So That Happened (Donovan Family, #1)

by Katie Bailey

It’s like that meme. You know, the one that’s like “Nobody:” and then a picture of someone saying something really dumb. I am a living embodiment of that meme.

Seriously? I was, like, five minutes late. Seven, tops. Fine. Ten. But no more than eleven.

“Wooo!” she whisper-hisses. “I could feel that tension. I believe this is what Timber calls ‘a match.’”

My guess is that he’s a Brad, or a Chad. Ooh, or a Thad—Brad and Chad’s slightly douchier counterpart.

My sister, Lana Mae, likes to say I’m an acquired taste. Like an anchovy. I hate anchovies.

“You’re completely right. I should’ve anticipated that someone would be moonwalking through the lobby and not see it. My mistake.”

“Better report myself, then,” Liam says as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. “Tell them I’m guilty of leaving my possessions unattended for moonwalking women to trip over. I’m sure they’ll be along to arrest me any second now.”

It is a good color on her, though. You know, if I was the type of guy to notice that kind of thing.

“I’ll sleep on this side, above the covers. That way, you should be as, um…” His cheeks redden a touch. “Comfortable as possible, given the situation.”

IM LAUGHNG TOO HARD

So why did I wake up with my arms wrapped tightly around Annie Jacobs this morning?

And maybe it really is a joke—a grown man who’s so unaccustomed to romantic female company that he keeps finding himself thinking about a freaking cuddle. Joke’s on me, I guess.

I mean… there’s no way, right? We spooned. Spooned! Although, maybe he’s a serial spooner who has so many spoonees that he can’t recall them all. Brain, would you ever shut up?

So, just like they don’t talk about Bruno in Encanto (yes, Legs forced me to watch that movie. Twice. And no, I didn’t hate it), we won’t talk about what happened. Ever.

“To quote my dear friend, Courtney… what in the name of Kim Kardashian’s surgically enhanced ass is going on here?”

“Oh, it’s a thrilling dispute about what underwear Liam wears to the office,” Luke says conversationally. Like we’re talking about the weather instead of my boss’s undergarments… Nope. I’m not thinking about it. Liam, predictably, has turned an unhealthy shade of puce, but Luke motors on. “Actually, you may be the one to enlighten us with the answer, Annie.”

Until my very manly boss comes back carrying two overflowing trays of food. I’m talking, enough to feed a soccer team. He sees me eyeing the pile. “I didn’t know what you liked.” “So you ordered everything on the menu?” I demand, mostly joking… until I see a guilty flicker in his eyes. My mouth drops open. “You actually ordered everything on the menu?” He ducks his head as he sits. “Not everything.” “What did you leave out?” “The side order of refried beans.”

Liam, like a magical mind-reader, pushes the quesadilla toward me. “You can keep eating, though.” This man. I take a huge bite. He nods in approval.

Ways to make a casual dinner with your colleague awkward: Panic order her every last thing on the menu. Find yourself totally unable to stop looking at her mouth as she eats, so try to “fix” the problem by asking her a bunch of work questions with military-like precision and force. Get approached by a relentless dance-mom from your niece’s class who’s asked you out no less than four times in the past year.

“Wild one, aren’t you?” “When I want to be.”

For one thing, I learned the hard way that you can spray a bottle of hairspray the wrong way. My eyes will hopefully make a full recovery someday.

I know immediately that the song is by One Direction. I don’t love the fact that I know this. Legs begins to sing along. Loudly. Who knew so much volume could come from such tiny lungs? An involuntary smile creeps over my face, and I turn up the music a little more. Legs cheers, and I tap my index fingers on the steering wheel to the music. It’s actually a pretty catchy tune, something about making the most of living while you’re still young. Immediately, I think of Annie. Annie, with her wide smile and fiery eyes and thirst for squeezing every last drop out of every day. Annie, who’s late for everything and makes a fool out of herself by speaking before she thinks. Annie, who manages to laugh it all off and move on because life’s short, and if you get tripped up, the only way to keep going is to get right back up.

“Uncle Liam?” Legs yells over the noise. I turn the music down, reach for my coffee in the cupholder. “Yes, sweetie?” “What does ‘get some’ mean?” I choke on my coffee. And I’m caught so off guard that I don’t brake early enough for a red light. I slam my foot down to stop the car. The action jerks Legs forward in her booster seat and sends a gush of coffee all over my white button-down shirt. “Shi⁠—!” The vehicle comes to an abrupt, jerky halt. I twist around in my seat, heart pounding. “Legs! You okay?” “Fine.” Legs giggles, totally unperturbed. Then again, her mother drives like she’s the only person on the road, and everyone else can get out of her way. It would be impressive if it wasn’t so terrifying. “The song says that tonight, they’re going to get some. Get some what?” Blood pumps in my ears and I press my head back against the seat. I don’t know if I’m more rocked by my ill attention to the road or by Legs’s question. I turn the radio off. Good grief. I blame Lana Mae for this. Letting her child listen to inappropriate music about casual sex sung by delinquent youth. Aren’t these boys, like, fifteen? Where are their mothers? I have a good mind to write to the record company and… “Uncle Liammmm, what are they getting?” Legs asks again. “Probably chlamydia,” I mutter darkly under my breath. “What did you say?” No! I’m not prepared to field this type of question. I’m only the driver! “Um… clams from… India.” I cringe the second the words are out of my mouth. Good on...

