Not more than five minutes later, he pokes his head into my room.
I’m stretched out on the bed.
We stare at each other, and what happened last night passes between us.
I’m certainly not going to bring up the kiss if he doesn’t.
“Good morning,” I tell him.
“You made your bed.” A smile plays around his lips.
“I worked in a hotel once. I cleaned rooms, and what some of the guests did should be a crime.”
Liam shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You never cease to impress me, Haley.”
I bat my lashes at him jokingly. “Why, thank you, Mr. Storm.”
He tips his head in the direction of the hall. “You ready to go? We can grab breakfast on the way.”
“I’m ready. The Wilds are expecting us today FYI.”
“Cool. I’ve never met the Texas Wilds.”
“I did once when they were in Montana. You’ll like them.”
* * *
We eat chicken and waffles at a diner on the way out of the city, and then we drive pretty much straight for three hours.
I take one look at Liam’s tired eyes, and I insist on driving.
“Did you not sleep well?” I ask him as we merge onto the highway.
“Not great,” he admits. “That’s not because of the hotel though. I haven’t slept well in years.”
“How many years?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see him tense.
“Since I saw my father’s murdered body on the floor of a convenience store.”
Even though I was expecting that may be the reason for his sleep struggles, I didn’t expect him to tell me. Certainly not so honestly as he did.
“Sorry to be so blunt.” He curses. “I think I push people away with my moods.”
“Like your ex-wife?”
He mumbles something I can’t hear before he says, “For sure. And my brothers. They worry about me, but I don’t let them in.”
“You must have your reasons. I’m a private person too. I barely tell Emerson anything, and she’s my best friend.”
We go silent for a while after that. Liam hooks up his phone to the truck speakers, and we listen to an eclectic group of playlists from country to hip hop.
The route is peaceful with a lot of empty roads and big open sky. It’s also hot. The A/C works overtime to keep us cool. Despite that, I can feel the heat in the truck between Liam and me.
But my attention is elsewhere. I woke up with the heavy awareness that, in the messy aftermath of Mindy being a no-show, I’ll probably never meet her now.
And that reality feels so…final.
