The CEO’s Masked Secret Wife novel Chapter 74

74 Interrupted Reconciliation

74 Interrupted Reconciliation

## Hazel’s POV

The flowers were just the beginning.

By noon, a stunning teddy bear holding a heart appeared on my desk. By two o’clock, it was chocolates from that boutique downtown I’d once mentioned in passing. Each delivery came with notes-some sweet, some playfully suggestive-and each made it harder to maintain my irritation.

“You’re smiling again,” Scarlett teased, leaning against my cubicle wall.

I quickly rearranged my expression. “Am not.”

“Liar.” She crossed her arms. “I’ve watched you read that last note six times.”

I tucked the card into my drawer. “Don’t you have work to do?”

“Don’t you?” She grinned. “Because all I see you doing is mooning over Sterling’s gifts.”

Before I could respond, a commotion erupted at the entrance. Liam strode in, Damian beside him, both men looking absurdly handsome in tailored suits.

“This is overkill,” I muttered as Liam approached.

His eyes sparkled with mischief. “Hello, girlfriend.”

“I never agreed to that title.”

“You didn’t deny it either.” He gestured to the flowers. “You like them?”

“They’re excessive,” I replied, though my betraying lips curved upward.

“That wasn’t my question.”

Across the room, Damian swept Scarlett into an embrace that made several women sigh audibly.

“You’re causing a scene,” I whispered.

“Good.” Liam stepped closer, invading my personal space. The scent of his cologne made my knees weaken. “I want witnesses when I do this.”

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74 Interrupted Reconciliation

“That man,” she whispered, “looks at your son the way a father should.”

My chest tightened. “We’re still figuring things out.”

“Some things don’t need figuring,” she replied with a wink.

At my apartment, Leo didn’t let go of Liam for a moment. They built a blanket fort in the living room while I sorted through takeout menus.

“Pizza!” Leo declared.

Liam caught my eye. “Whatever the boss wants.”

“I’m ordering salad too,” I warned.

“Boooring,” Leo and Liam said in perfect unison, then dissolved into laughter.

Something about their matching grins made my heart ache. This was what I’d been fighting against-this sense of rightness, of family. It terrified me how easily they fit together, how natural it seemed to have Liam in our home.

Dinner arrived, and we ate on the floor inside their fort-something I’d normally never allow. But watching Leo’s delight as Liam told silly stories, I couldn’t bring myself to enforce regular rules.

After dinner, Liam helped Leo with his bath, complete with bubble beards and sea monster impressions that had my son giggling uncontrollably. By bedtime, Leo was exhausted but blissfully happy.

“Will you read me a story?” he asked Liam sleepily.

“If it’s okay with your mom.”

I nodded, something warm unfurling in my chest as Liam settled beside Leo’s bed with a dinosaur book.

Three stories later, Leo was finally asleep. Liam carefully extracted himself and joined me in the hallway.

“He’s perfect,” he whispered, his eyes soft. “Just like his mother.”

I led him back to the living room, emotion clogging my throat.

“Wine?” I offered.

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3/6

“Please.”

I poured two glasses, acutely aware of his eyes tracking my movements. When I joined him on the couch, he took my hand.

“I’ve missed this,” he said softly. “Being with you. With Leo.”

I sipped my wine to buy time. “He adores you.”

“The feeling is mutual.” His thumb traced circles on my palm. “I adore both of you.”

“Liam…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he interrupted. “I know I hurt you. I know trust takes time to rebuild. But I’m not going anywhere, Cat. Not unless you tell me to go.”

He was so sincere, so open. The walls I’d carefully constructed were crumbling.

“I’m scared,” I admitted finally.

“Of what?”

“Of how much I want this. Of how easily you could break my heart.”

He moved closer, taking my glass and setting it aside. “I won’t. I promise.”

His lips found mine, gentle at first, then increasingly urgent. I responded instinctively, my body remembering exactly how we fit together. His hands slid into my hair as he deepened the kiss, lowering me onto the cushions.

“I love you,” he whispered against my neck. “Let me show you.”

His clever fingers worked at the buttons of my blouse, exposing skin inch by tantalizing inch. My breathing quickened as he traced the lace edge of my bra.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, pressing heated kisses along my collarbone.

I arched into his touch, all resistance forgotten. His hand slid beneath my skirt, caressing my thigh, and I gasped as his fingers brushed against-

The insistent ringing of his phone shattered the moment.

Liam groaned, his forehead dropping to my shoulder. “Ignore it.”

The phone fell silent, then immediately began ringing again.

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