“You saw his interview?”
“I did.” She was desperate to know how Liam felt about her. But it wouldn’t be fair to put Spencer in that position. Besides, he’d hardly be helping her if he didn’t think Liam would welcome her sudden appearance. Would he?
Unless...
He thought it would be the perfect revenge.
The elevator doors whooshed open. They were at the back of a huge ballroom. Spencer ushered her out, nodding at the two security guards standing sentinel. The dim room was filled with round tables, seated with guests who were eating... cheesecake, it appeared.
Where was Liam?
She scanned the seated crowd, finding tuxedo-clad men along with women draped in glittering gowns and dazzling diamonds. Chloe’s apparel blended more with the staff than the guests. Scratch that. Even the servers wore dress shirts and pants.
The voice coming over the speaker captured Chloe’s attention. She stopped in her tracks.
Liam.
Her eyes darted to the large screen at the front of the ballroom. If she’d thought he was handsome in a black tee and jeans... that tux elevated him to downright gorgeous. His gaze swept the crowd as he spoke, but his words faded into the background as the sight of him filled her senses.
Her heart squeezed tight. To her, he wasn’t Liam Hamilton the celebrity. He was Liam Hamilton, keeper of her heart. She would do whatever it took to make him see that she loved him for who he wasinside. He deserved to know he was loved that way. Even if he didn’t return her affection.
His strident tone pulled her from her thoughts. “I’m more grateful than I can say that you chose to support at-risk youth by attending and giving at tonight’s benefit. Your generosity will go a long way toward carrying my foundation through the year, and it’s our hope that—”
Liam’s gaze froze on her. He blinked. Blinked again. His mouth moved, but no words came out.
Chloe couldn’t read his expression from this distance, not even on the jumbo screen. Her feet were rooted to the floor. Heat flooded through her as the moment lengthened. As people turned to see what had distracted him.
Then he glanced down at his notes. “It’s, uh, it’s our hope that today we can work together to change the lives of children for a better tomorrow. Thank you.”
Applause rippled through the room. Liam exited the stage.
Chloe’s breath hitched as he headed her way. Her eyes were glued to his advancing form. To his lovely face. She’d missed that face so much.
His attention was laser-focused on her. But even as he neared his expression was unreadable. Was he happy to see her? Angry she’d turned up so suddenly? Had Spencer set her up for the biggest, most public heartbreak of her life?
And then he was there, just a step away, and she couldn’t think rationally anymore. All the words she’d rehearsed on the long flight fled at his nearness.
“You’re here,” he said.
She couldn’t tell by his tone if he was pleased or annoyed, only that he was surprised.
Chloe searched those familiar features, remembering the boy who hadn’t quite been loved by his mother. The man who was often used by others as a means to an end. Regret for the callous way she’d treated him pierced her heart, making her eyes swim with tears.“Liam, I am so sorry about what I said to you. How I treated you. It was wrong and you didn’t deserve that.”
A bit of the guardedness dropped away. “I got your text.”
“I know. I just want to explain that there was more behind my reaction than either of us probably realized. It’s taken me a while to figure out that I was so afraid you’d come back to LA and forget about me... that I sabotaged our relationship. I ended things before you could.” She gave her head a sharp shake. “I’m not offering an excuse. I was wrong, so wrong, to do what I did.”
He stepped closer, his eyes softening. “I think I understand—because I was afraid too. I was worried about a long-distance relationship. You... made me feel things I hadn’t felt before.”
Her heart did a slow, cautious roll. “I did?”
“I shouldn’t have let you go so easily.”
His words were like salve on her wounds. She remembered to breathe. Remembered why else she’d come. “I saw you on TV today. Oh, Liam, why did you do that? Why did you put your career in jeopardy just when things were starting to get better?”
His eyebrows slammed together. “Better forme. I couldn’t let people talk about you that way.”
“It’s no more than I deserve.”
