The Ex

CHAPTER FIVE

THEN

Balancing a carry bag and my enormous handbag, I trip over my own feet as I exit the elevator. Jane, the receptionist, waves while I offer a friendly smile and hello. Taking a left at the lively sales and marketing firm, I pass private offices and meeting rooms until I finally reach my destination. Liam smiles widely when I enter his office.

"I'm so sorry for being late today! We were so busy this morning. I ran over here." I set the carrier on his desk, place my bag on the floor, and take a moment to catch my breath.

"No problem, Char. I had work to catch up on anyway," Liam states as I unpack the carrier and hand him his container and cutlery.

"What's for lunch?" he asks as he opens the still-warm dish.

"My famous Mexican lasagne. I just made a fresh batch." I grab my own and dig in.

"Hell yes." He takes his first bite and the way his brown eyes flutter closed tells me he's in heaven. "This is so damn good," he utters between mouthfuls.

The addition of beans, chilies, cumin, and paprika to the classic lasagne is a house favorite at Giovanni's Place where I work, and a personal favorite of Liam's. I savor the flavors in my mouth as I take my first bite. We eat in comfortable silence as we do almost every day.

"I spoke to Sophie this morning," I casually note as I place my fork down.

"How is she?" he asks with the tilt of his head. 

"She told me that she's finally ready to get back out there. She suggested a girl's night out tomorrow."

Liam's eyebrows raise in shock but he recovers quickly. "That's great news. It's about time she got over the bastard," he says with a little too much enthusiasm.

Sophie was dating said bastard for almost a year. She recently found out that he was seeing half of the female population in New York for the duration of their relationship while she was seeing him exclusively.

"I agree."

Liam nods nonchalantly. The almost finished lasagne before him becomes the most interesting thing in the room as he studies it intently in a bid to avoid my knowing look. The sag of his shoulders tells me that he isn't taking the news that Sophie's ready to move on well.

Sophie and Liam are meant to be together. It's been obvious since the moment I introduced them three years ago. The fact that the timing was never right, with them intermittently dating other people and ignoring their palpable chemistry; has had me wanting to bang my head against a wall more than once over the years. Now was his chance to finally make his move. I decide to finally tell him as much.

"Liam-" I begin but am interrupted by a knock on the already open door.

"Liam, did you get-"

The tall man pauses when he looks up from the paper in his hands and realizes that Liam isn't alone in his office. His grey eyes lock onto mine and I'm captured by his gaze. My pulse quickens in response. His blank expression is replaced with a grin. My gaze drops from his intense eyes to his full lips and straight teeth. The room immediately feels smaller with him in it.

"Sorry to interrupt," he says after a pause.

"No problem. We were just having lunch." Liam motions to me and says, "this is Charlotte."

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding in.

"Hi," I say with an easy smile.

"Hello, Charlotte. I'm Ethan."