What was it going to take for the town to leave me alone? Did they not trust that I knew my own mind? Or were they all just too damn sure that Liam Parker would always come out on top?
“I don’t need Liam,” I corrected her. “What I need is for everyone to stop thinking they know what’s best for me.”
“Then you’re going to be on your own for a long time.”
“So be it.”
I wanderedthe streets of town long after I got off work. It was strange to be on my own when, for the past few weeks, Liam hadn’t left me to go anywhere without him as my shadow.
As much as I was enjoying the time alone, a hollow feeling filled my chest as I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see him. Shadows lurked in every corner of every building. Maybe he was hiding somewhere, watching from a distance to give me the impression I was really on my own.
It was that very thought that had me drifting into the recesses of my mind, opening me up to a run-in with the one person I couldn’t stand more than Liam.
“Oh,” she squeaked, nearly running into me as she locked up her shop.
I hadn’t even realized I’d come as far as the boutique when all I could think about was Liam. I should have known that thinking of him would only make things worse.
And they very much had.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Ellie May said as I turned to flee.
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“You’ll want to hear what I have to say!”
Her words shouldn’t have stopped me. I should have run away as fast as I could, but my curiosity got the better of me.
“I don’t have time for this,” I said, hoping my excuse might save us both from having to discuss the uncomfortable subject that left us divided.
“I get that you don’t trust him,” she continued, even though I wouldn’t look at her. “I was in on that deception. All I’m asking for is five minutes of your time. I have something I know you’ll want to see.”
“You have nothing to show me that I would want to see.”
“Not even proof that Liam didn’t cheat on you?”
My breath caught in my chest at her words. The ache was always present, always pushing against my heart as a reminder not to trust again. But her words twisted that ache into a sharp, stabbing pain that deepened the longer I was in her presence.
“I didn’t want to do it, but he was desperate.”
Her words brought me comfort when they shouldn’t have. So much so that I found myself turning back to her and following her into the boutique. The echo of the door slamming behind us sent shivers down my spine. Everything felt so final now that I had made the choice to listen to her.
“I know things have been rough on you,” she started, twisting her fingers in nervousness. “And I know what I did betrayed you on every level.”
“It’s not like I’m surprised,” I huffed. “You’re not exactly known around town for your discretion. Why wouldn’t you take it a step further and become part of the gossip?”
“Those are just rumors from nasty people,” she scoffed, walking toward the back of her store. “Do you know how many people come in here to talk about the latest thing around town as they look through my store? People ask where they heard a piece of gossip, and to avoid having to name names, they simply say they heard it in my store. That’s how that whole rumor about me got started.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her, but I wouldn’t put it past some of the people in town to do something like that.
“What was it you wanted to show me?”
“Proof that Liam didn’t sleep with me.” She scrolled through something on her tablet, and while she was looking for this so-called evidence, she lamented her story.
“Liam came to me when he got out of the hospital. He told me what happened, what he suspected was happening with Austin. I begged him to tell you about it, but…he was so scared.” Her eyes drifted up to meet mine. “Bailey, I’ve never seen a man scared, let alone Liam. I thought nothing could shake him. But when he told me about Austin visiting him in the hospital, I couldn’t deny him.”
“Couldn’t or didn’t want to?” I asked.
“Liam is not the man for me. Yes, he’s very handsome, but everyone in town has known since we were kids that you and Liam were meant for each other.”
