Liam opens his door, steps into his seat, and starts the truck. After he fastens his seatbelt, I reach over and touch his leg briefly.
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugs as he puts the truck into drive. As we exit the parking lot, he says, “It was a long time ago. Doesn’t feel like it in some ways, but it was.”
“Doesn’t make it feel any less traumatic, I’m sure.” I shift to face him. “How did you get through it as well as you did?”
“Who says I did?”
The heaviness in his words gives me chills.
He taps the steering wheel lightly with his thumbs. “But you know, I put one foot in front of the other and tried the best I could to be someone my brothers could lean on. I did a shit job in some ways. In others, I think I did okay. All three got to go to college after I turned pro. I’m proud of that.”
“That’s amazing.”
“It was a no-brainer. I’d make the same choice every time.”
“Do you want to go to college still?”
He jerks his head in my direction. “Now? It’s too late for any of that.”
“You could take courses in the off-season. And when you retire, you could go full-time.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s something I want. Not now. Going as an eighteen-year-old and living on campus…” His tone is wistful. “That would have been fun. And I always loved learning. But now I’m a father, and what used to feel important doesn’t as much.”
“What was your favorite subject in high school?”
“English.”
“Really? So you like to read?”
He nods. “I’m involved in a few foundations based on what I’ve learned reading. I donate to a clean water organization in Louisiana plus a global foundation for saving animals from extinction.”
“That’s awesome.” I remember with regret our first meeting. “I love koalas and donate to saving their habitats, and I’m a big proponent of everyone having access to clean water. I seem to recall our common interests were mentioned at the Lucky Cowboy Bar.”
“And I shut the conversation down.” He winces. “I’m sorry about that, Haley. I misjudged you.”
“Not really,” I say honestly. “I was rude to you first. You were rude back. No big deal. End of story.”
He grins. “And the you took off the next time we met. I didn’t blame you at all for that, by the way.”
I swallow. “To be entirely truthful, I didn’t run out of the bar because I wanted to get back at you or anything. I was…overwhelmed.”
“Oh yeah? What happened?”
CHAPTERFIVE
Youhappened.
That’s what I want to say.
Liam’s attention on me and the chemistry between us scared the heck out of me, and I ran.
Other than the first time we met, I had never been turned on like that before. Each time I interact with him, it’s like my body lights up and I can’t put out the flames.
But I can’t tell him that.
So, as we fly along the highway with the sun still high in the sky, I go for something truthful but a side subject.
