“Not going Dutch?” I tease.
He just looks at me, calm and steady. “Boyfriend always pays.”
I smile. He does, too. After he signs the receipt, he stands and offers his hand. I take it without hesitation. Outside, the air isheavy with moisture. The sky above Sheridan pulses with distant lightning and thunder rolls low, like a promise. Liam leads me to the truck and opens the door with a little bow.
And I’m terrified that somewhere between “hello” and “goodnight,” I’ve started falling in love with him all over again.
The truck rumbles to life as Liam starts the drive back to Broken Heart Creek, headlights cutting through the dark stretch of highway. The lightning is still a soft strobe on the horizon, silent and pulsing, like the sky’s holding its breath.
We don’t talk for a few minutes. But it’s not uncomfortable. It’s heavy with everything we didn’t say over dinner. Everything I’m afraid to admit I still feel.
His hand rests on his thigh. I remember those hands. The way they used to hold me like I was something sacred. How his arms were my favorite place to wake up.
He catches me watching.
“What?” he asks, voice low, eyes on the road.
I shake my head, glancing away. “Nothing.”
But that’s a lie. Everything is something tonight.
Outside, the thunder rolls again. The air in the cab is warm, electric. My skin prickles beneath the fabric of the of my clothes and I cross my legs, mostly to keep from reaching for him.
Liam shifts, glancing over.
“You okay?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
He’s quiet for a beat. “You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“Where you act like nothing’s bothering you even though you’re clearly overthinking everything.”
I huff a laugh. “And you’re doing that thing where you act like you didn’t just drop emotional bombs all over our date and then pivot to Mario Kart like it’s no big deal.”
He grins. “It’s called balance.”
I smile, but it fades as quickly as it comes. “Tonight was amazing. It really was.”
“But?” he prompts, already knowing.
“But I’m still scared.”
He nods, eyes steady on the road. “I am too.”
That throws me for a second.
“You are?”
“Yeah.” He exhales through his nose. “Because I know I’m the one who broke it. And I don’t know if I’ll ever deserve to get it back.”
I swallow hard. My fingers twitch in my lap. “You’re not supposed to say things like that when I’m trying not to fall for you again.” I pause. “And you’re not the only one who broke it. I ran, too.”
He glances over, and even in the dark, I can see the heat in his eyes. “I think we both stopped trying a long time ago.”
My breath catches. I stare out the window, heart pounding.
