"I checked that, too," he grinned.
"Damn," I murmured. "Do you mind if I…?" I gestured to the CD.
"Go ahead."
I opened the case and pulled out the liner notes. The lyrics were printed on the folded sheet, along with thanks and acknowledgements. Liam had thanked his dad and sister, along with a handful of other names I didn't recognize.
He also thanked the other band members for"jumping on this crazy ride with me."When I looked for the other band members, I saw they had thanked each other as well, all with sentimental messages.
There was no sign of tension or strain between them. They each sounded genuine, sincerely appreciating, and perhaps even loving each other. They seemed like a true band of brothers.
My heart ached for Liam, knowing they had broken up only a few years after these messages were written.
The first time I'd lost my band, it had been under terrible circumstances. The thought of also losing Cherry Lips was unthinkable.
I felt Liam's eyes boring a hole into my back. I put the CD back on the shelf.
"Can I ask what happened?" I asked softly. I had to know.
His eyes darted to the side. "We had a falling out."
"Creative differences?"
He smiled sadly. "That's the official story."
"What's the real story?"
"I was betrayed."
My lips parted in surprise. That was a strong choice of words. "Who— How—" I didn't know what to ask first.
He shrugged. "My guitarist took advantage of my trust in him. The details aren't important."
They were important. I wanted to know more about Liam, just as much as he wanted to know about me.
But I worried if I pressed him, he would want me to open up in return.
I wasn't ready for that.
We were just at the start of our relationship. There was no need to rehash all the awful details of my past when the day had been going so well. Liam's eyes were already downcast, an almost haunted look on his face. I didn't need to add to that.
I went up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my chest to his.
"I'm sorry," I told him.
His hands went to my hips. I ran my fingers through his thick hair. His eyes went heavy-lidded, enjoying the sensation.
"I'm over it," he said. "What happened was shitty, but I've moved on to bigger and better things."
"Like Cherry Lips?"
"You certainly are bigger and better." He gazed down at me, green eyes bright and clear. "I’m grateful you took a chance on me.”
“Wasn’t really a chance,” I said. “No matter who else had auditioned for us, you would have been better in the end, anyway. It made sense to go with you.”
“Still. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank Gael and Nate. I had about a million objections.”
