Just a Taste by Shannyn Schroeder

babysitter. I had a good time hanging out with you the other night and thought you did too.”
    â€œI did. And you’re more than welcome to stay if it’s because you want to. I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay.” She rinsed the last of the dishes and pulled the plug on the drain.
    â€œI’d like to stay, but only if we can change the channel. You had your mom’s Spanish soap operas on and I don’t get those. Two years of high school Spanish won’t help me understand.”
    She laughed. “I won’t make you watch the telenovelas. As the guest, you get to pick the show.”
    After drying her hands and making sure the kitchen was put to rights, she followed him into the living room. He sat in the dead center of the couch, arms spread across the back, as if to stake his claim. When she came into the room, he patted the cushion beside him.
    She took the spot, albeit a little reluctantly. He curved one arm on her shoulder and picked up the remote in his opposite hand. As he clicked through the channels, she settled against the couch and the feel of his body next to hers. It felt so good to be touched, to be held, that she wanted to enjoy it, but she feared she was reading more into it than she should.
    They didn’t really know each other and he had never expressed an interest in her. In fact, after her drunken offer the other night, he’d pretty much rejected her. Yet tonight he made her dinner and now wanted to hold her on the couch.
    Time to turn off her brain. She was spending too much time inside her own head. She’d have to get used to Liam being around. Her dad had made sure they’d be tied together. She had no idea what he’d been thinking.
    Liam settled on some silly comedy, stuff with slapstick humor and crude jokes. But together they laughed. And for those two hours, she didn’t feel the guilt and grief.
    When the movie ended, Liam shifted away from her. A huge yawn forced its way from her body. Her emotional breakdown followed by a ridiculous amount of laughter had done her in.
    Liam stood. “I’m going home. Are you going to be okay?”
    She stood to walk him out and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for everything tonight.”
    At the door, he said, “I work the dinner shift tomorrow, but I need to talk to you about the will. Can we meet for an early lunch?”
    Carmen knew if she didn’t agree, he would have doubts about whether she was okay. And they did need to discuss the will. Although she’d known her dad included him, she hadn’t known to what extent. She’d never wanted to talk to her dad about it. After her mother’s death she couldn’t bear the thought of him dying, so she wouldn’t talk about it.
    â€œSure. Let me know where. You still have my number?”
    He nodded. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
    He lingered at the open door, cold air pushing into the warm house. She thought he might say something else, but whatever it was died on his lips and he nodded again before walking to his car.
    Exhaustion hit her hard. But before she dragged herself to bed, she gathered her notes and her dad’s will to take with her to lunch. Like it or not, she and Liam had decisions to make and they would be part of each other’s lives for at least a while.

    Liam spent half his night and the entire morning trying to figure out how to talk to Carmen. He remembered what it was like after his dad died. The depression and misery, not wanting to think about him, but not being able to put him out of his head. But this was her future. They needed to take care of it as soon as possible.
    He grabbed his work clothes and drove to the restaurant. He chose a place close to Carmen’s house, even though it was out of his way. He figured she’d be most comfortable in her own neighborhood. When he got to the restaurant, she was waiting outside the door.
    The wind blew her hair around her