“That isn’t strength.It was desperation.”
“Sometimes they’re the same thing.”Liam’s voice gentled.“Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is trust someone else with your heart.”
Silence settled over them, weighted with potential and fear.Sienna wanted to believe him, to take the leap he was offering, but the voices in her head, years of rejection and whispered warnings about Teague genetics, were too loud.
“I can’t,” she whispered.“I can’t risk you waking up one day and realizing what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
Something died in Liam’s expression.The hope that had been flickering there despite everything guttered out, leaving behind resignation.
“Then we have nothing more to talk about,” he said.
“Liam, please—”
But he was already leaving, his controlled movements hurting more than anger ever could.The door closed behind him with quiet finality, and Sienna sank into a chair, her body shaking.
She’d done it again—pushed away the one person who saw past her family’s differences.
And this time, she wasn’t sure he’d come back.
Chapter 22
LiamfoundNiallinhis office, surrounded by maps and what appeared to be correspondence about honey suppliers.The older man looked up as Liam entered, taking in his expression with a single sharp glance.
“That bad?”Niall asked, setting down his pen.
“I need to book a flight home.As soon as possible.”
Niall tilted back in his chair, studying him.“What happened?”
“Nothing.That’s the problem.”Liam strode to the window, staring out at the loch, where he could see the Teague brothers in their leopard forms, playing near the water’s edge.Even from this distance, their joy was evident.“Sienna can’t see past her guilt.She doesn’t believe that anyone would want her.”
“And you’ve tried talking to her?”
“I’ve tried everything.”His laugh held every scrap of the bitterness he felt.“I told her I loved her.That I wanted a future with her, children, whatever they might look like.”
“But?”
“But she’s convinced it’s guilt or obligation.Or that I’ve somehow confused trauma with affection.”
Liam turned from the window, his jaw tight.“She thinks I’m with her because I owe her family for taking me in.”
Niall was silent for a long moment.“Do you?”
“What?”
“Are you with her because they gave you something you were missing?”
“No.”The denial came fast and fierce.“At least… I don’t think so.”But even as the words left his mouth, doubt slithered in.“God, what if she’s right?What if I can’t tell the difference anymore?”
“Liam,” Niall said, “I’ve seen the way you look at her.The way she looks back.That’s not duty.”
“Then why won’t she believe me?”
“Because she’s scared.”Niall stood, moving to the decanter on his desk and pouring two glasses of whisky.“Because accepting what you’re offering means risking everything.And for someone who has suffered like she has, it’s easier to push love away than to lose it later.”
Liam accepted the glass but didn’t drink.“So what am I supposed to do—keep beating my head against the wall until she believes me?”
“You could give her time.”
