Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“That’s okay. She eats whenever I wake up, and then normally dinner is around four or five. But sometimes I’ll give her a little snack, like a quarter of a cup. Not every day.”
“Would you mind showing me where her food is?”
Liam hit his forehead. “Yes! Right. I need to give you a good tour of the house. I’m not used to anyone living here, sorry.”
I shrugged. “Totally okay. I peeked in a couple of the rooms, but stayed out of your bedroom. And even though you said I could use your office, I brought your laptop out here instead.” I nodded toward the kitchen table, where the laptop still sat.
He waved me off as he headed toward the kitchen. “I have nothing to hide. Snoop away.”
“Oh, I hope you don’t think I was snooping. I honestly wasn’t.”
Liam laughed, and it warmed my chilled body. “I know you weren’t. Come on, let me show you where the dog food is kept.”
Once we were in the kitchen, he grabbed one of the cabinets—and a whole bank of them opened together, like a door. “The pantry is behind here, hidden.”
My mouth fell open. “That is the coolest thing I think I’ve ever seen.”
He chuckled and winked at me. I refused to pay attention to the way my stomach dipped at that wink.
“The dog food’s in here, as well as a lot of other food. Please help yourself to any of it.”
I walked into the massive walk-in pantry and let my eyes roam the shelves. “You have a sweet tooth.”
“I do, that’s why I love this pantry. Out of sight, out of mind, but I know it’s here if I want some.”
My finger ran along a row of breakfast cereals, then I took in another shelf full of junk food. He had everything…and when my eyes landed on a bag of miniature Reese’s Cups, I gasped.
“I like these. No, I love these!” Turning to look at him, I pointed to the bag. “Liam, I know that I love these! They’re my favorite candy.”
A wide smile erupted on his face at the discovery, and without even thinking, I launched myself at him. He caught me, then barely managed to keep his footing before I took us to the floor.
“I remembered something else!”
He spun me around with a laugh, then set me back down on the floor. “That’s great, Mallory! Grab the bag—oh, and the black licorice. We’ll have those as snacks tonight for movie night.”
“Movie night?” I asked, grabbing both bags and following him out of the huge pantry.
“Yeah. I thought maybe we could start watching movies, and maybe they might help trigger certain memories.”
“Good idea. It would be nice if more important memories started coming back, no matter the method.”
I set the candy on the kitchen island then slipped onto a stool while Liam opened the freezer and took out something covered in tinfoil.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Getting dinner ready to go into the oven. Sorry, I know I said I’d make steaks tonight, but this will be easier. Randy gets off between four-thirty and five, and it’s about a fifty-minute drive or so from the station to here. I figure if I get this lasagna in the oven now, it will be ready by the time he gets here.”
“You made lasagna?” I asked. Again, confused how I could remember what that was, but not who I was.
“Don’t look so surprised. I’ll have you know, I’m a good cook. I think I already said that once.”
Laughing, I held up my hands. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Would you like me to make a salad?”
“That would be awesome.”
I made myself at home in Liam’s kitchen as I gathered everything I needed for a salad. It should’ve felt strange working alongside him, given that we barely knew each other. Instead, it felt easy and right. It was like I had been living here a year, not a day. Well…three, if you counted the days I was asleep.
“I’ve got some work to do in my office for a bit. Are you okay with the rest of this, or do you need help?”
Waving him away, I said, “I’ve got it. I find it relaxing to chop up veggies. Go work.”
He looked unsure for a moment, then nodded. “If you need anything, just give me a shout. I’m just down the hall.”
“I will.”
Liam stood there, almost looking unwilling to leave. “Did you print out a shoe-size chart?”
“I did. I’m a six and a half.”
His hand rose to the back of his neck, and he started to rub it. “Did you make a list of clothes?”
“Yep. Left it on your desk.”
Smiling, he gave a short nod, then finally turned and headed down the hall.
I glanced down at Piper and shrugged. “Come on, girl, let’s finish this salad.”
After I’d cut up all the veggies and mixed them in a bowl, I used Liam’s laptop to look up recipes for a homemade dressing. He had a few bottles in his refrigerator, but I really wanted to try my hand at making something. When I found a simple lemon-garlic vinaigrette recipe and confirmed Liam had all the ingredients, I quickly got to work. I even found a cute bottle to put it in before placing the finished dressing in the fridge.