“Sure, maybe she gets a call.” Ford handed Liam one of the upper brackets and worked on the other himself. “But can you go the rest of your life wondering what would’ve happened if you’d just gone all in?”
It was easier to stay mad. Liam knew he was hiding behind that emotion so he didn’t have to deal with any of the others. “Maybe this is the way it’s always been meant to be. This town isn’t big enough for her.” With her skills and her ambition, how could she ever be happy in Sunset Ridge? “We’re a little short on five-star restaurants, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Is that whatshethinks?”
Liam dropped a nut, and it rolled under the Mustang. He leaned down to reach for it and Tessa’s necklace spilled out of his pocket, missing a fresh grease puddle by inches.Odd. He was certain he left it in another shirt. No way he’d risk dropping it in a puddle of oil.
“What’s that?” Ford nodded toward the necklace.
Liam used a clean shop towel to pick it up. “Nothing.”
But Ford’s smirk said what he thought of Liam’s answer.
“I don’t want to hold her back,” Liam admitted.
“I get why you did it the first time. Maybe this time you should letherdecide?” Ford wiped his hands with a shop towel, but they’d be stained with grease for at least a couple of days. The Mustang was back in one piece though, and unless the rental company checked serial numbers, they’d never know the difference. There was nothing left for him to do.
Liam dropped the necklace back in his shirt pocket. “I don’t want Tessa resenting me for staying.” That fear had pushed him to sign his name on the dotted line thirteen years ago. The only thing worse than being without Tessa would be living with her knowing she was unhappy from a sacrifice she made for him.
“What if she resents you because you didn’t ask her to stay?” Ford asked. “Can you live with yourself then?”
He hated that Ford was right. Wadding up the shop towel, Liam shot it across the garage bay into an empty bucket. “Guess we better get to this festival before I get you in trouble.”
Chapter Seventeen
Liam
By the time Liam and Ford arrived at the festival, the Whitmore sisters were standing on stage, holding a giant check. Caroline’s tiny head poked out the side, right next topay to the order of. Their combined smiles were radiant enough to illuminate the town on the darkest day of the year.
“Guess they won,” Ford said.
Regret tugged at Liam for his stubbornness. He should have beenheresupporting Tessa and her family. Sneaking samples and kisses. Instead, he wasted half the day brooding inside his shop.
One look at the woman he loved washed all the sour feelings away. It’d always been that way with Tessa. He could only stay mad if he kept his distance, because her presence cast a powerful spell over him that made it impossible to remain upset.
“Let’s give these ladies another round of applause!” No surprise that his dad was on stage announcing the winners. Outside of the hardware store, Harold lived for the festivals. Maybe April was right. He should bring a coffee by and try to mend their relationship. If he didn’t take the first step, it might never happen. He came from a long enough line of stubborn Davies men to know that was how things worked.
“What are you waiting for?” Ford clapped him hard on the back, rocking him a couple of steps forward as the women stepped down from the stage. “Clock’s ticking.”
“Oddly familiar words,” said Liam over his shoulder.
“Stop stalling.”
Liam wove his way through the crowd, spotting his mom off in the distance. He’d have to talk to her, too. The woman who had so eagerly invited him to multiple family dinners each week had sent less than a handful of texts this week. But right now, Liam had to maintain his focus. Time wasn’t on his side. Something about having that Mustang repaired made the feeling more prominent than ever.
“Liam.” Tessa’s feet tangled to a stop, probably the fault of those stupid boot things. A cautious smile fought its way through her confused expression.
Sophie gave her a side hug. “We’ll see you later, Tess.”
“But we still have to clean up—” The words evaporated into the space Sophie and Cadence left between them and Tessa. Within seconds, they were impossible to spot in the crowd.
“That scared to be alone with me?” Liam asked with a coolness he definitely didn’t feel. Nerves rattled his entire body, and he felt like that seventeen-year-old boy again, working up the courage to talk to the beautiful girl sitting all by herself in the corner booth at Moosecakes.
“We need to talk.”
Liam kept his facial expression from betraying his worst fears. “Good, I need to talk to you, too.” He took her hand as though it was the most natural thing in the world—in many ways it was—and led her through the crowd toward the exit.
“Wait, where are we going? Liam, I can’t take another plane ride right now—”
