Madeline's POV.
I frowned, ''How do you know all this? You knew that I would get nauseous during travel, now chocolates and sweets. Did you do a background check on me?''
Liam chuckled; he probably found it funny, but I was borderline serious. I mean, come on, I read novels where a lot of male leads usually do all that.
''You are too delusional, '' he said, taking a seat across me, ''About the ginger tea, mum told me, and you liking sweets was merely an observation.''
I rolled my eyes, ''We barely stayed under the same roof for two days, what observation did you make?''
He raised his eyebrows as if he was challenging me, ''You eating pancakes for breakfast with tons of honey, that's enough give away.''
''Oh, ya.'' I agreed, was it so evident?
I continued munching on the brownies, but it was getting more and more difficult to swallow as Liam kept staring at me, ''Why do you keep staring at me like that?''
I didn't understand Liam one bit; his actions and words were always so contrasting. His body language and words left me confused.
The stares, him coming closer to me, all made me believe that he might feel something for me, but his words, him threatening me not to come close or feel anything for him, when he was the one who always came close to me, didn't feel fair.
He shrugged, ''I was merely observing.''
I sighed, not being able to keep it in anymore, I said, ''You know it's not fair,''
Hearing that, Liam sat up straight, ''What are you talking about?''
''You coming closer to me, wearing this apron and everything, when you asked me to maintain distance when I was merely looking out for you as a roommate,''
Liam froze. I was finally happy that I shut him up.
But what happened in the next few moments would forever be etched in my brain.
"I didn't mean to confuse you," he said finally, his voice steady.
I stared at him, my fingers frozen around the half-eaten brownie. "But you are,'' I whispered. ''You say one thing and do the opposite."
He leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees, and his eyes locked on mine. ''Maybe I don't know what I'm doing either.''
That startled me.
What kind of response was that?
"I…" he began, then stood up abruptly.
My heart skipped.
He moved closer. Something in the way he moved, slow, careful, almost hesitant, made my ears burn.
And then, without a word, he reached behind his neck and untied the apron.
I blinked. ''W-what are you—?''
The fabric slipped from his shoulders, and for a second I was too stunned to breathe. It fell silently to the floor, leaving him shirtless, bare skin, sculpted.
I felt like I was at an exhibition or even a museum.
"I'm not trying to mess with you," he said, "but I can't pretend I don't feel something when I'm near you."
Liar, he was messing with me.
I froze.
He took another step closer.
"You think I wear this apron and walk around half-naked on purpose?" His lips lifted slightly, like he was amused by the absurdity. "Maybe I do. Maybe because it makes you flustered. And maybe I like seeing that."
My face burned, and I clutched the blanket tighter. I wanted to hide and scream and also maybe kiss him at the same time, I knew if I leaned in, I could do it.
I was crazy, he was crazy, we both were crazy.
''That's—'' I swallowed. ''That's manipulative, it's cheating.''
''It is,'' he admitted, his voice husky now, every word he said seemed clearer than before. "But I never said I was a saint. You know that very well."
He crouched down in front of me, his bare chest inches from where I sat curled on the couch. His hand reached out, slowly, like he was giving me the chance to back away.
But I didn't.
I couldn't.
His fingers brushed my cheek, and I almost closed my eyes. ''Madeline,'' he said softly, I have never heard anyone call my name out like this
''If I come any closer… I'm not going to walk away, so you should create that distance between us, please, because you know we are bound to get hurt if we get our feelings involved.''
His desperate voice almost brought tears to my eyes, so he also knew and he also felt it like I did, but this was such a cruel play of fate.
Fate had to be bitchy when it was my turn.
My heart ached, physically.
''I should create the distance?'' I whispered. ''Even though you're the one who keeps coming closer?''
He didn't move, he remained where he was, staring at me, not breaking eye contact.
''Because if you don't,'' he murmured, ''I'll forget who I am when I'm around you.''
I frowned, not understanding. ''What does that even mean?''
He pulled back slightly, leaving my skin cold in its absence. "It means," he said slowly, "I've never done this before. Wanting someone and not knowing what to do with it."
I laughed, bitter and sharp. "Really? You? The guy who's dated half the city and flirted with the rest?"
''That's exactly it.'' His voice was low now, rough. ''That's not who I am around you.''
"I haven't been with anyone since you came into my life, I even risked my career kicking Alexandra out," he admitted, eyes filled with sincerity. "Haven't touched, flirted, even looked at anyone else. Because suddenly none of them felt right. You ruined that for me."
He stepped closer again. "You think I'm still that guy, the careless one who collects hearts and breaks them like glass. And I don't blame you. That's all I used to be."
The was something in him I had never seen before. Vulnerability.
"But you…" He said, "You made me stop without even asking me to."
I was frozen, caught between disbelief and something far more dangerous, hope.
''I'm not playing with you, Madeline,'' he whispered. ''This isn't a game.''
''Then why are you pushing me away?'' I demanded, the frustration cracking my voice. "If this is real, if I matter, then why keep telling me to stay away?"
His expression twisted, as if he were in pain. ''Because you deserve more than a guy who only figured out how to be decent after you walked into his life.''
The ache in my chest intensified.
I had been so terrified of falling for him, thinking I was just one more in a long line of his admirers.
But he was trying to protect me in his own, selfish ways.
''So, we can't walk down this lane, we can't blur these lines, can we?'' He asked as if he were waiting for a confirmation.
"No," I breathed, the word hurting more than I expected. "We can't."
He crouched down again, not to reach for me, but just to be close. ''I'd rather stay away than become someone who hurts you.''
I nodded slowly, even though it broke something inside me. ''So we just… stay in our lane.''
He nodded too. ''Roommates. Friends. Whatever we can be without crossing that line.''
There was a silence after that.
But beneath it all, there was an unspoken truth:
We wanted each other.
But we also knew wanting wasn't enough.
Not yet.