But now that she’s not in the vehicle and I’m no longer worried about her hearing anything her sweet little ears shouldn’t, I find that I don’t want to turn the song off. In fact, I turn it up. Tap my fingers on the steering wheel. Fingers turn into whole hands. Hands turn into head nods. The track ends and flips to the next on the playlist, and it’s another one I recognize. One I even know the words to. It’s the song about the girl not knowing how beautiful she is. Not knowing how much the guy wants her. One person comes to mind at these lyrics.

Pining looks good on you.”

She did keep it. All I can picture is the woman wearing my damn t-shirt and very little more. And she’s looking at me like she knows it. Did someone turn the temperature up in here?

Annie’s hazel eyes are dancing with mischief and sparkle and so much goodness that I never want to look away.

Only, not quite. Because said daughter is, well… wow. I’m staring again. I should stop, but my brain is drinking in everything about Annie like she’s an oasis in the driest desert. I want to mentally log the way her emerald-green dress hugs her curves, moving like water as she brushes past her mother in the doorway. The way her hair falls in waves to her shoulders, shiny and bright. The way her big eyes keep glancing at me too, taking me in just as hungrily. Ho-ly. I think I need to sit down.

This is ridiculous. Forget Annie acting like a regressed teen, I’m the one who’s acting like he can’t control his hormones. She’s just a woman, Liam. Just a woman you work with. Just a woman you work with in a very, very nice dress. I swallow. Plenty of women are attractive, so how has Annoying (But Cute) Annie From the Plane become Annie Who I’m Thinking About Way Too Much and Also Workplace-Inappropriately?

“You’re very good at your job,” I say. Annie raises her brows. Smirks. “Well, at least there’s that.” “I didn’t mean it like⁠—” “I know,” she cuts me off, still smiling. “I’m sure you’re good at a lot of things.” I did not just say that. Did not just lay out the most thickly innuendo-laden statement of all time to my freaking employee.

“Like, um, Sudoku,” I clarify quickly. “You look like a Sudoku fan.” What am I talking about? I glance sideways at her, just in time to see that darned grin slip back onto her face. “Oh yeah? What does a Sudoku fan look like?” Hot. But I can’t say that. For obvious reasons. I need to change the subject, fast. Say something, Liam. Anything at all. “So your mom’s into pirate porn, huh?” Anything but that, dumbass.

“Vulnerability is not about winning or losing, it's about having the courage to show up even when you can't control the outcome.”

“No, they’re gonna kiss.” “Kiss?” I squeak, startling back to my senses. “Yes,” Legs repeats slowly, like she thinks I’m a bit dim. “Kiss. Like Mindy and Uncle Luke, and maybe like you and Uncle Liam, too?”

Couldn’t help but fall a little more.

But whatever I do, I won’t think about how Annie’s grasshopper spandex tights are very… uh… let’s just say asset hugging. To the point of distracting. Must not think about that. Can’t not think about that. Okay, fine. No point in denying a fact: she has a nice butt. Now, can my brain please go back to regular-scheduled programming?

“I’m going to show you how this is done.”

Holy moly double cannoli with extra chocolate chips. He’s touching my elbow. My freaking elbow. Who knew elbows were a turn-on? Not me.

“You are an insane person.” “I’m a romantic. You should try it sometime.”

Okay, fine, I still have huge emotions. But as an adult, I’m now able to self-medicate with candy and ice cream.

“Well, now that the cat’s out of the bag… Toby Barnett, huh? Was he a stud?” Annie throws back her head and laughs. “Oh, he was only the studliest little stud muffin Miss Jawinski’s fifth grade class ever saw.” “Need me to hunt him down for a little roughing up, too?”

“I’m not to be underestimated.” “I could never underestimate you.”

I don’t want her to leave.

“Maybe I wanted more than just a lousy t-shirt,”

The rational part of my brain knows that this can’t happen. But I’ve sent it packing on an all-inclusive vacation to Cancun so that the primal part of my brain—the part that needs to know what her mouth feels like on mine—can take control for a few sweet moments.

“I do. But I’ll come back and see you soon, okay?” “I’d like that,” Legs says. I cast one last glance at Annie, taking in her mussed hair, smudged lipstick, and wild, fiery eyes. Yeah, that makes two of us.

“We’ll need at least an hour to cover everything. Just wait until you hear about the One Direction debacle.” Lana clasps her hands. “There was a debacle?” “Liam had his shirt off.” “Oh, this is going to be good.”

“He’s in lurvvvvvvve,”

“Fine.” I hold my breath for all of two seconds. Then, “I like her.” The words are liberating on my tongue. Confessing them feels sweet. A relief. “I KNEW IT!” Luke crows. He whips out his phone. “I have to call Mindy and⁠—” I swat the phone out of his hand. “Hey, that’s a brand new iPhone!” “Was a brand new iPhone.”

Because not only do I secretly love laser tag… but the thought of running around a dark room with Annie? It’s not so bad. Not at all.

and I still can’t manage to think of Mr. Donovan as ‘Liam.’ He looks like he came out of the womb as Mr. Donovan.”

When you first meet Liam, he’s all sharp teeth and snarling mouth. But if you look a bit closer… there’s the fluffiest lamb you ever saw. And all I want to do is coax that lamb to come out and frolic with me. That’s what lambs do, right? (And just to be clear, by “frolic” I mean “kiss.”)