Do you know why he wants his dad’s business so bad?”

“This business has been his entire life since college. Mr. Stanford always wanted Liam to take over his seat when he was ready, but these last few years all Liam has done is party, chase and sleep with girls, and come into work late, if at all. I can kind of see why he is doing this to Liam. He does need to stop chasing skirts. I know he’s only twenty-four and that is the time to live and blah blah blah, but if he wants that seat, he needs to settle down a little.” I nodded along with her, thinking about Liam.

“Okay, I am done here. Let’s get you dressed. If we don’t hurry then Liam will come in here pissed.” I followed after her, wanting to make sure she doesn’t pick out anything to fancy.

“What are we doing with his parents?” I asked after her.

“I think you guys are just going to their house to eat and get to know one another.”

“If we are just going to eat and get to know one another, then why couldn’t I sleep in a bit longer?” I questioned, leaning against the wall to my closet.

“Because you are going to their country home, and it’s about an hour or two from here. Okay, I found the perfect outfit for you.” She turned and held out a pair of dark skinny jeans and a strapless tank top thing. I honestly had no idea what it was called. It was brown with light pink flowers on it. Not arguing with her, I grabbed them and headed back to the bathroom to change.

I did the skinny jean dance, you know where you jump up and down, wiggling into the jeans. I slid on the top, making sure my boobs wouldn’t pop out suddenly. After changing, I headed back to my closet.

“That looks great! Now, to finish it off.” She handed me a cute brown light sweater to go over top of the shirt and a pair of really cute brown-heeled boots. Putting on some socks and the shoes, I grinned over at Lennon. She definitely knew what she was doing.

“I love this outfit. Thank you.”

“No problem. Now let’s hurry and do your hair. You need to leave soon.” With that, she led me back to the vanity and started on my hair. I closed my eyes automatically. There was no better feeling than someone playing with your hair, and ladies, you will agree with me. In no time, Lennon said she was finished and let me finally open my eyes. I stared at my refection, not really knowing what to say.

I looked like a different person. My long blonde hair was curled into waves down my back, with a few pieces pulled away from my face with bobby pins. My green eyes stood out against dark eye shadow and mascara. My makeup wasn’t too bold but instead natural, with light pink blush on my cheeks and light pink lipstick. I stood up and looked at my outfit fully. I looked really cute.

“Thank you, Lenn,” I said, turning and grinning at her.

“You’re welcome. Here you go.” She handed me my bag. “I already put extra lipstick in it, along with everything else you already had in it.” I gladly took it before looking around, feeling like I was missing something.
My ring!
Heading to my bedside table, I grabbed my phone and slid it into my pocket before grabbing my ring box. I carefully opened it and smiled softly at my ring. I took it out and slid it onto my index finger. “Is that your ring?” Lennon screeched. I jumped and put a hand over my ear.
And now I’m deaf.

“Yeah, it is.” Before I even finished my sentence, she grabbed my hand and yanked it toward her.

“It is…beautiful!” she exclaimed, staring down at my hand. “Where did you get it?”

“Tiffany’s
.”

“What! You’re so lucky!” Her grip on my wrist tightened, and I tried pulling it away from her.

“Are you girls done yet? We need to leave,” I heard Liam say from behind the door. I turned and felt my mouth dry up. He was dressed in a pair of low-ride jeans that looked great on him and a dark blue t-shirt that I knew would make his blue eyes pop even more. His brown hair was slicked back but still slightly messy.

“Yup, she’s all good to go,” Lennon said, letting my hand go so it flopped to my side. “Have fun and be good, you two.” As I walked toward Liam nervously, I felt a hand slap my ass. Turning, I shot Lennon a glare, but she just grinned at me.
She’s so weird.

Silently, we walked to the garage, and I had to force myself not to check out Liam’s butt in his jeans. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth as I got into the passenger’s seat of the Audi
.
I’d realized this car was Liam’s favorite. Why have all these expensive cars if you only drove one? It was awkward as we sat there silently, Liam driving away from the house.

I turned on the radio, wanting something on instead of silence. Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down” played softly throughout the car and I leaned back in the seat, looking out the window as we passed houses and stores. The chorus of the song started, but before it could continue, the radio was switched off. I turned and glared at Liam, who’d turned it down. Reaching over, I switched it back on and looked back out the window. The same thing happened again, making me snap my gaze over to Liam’s. Stubbornly, I turned it back on and glared at the side of Liam’s head, almost daring him to do it again. Just as his hand went for the radio, I slapped it.

“No, we are listening to music,” I stated. He took his eyes off the road for a second to stare at me.

“Did you just slap my hand away?”

“Yes. Now stop.” With that, I turned back to the window. I knew I was being grumpy with him, but I couldn’t help it. I was nervous about meeting his family. Would they like me? Sometimes my first impression wasn’t all that good. I fidgeted in my seat, going between playing with my hands to biting my lip.

“Are you going to do that the entire drive?” Liam asked, looking at me from the corner of his eye. I immediately stopped playing with my fingers.

“No.” But as soon as I said it, my leg started bouncing up and down. “Sorry, I’m just nervous,” I admitted after I earned another look from him. He didn’t say anything. “You know, for once could you just drop the cold act and actually try to be nice? It’s not that hard.”

“God, I should have picked someone else,” I heard him mutter under his breath.

“What was that? Should have picked someone else? Yes, Liam, you should have picked someone dumber because they wouldn’t put up such a fight,” I bit out at him.

“You are so annoying! Can’t you just shut up and be quiet for once, instead of whining and complaining all the time?” he yelled over at me. Biting my tongue so I wouldn’t say anything I would regret later, I turned and glared out the window.

For the next hour, both of us were quiet as we ignored each other. The radio played in the background, but it did nothing to even out the tension. Inside I was fuming at Liam, but it soon faded away as nerves spread through my body the closer we got to Liam’s parents’ house. The dashboard read noon, showing we had been driving for about an hour and a half. I’d never met anyone’s parents before, and I was worried, really worried. The car started to slow down, and Liam turned us off the road onto a driveway.
Oh, God, I’m going to throw up.

“It’s going to be okay,” I heard Liam’s voice say suddenly. He placed a hand on my thigh, and I jerked my gaze to him. His blue eyes were staring down at me almost kindly. I nodded shakily. “Really, Jenna, it’s going to be fine. Just be yourself.”
Yeah, like that has worked before. My winning personality has sure helped me out in the past.
His hand squeezed my thigh gently, and I shot him a small smile. The car came to a stop a minute later, in front of a huge home. I stared up at it through the window, already feeling intimidated.

I was so busy staring at the gorgeous brick house that I didn’t hear or notice Liam getting out of the car until my door opened. Blushing, I took off my seatbelt and stepped out. Liam reached a hand out to me, and I gladly took it. I was still kind of mad at him, but I needed the support. My hand trembled inside his warm one as he gently tugged me forward. It was weird how normal it felt to hold hands with him and how perfect my hand fit into his.