They sipped their drinks and worked on an enormous cinnamon roll as they chatted. Liam looked handsome, if a bit tired from their late nights. He no longer wore his ball cap in public. Townsfolk usually respected their privacy, though occasionally a tourist would recognize him. He was always gracious, stopping to chat, take a selfie with them, or sign something.
But there was no fear of a scene this morning as they were tucked away in a corner and the place was practically empty. Liam had to be on set at eleven. The filming was going great and was expected to wrap in a week.
She eyed his lovely hands as he took a bite and set down his fork. Then she laced her fingers with his, reveling in their size and strength. “I’ve always liked your hands.”
His eyes smiled just before his lips. “I know.”
Remembering her medication episode, she felt heat bloom in her cheeks. “A gentleman would forget such things ever happened.”
“Now, now. You also told me you liked being my girlfriend, and I kept that all to myself, didn’t I?”
She gasped. “I did not say that.”
“You most certainly did.”
“You never told me that.”
He gave that low, sexy chuckle. “I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
Well, that was kind of sweet. Her heart swelled a size or two. “Trust me, I was already plenty embarrassed.”
“You were pretty darn cute that night. Those pills were like truth serum.” His eyes twinkled. “Maybe I should keep some on hand.”
“Hey!” She tapped his hand with her fork. “I was having a health crisis.”
“And believe me, I was plenty worried until the doctor eased my mind.”
He really was sweet. How else would he surprise her? She wanted to know everything about him. “What do you do for fun back in LA when you’re not filming movies and attending premieres?”
“Well, let’s see. I like to read. I enjoy a game of hoops now and then. There’s a youth club nearby that’s sponsored by my foundation. I like to hang out with the kids there sometimes.”
She stopped chewing. “You have a foundation?” She hadn’t read anything about this on the gossip sites.
“It’s called At Risk Youth of California—ARYC for short. We’ve opened up seventeen centers across the state so far. It gives teens something to do after school and during the summer. We have volunteers who help with homework too.”
He seemed to be downplaying his role. “Wow, that’s amazing. What got you interested in that?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I had too much time on my hands growing up. Not that I got into major trouble, but I was bored and a little lonely. There are a lot of kids out there going through that and worse. What about you? What do you like to do when you’re not working?”
She was still taking in the fact that he’d started his own foundation. “Well, like you I like to read. As I mentioned before, I also like to kayak a lot. Hang out with Meghan. Eat chocolate. That’s really about it.”
Liam’s phone buzzed and he checked the screen. “Spencer, reminding me of my phone interview withPeoplemagazine tomorrow night.”
“That’s a pretty big score, isn’t it?”
“It’s significant. And it’s always good to keep my name out there, especially since I haven’t had a film release in over a year. I’ll plug the movie too, of course. Things have been a little too quiet for Spencer’s liking the past couple weeks. He has some publicity planned for me once I’m back home.”
And there was that awful pit in the center of her chest. What would happen to them once he left? Was Sean right? Would Liam just go back to his old ways? She’d hinted at the subject of their impending separation, but they hadn’t really talked about it. Maybe it was time. If nothing else, perhaps it would set her mind at ease.
Chloe plunged in. “Have you scheduled your flight back to LA?”
He gave her a wan smile. “I’m flying back the day after filming wraps. I have an event to get back to, unfortunately, so I can’t hang around any longer than that.” He forked a bite of the roll and stuck it in his mouth.
“I see. Have you, um, thought about how things might look, you know, once you’re back home?”
“You mean with us?”
She nodded as she picked at the pastry. Tried her best for a casual expression even as she reminded herself to breathe and tried to ignore the way her heart palpitated in her chest.
