An Unexpected Feeling
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- This takes place in “The Path Least Expected” Universe, but it does not feature Dante or Eleanor. This is the first of several planned Liam fanfics. I didn’t like how I left Liam’s story and I knew that he needed a happy ending of his own, so after lots of discussions, I carefully crafted an OC to give Liam his happily ever after.
Pairing- Liam/OC
Rating- PG
Summary- Liam meets a Canadian grad student and is taken aback by his reaction to her.
Words- 1040
“Your Majesty, Ms. Theordakis is here.”
Liam looked up from his paperwork at his private secretary’s words. “Amanda Theodorakis,” Caroline prodded, “the Canadian graduate student who has been granted access to the royal archives?”
Liam nodded as the information clicked. “Of course, show her in.”
Caroline nodded and exited the office. Liam stood from his chair so that he could properly greet his guest. A moment later there was a knock and then a beautiful blonde woman appeared. Liam felt a rush of something he hadn’t felt in a long time and it caught him off-guard.
“Is this a bad time?” She asked lightly. “Your secretary told me to come straight back.”
“No, of course not, come in,” Liam told her, regaining his composure.
She nodded and stepped further inside, closing the door before dropping into a polite curtsey. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me, your majesty.”
“It’s not a problem,” Liam assured her, “please take a seat.” He sat down behind his desk, while she took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side. “I read the proposal you sent over and your research is quite thorough and I look forward to seeing your finished paper.” Liam told her sincerely, “Though, I’m curious as to what lead a Canadian to study Cordonian history.”
Amanda laughed. “I hope I don’t sound too ridiculous when I admit that I was partially inspired by the popularity of The Crown and the Flame. However, that’s not my only reason, my grandmother is from Cordonia originally, so I grew up hearing stories.” She paused, flushing a little. “Should we speak in Greek? I just realized that you’re probably speaking English to accommodate me.”
“It’s habit,” Liam told her, though he was intrigued by the fact that this young woman knew Greek. “As you may know, know both languages are spoken equally in Cordonia, I do tend to default to English around foreign visitors.” He smiled at her and then switched to Greek. “Your knowledge of Greek does clear up my one concern about granting you access to the archives, can I assume that you can also read it?”
“I can,” Amanda responded, easily switching to his mother tongue, “The older documents are a little trickier, but there are experts at the university available to assist me.”
Liam asked her a few more questions about her research, before switching back to English. The conversation was light and easy and Liam was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. He found his gaze lingering on Amanda, noting how animated she got when she talked about her research and how lovely her smile was.
In the year since Liam’s divorce, those around him had introduced him to eligible women but Liam hadn’t felt anything for any of them. Yet, here he was, finding himself drawn to this stranger in a way he hadn’t been since long before his divorce.
Not since Eleanor. There was the usual tinge of pain when he thought about her and it must have shown on his face because Amanda stopped talking.
“I must be boring you,” she apologized self-consciously.
“Not at all,” Liam assured her, “I find your research quite interesting.” He glanced at the clock, showing him that their time was coming to an end and made a split second decision. “I’m afraid I have another meeting, but is there any chance you are free tonight? We could have dinner and discuss your research some more.”
He saw her hesitate, obviously weighing the invitation.
“Are you sure it wouldn’t be an intrusion?” She asked after a moment.
“I am sure,” Liam told her, “I don’t have any social engagements this evening.” He had planned on spending the evening with Drake, but he knew his friend wouldn’t mind if he canceled. Especially once he learned the reason.
Amanda smiled. “Then I will gladly accept the invitation, thank you so much, your majesty.”
He wanted to tell her to call him Liam, but he knew it was probably too early for that. It occurred to him that he was in a very unusual situation and that dating as a ruling monarch could be quite tricky and he would have to figure out how to navigate it, if this attraction was mutual and if anything came out of it.
Amanda stood up. “I will let you get to your next meeting,” she told him.
Liam stood as well, crossing the room to open the door for her. “If you wish to go to the royal library for a while before dinner, Evelyn can show you the way.” He offered.
Amanda smiled. “I’d like that.” Liam nodded and called Evelyn over and gave his instructions if she was surprised she didn’t let it show and instead just lead Amanda out of the office.
Liam watched them go and then headed back into his office, his head still spinning from the meeting and his reaction to Amanda. He’d only ever experienced that kind of instant attraction once and he’d never expected to feel it again. And yet… Here he was.
Liam reminded himself that he needed to proceed with caution. After all, he had just met this woman and he didn’t know where things would lead and his experience following his heart had been… Mixed. He didn’t regret it, for all that it had been painful, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it, but the unhappy ending lingered with him and made him even more cautious than before.
Liam sighed as he sat back down behind his desk and picked up his paperwork. His instincts were telling him that he had to explore this opportunity and this feeling, but at the same time, what if it was just a repeat of last time?
Liam shook his head, this inner debate wasn’t doing him any good. He had work to do and then he would have dinner with Amanda and take it one step at a time. After all, it was just dinner and maybe that was all it would be, but for the first time in over eighteen months, he found himself smiling as he considered spending the evening in someone else’s company and that was definitely a nice change of pace.
- End
