“You’re the one who said we could talk when things calmed down,” he argued. “Well, sorry, Gracie, but they haven’t. It’s taking everything I’ve got to try to keep Josie’s expectations balanced. I hate leaving her alone with Chloe for even a half hour. Between trying to be with her as much as humanly possible, and hockey, there hasn’t been a lot of time.”
“You could have at least sent me a text.”
He leaned across the table. “I wanted to talk to youin person. Not through text. And in case you forgot, I’m not the one who makes it so hard to see each other.”
The anger built. “What the hell does that mean?”
He threw up his hands. “You’re the one that insists this entire thing be kept a secret. You’re the one who won’t see me outside the fucking bedroom.”
“It’syourjob I’m looking out for!” I shoot back.
“Give me a break, Grace. Would your brother be thrilled to find out we’re together? Probably not. But do you honestly think he would trade me?”
I opened my mouth to respond but he just barreled on. “First of all, he’s a smart business guy. Obviously. The man could make gold out of a pile of dirt if he put his mind to it. I doubt he’d trade his leading scorer out of anger.” He leaned forward again, trapping me in his gaze. “More importantly, Andrew would bend over backwards to make you happy. If he knew we were together, if he knew this,” again he gestured between us, “was something good in your life, he would never try to take that away from you.”
“It’s not the happy-ever-after fantasy I’m worried about,” I snapped.
There was a beat of silence and when he spoke again, I could hear a warning in his voice. “What does that mean?”
“It means, Liam, that the real danger happens when this all ends. If my brother thinks you hurt me in some way, then hell yes, he would trade you. Plus, there’s still the fact that I am your daughter’s teacher…” I trailed off when the look on his face finally registered. He no longer looked so angry. In fact, he now seemed distinctly pained.
“You think I’m going to hurt you.”
It wasn’t a question. I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. “I didn’t say that. I just meant if Andy thinks?—”
“You did mean it,” he said, shaking his head. “You don’t think we’re going to last. You don’t trust me.”
“Can you blame me?” I blurted out without thinking.
Liam stared at me for a long moment, eyes searching my face, and I immediately regretted my words. I was pretty sure I had just wounded him, badly. Yet I couldn’t find it in me to take it back. Because really—why wouldn’t I worry that he would end up hurting me? He was Liam O’Conner. He had lived his entire life on a pedestal, revered by the masses. He could have anyone and anything he wanted. And I was just…me. The same plain old nerdy bookworm I’d been the day we met.
If anyone was getting out of this thing unscathed, I was pretty sure it was not going to be me.
A beep from his phone broke the tension between us, and Liam groaned loudly, running a hand over the back of his neck while he checked the screen.
“I need to get back,” he muttered. “I won’t keep you from your friends any longer.”
“Liam,” I whispered, suddenly near tears.
“It’s fine, Gracie. You were right, we should have waited to talk until things calmed down some more.” He stood. “You don’t have to walk me out.”
I felt frozen in that chair, unsure of what to do. Part of me wanted to follow him, to take it all back. And part of me knew that this was always how it was going to turn out anyhow. Why prolong the inevitable?
A rush of anger swelled in my chest as I watched his retreating back walk away from me. The only problem was, I didn’t know if I was angry at him—or at myself.
Liam was at the kitchen door before he stopped, turning to look at me. “Just so you know,this,” he gestured between us once again, and his next words made my heart stop in both fear and relief. “This is far from fucking over, Grace.”
And then he stomped to the hallway and was gone.
CHAPTER 26
Ididn’t think I had ever had a worse practice. My mood had been absolute shit since I got home from New York. Finding out your witch of an ex was back in town, messing with your daughter’s emotions, did that to a person.
Those first few games after Chloe’s arrival, I’d been able to channel all the frustration and anger into my game. That was the best thing about hockey, in my opinion. Nothing cleared my mind like tying on some skates and whacking at a puck for a few hours. It was the best kind of therapy in the world. I’d extended my scoring streak in those few games, but it was hard to be happy about it. The team got our asses kicked.
But after my fight with Gracie, not even hockey felt like an escape. I just couldn’t keep my mind from going over it, again and again. She really thought I was going to hurt her. She didn’t trust me. And that pissed me the hell off. Hadn’t I done everything possible to show her that I was serious about this?
Okay, I definitely should have contacted her earlier, like right after Chloe showed up. But I really did have my hands full with Josie. Besides, Grace was the one who kept pushing me away.Shewas the one who didn’t want the world to know about us. Forall I knew, she was fucking embarrassed of the big dumb jock that couldn’t even understand his kid’s favorite book.
