Liam’s smile creeps back in. “So will you? Be my friend? Honestly, Paige, I just want the chance to get to know you.”
My whole body heats. If I wasn’t positive this man didn’t find me any more or less physically attractive than the other girls at this party—because he seems like the type to find beauty in all human beings—maybe I’d think his words leaned romantic. But he went on a date with Maisy and hooked up with her roommate in subsequent school years. If that’s what I know, imagine what I don’t.
I wouldn’t trust him with my feelings as far as he could throw a piano.
But the truth of the matter is I don’t think I’m capable of saying no to him. I don’t think Iwantto say no. My community is small, maybe even narrow, and if Liam’s offering me a chance to expand it the way I’m likely expanding his, it’s probably in both of our best interests to take it.
“I was going to hang out at the bookshop after I get off work on Wednesday evening,” I tell him. “If you were serious about that, we can do a trial run.”
Triumph surges into his dark eyes. “What time?”
“I usually get cut at five o’clock when the shifts change.”
“I’ll be there,” he promises.
I nod, amused. “So are you actually a reader? Or did you just pretend so you could ask for Maisy’s phone number?”
Liam barks out a laugh and tilts his head. “I promise you, Paige.I did not pretend to read near you so I could ask for Maisy’s phone number.”
“You finished the book?”
He nods. “I finished the whole series. Zara and I talked about it for almost thirty minutes the next time I ran into her on campus.”
“And then she told you I wasn’t a student?” I guess.
“No.” Liam takes a swig of his drink. “That was Maisy.”
I look back down at her in the yard below us. She’s still in her element.
“So, do we have a deal?” Liam asks.
“Adeal?”
The space between us has crossed over to borderline dangerous. “If the trial run works out, then I’ll teach you about baseball,” he says, voice low, “and you’ll teach me to play an instrument. And we’ll see if we become friends along the way.”
“Oh,” I say. I hadn’t expected him to want to learn an instrument, but it’s probably a good plan to give our friendship some equal benefits. Structure.
I think we could be good for each other.
I smile back at him. “Okay. Deal.”
Only then does Liam lean away, relinquishing my oxygen back to me. “Maisy Morgan better watch out, Paige. I’m about to be the best friend you’ve ever had.”
Chapter 6
June, Now
Behind Liam, the stage glows pink as a new song starts to play. The light haloes his head and paints my skin, but I’m flushed head to toe as it is, so the effect is basically negligible.
Now that I’m firmly grounded, Liam’s hands move off me. He takes a measured step backward, giving me space.
“You came to find me at work, after four years of radio silence, and risked getting kicked out by security, because you need me to break your heart?” His voice is almost deadpan.
“That’s the gist of it,” I say.
His eyes are scanning me head to toe, as if reminding himself what I look like in the flesh. I’m on social media but only in the barest sense of the word, and it could very well be the case that Liamdoesneed reminding. “Does this have to do with your music?” he asks.
I nod but say nothing more. Even after all this time, he knows me too well.
