The farther we get from New Orleans with no word from her, the more I realize she’s not going to contact me with any sort of explanation.
I feel it like a subtle ache in my soul, the kind of pain I can live with just fine but I can’t deny it took something out of me.
“You okay?”
Liam’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
I glance over at him and am surprised to find him looking straight at me.
“The sky is beautiful,” I say in response.
“As pretty as Montana’s sky?”
“Different. Texas’s sky is like the Southern Queen. Montana’s is the king. They’re the perfect balance to one another.”
“Interesting way of putting it. I like it.”
I smile. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
The idea of making Liam smile pleases me far more than it should.
We lapse back into silence broken only by the music playing softly through the speakers.
Until…
“So are we going to talk about it?”
I whip my head toward him. “Talk about…”
“The kiss.”
I return my gaze to the road ahead. If I don’t, I may get lost in those green soulful eyes that belong to the man I’m crushing hard on.
“I wasn’t sure you wanted me to bring it up,” he says. “And I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. But at the same time, I don’t want you to think I didn’t enjoy the hell out of that kiss, Haley.”
And…
Mic drop.
My stomach plummets into my toes as if we just went down the steepest dip on the world’s biggest roller coaster. I don’t trust myself to drive right now.
“I enjoyed it too. Um, Liam…”
“Yeah?”
“Can we switch?”
“Of course. Pull off at the next exit.”
I want to talk about the same thing Liam wants to talk about. But I need time to think first.
CHAPTERTEN
Liam
My dad was always in motion. He was always pacing, always thinking of how to help his four boys prepare for the future. For his dream for all of us.
