“Not really.” He gave her a weak smile. “I’d like to think I wasn’t so transparent.”
“Laura?” She reached over and took his hand.
“It’s all right. I never really stood a chance. She only ever had eyes for Adam. I hope he can win her back and they’ll be happy together.”
“Then you are a better person than me.”
He was. She searched herself inside and out, but she couldn’t find a shred of generosity towards Nicole.
“It’s hardly the same thing.” Liam squeezed her hand back. “Adam is a great guy. He’s kind and a decent human being down to the bottom of his heart. Nicole on the other hand is abitch,” he finished with emphasis.
The word surprised a little laugh out of Pierre; it was odd to hear bad language from Liam.
“Gabriel deserves better,” he went on. “You can’t beat yourself up when you fall for someone in a bad relationship.”
She let out a long sigh that came from the depths of her soul. “Perhaps not, but I always knew he’d never be mine. I knew what kind of man he was. He’d never break his word, not even to her.”
“No?” He raised his eyebrows. “You should have seen him this morning. He looked like death that’s been dug-up, brushed off and put into a suite. I really think… I could swear he feels…”
She put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Please don’t say things like that. There’s nothing so cruel as hope.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Liam didn’t look convinced. But he didn’t know what she knew.
She swallowed and decided to tell him. “I saw them talking on the balcony after she was fired. She was crying and Gabriel took her in his arms and promised to stand by her.” There. She’d said it. It was good to be able to confide in someone. For too long she’d carried her secret alone.
“I always knew he wouldn’t leave her, but I was a stupid, stupid girl.”
Liam’s brow knitted into a deep frown. “He can’t be happy with her.”
“Maybe not, but life isn’t about being happy, is it?”
A person could have a fabulous job, a fabulous place to live, or a fabulous relationship but not all three.
“He’ll be in fabulous California, with a fabulous new career. If his marriage has a few hiccups, so what? They’ll soon settle down. Nicole won’t have the same pressures and she’ll go back to being an okay person. And…” She fought back the tears. “And they’ll be happy enough.”
“But, Pierre, what about you?”
“Me? I don’t know.” She met his troubled eyes. Sweet, wonderful Liam who always thought of other people first. “What aboutyou?”
“Oh, I’ll go on.” He smiled. “I’ll do all the things I wanted to do, regardless. I’ll get a house and renovate it and make it fit for a happy family.” He paused. “And…I’ll plan to spend next Christmas with my brother who needs me to sort him out.”
The poem from the wedding earlier came back to her. “How do I cope without thee, let me count the ways,” she improvised, leaning her head on his shoulder.
He chuckled.
“I’ll go on without thee and pretend I’m happy.”
“I’ll buy a house and make a garden.” He played along.
“I’ll be a good friend to you.”
“I’ll be a good friend to you, too.” He squeezed her to him. “I’ll even get you some cupcakes. Blue ones to match your new colours.” He indicated her shawl and hair.
She laughed. “And I’ll paint a new pair of Wellies blue.”
