I shake my head. “No, that was really sweet, Liam. I can’t believe you did that.”
“I mean, I didn’t. I tried to and failed.”
“You didn’t miss much. Reading that book was like torture. You made the right call giving up after a chapter. I was an angsty eighteen-year-old who thought I needed to read dense Russian literature to be taken seriously.”
When he chuckles, his eyes light up and his posture relaxes.
We’re quiet for a few seconds. When I look at Liam, it’s like I’m seeing him through a new lens. He’s not the hockey star who only cares about joking around and having fun. He’s a sweet guy who’s insecure about how smart he is, who admired me, who went out of his way to impress me.
My stomach does a somersault, but then it stops when I think about how he shit-talked me behind my back in college to his teammate.
Why would he do all that to impress me if he thought I was just a mousy little bookworm?
I halt the thought as it forms in my brain. I’m still angry at him for that, but it feels petty for me to fixate on it when he’s opening up to me about his insecurity—something that clearly runs so deep and has plagued him for so long.
I refocus on the moment and hold his gaze. “I’d rather read love poems with you. It’s way more fun.”
Something flashes in his eyes. “I like it too. I just wish I had more guts to say something to you back then. We could have been reading love poems together. Like our own book club.”
I smile at how cute that idea sounds. And then it hits me. Why not do it now?
I look at him. “Okay. Let’s do it. Let’s have our own book club.”
Chapter 15
Liam
“Wait, you’re serious?” I say to Kendall. “You actually want to start a book club with me?”
She beams. “Yeah. I think it would be fun. Think of all the books you’ve always wanted to read, that you didn’t get a chance to in college. We’ll read them together.”
For a moment, I stand there, surprised by her reaction.
A second later, relief wooshes through me. Then warmth.
I never planned on telling Kendall about how I coasted through my college classes. That was something I thought I’d take to the grave.
But I want to be honest with her, just like she’s been honest with me. It wouldn’t feel right if this whole time she thought that we put in the same amount of work in college. We didn’t. She worked way, way harder than me.
So even though it scared me to death to finally admit it to her, I did it. I thought for sure she’d be upset and tell me off. She has every right to. She studied her ass off in college, while I played hockey and partied and was given passing grades that I didn’t deserve.
But she didn’t get upset. She felt bad for me. She empathized with me. She even comforted me and told me how it wasn’t completely my fault.
And instead of laughing in my face when I told her I wanted to start a book club together, she said she’d be up for it.
That warmth burrows deeper inside the center of my chest; the tension in my shoulders starts to loosen. I never thought I’d open up to anyone in this way. But Kendall makes it easy. She makes me feel supported and understood in a way I’ve never felt before.
I know I don’t deserve this shot with Kendall. She’s better than me. Smarter than me. She deserves to spend her time with a guy who didn’t cheat his way through college.
But I’m not noble enough to deny myself the opportunity to spend time with her. Because I like Kendall. A lot. This is a chance to spend more time with her and do something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m taking it.
“We’re really doing this?” I say through a smile. “Kendall and Liam’s book club?”
She chuckles. “Yeah. We are. What book should we start out with?”
“I always wanted to readPride & Prejudice.”
Her perfectly arched eyebrows lift the slightest bit. “Really?”
