After enough heartbeats to make it a little awkward, he finally speaks again. “I liked it. Kissing you. Dancing with you.”
I feel my cheeks flush, and I stare down at my coffee, at the table, anywhere but those sage-green eyes. It doesn’t last long.Eventually, my gaze finds its way back to his, and before I can talk myself out of it, the words slip free.
“I liked it too.”
He exhales, and then he does what I’ve been imagining since the second I sat down.
He reaches across the table and takes my hand. Just that simple touch sends a current through me, like every nerve in my body suddenly remembers him.
“Emma,” he says quietly, his thumb brushing over my knuckles, “I can’t believe you were on shift when I came into the hospital. I can’t believe we both ended up in the same bar the other night. I just – it’s been a long time, and it feels like...”
He trails off, but I know exactly what he means.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “It feels like it was meant to be. Like we were supposed to find each other again.”
His fingers tighten around mine. “It’s just been…”
“Six years,” I finish for him. The words hang heavy between us. Six years of silence. Six years of wondering. Six years of everything I never told him.
And I know, he deserves to know the truth.
I open my mouth, but the words stick.
Because how do you drop that bomb between two coffee mugs?
How do you look into those green eyes and saySurprise, you’re a father?
So instead, I squeeze his hand and give him a small, fragile smile.
He studies me, thumb tracing lazy circles against my skin. “You look good, Em.”
“Thanks,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “You too.”
“Yeah?” His mouth tips into that half-grin that used to wreck me. “Even with the busted nose and bruises?”
“Especially with those,” I tease, trying to lighten the air. “Adds character.”
He laughs softly. For a moment, everything feels as easy as if no time has passed at all. And like we’re sitting in his truck again, trading jokes and stolen glances, not two adults trying to piece together a past we both broke.
But reality creeps back in. Wehavechanged. Life happened.
“We’re different people than we were back then,” I say quietly. “Our lives are different, and maybe you won’t like the person I am today.”
He huffs. “I doubt that very much.”
There’s a long pause before he adds, “Look, I’m not asking you to marry me or anything. I’m just feeling like we’ve been given a chance, here, and we should take advantage of it. Maybe we just go on a date or something? Perhaps we could get to know each other again? See what happens?”
His sentences start getting shorter, like he’s losing his courage. It’s pretty cute.
It’s actually a pretty significant speech, for Liam anyway. It’s endearing in a way it shouldn’t be, because this is already really messy. But here I am, nodding and smiling like a total idiot.
“Okay,” I hear myself say. “A date.”
He smiles, too, and it’s so brilliant and perfect, I’m nearly dazed for a second before I shake my head and blush some more.
“I should run,” I say. And I should. I’m supposed to be at the grocery store. “Text me some possibilities for this date you’ve proposed?”
He gives a quick nod. “I’ll look at the team schedule and send you some options.”
