The library fell quiet once the door shut behind her. I took in a deep breath and leaned back against the headrest. Eventually, my story would be old news, and everyone would move on. Stories were always blown out of proportion in this small town, but they would quickly lose steam once a new one popped up. I just had to focus on staying sane until that happened.
Thankfully, the ladies at book club didn’t ask me where I’d disappeared to or what had happened with Liam. I could tell that they had questions, but they kept them to themselves or whispered them to each other when they thought I couldn’t hear them.
I kept the conversation on Heathcliff and the moors and didn’t let the topic wander.
We were a half hour into the meeting when my phone vibrated. I chose to ignore it. Samuel was with Abigail and Bash. If there was an issue, she’d call back. My body began to relax once the vibrating stopped, but that only lasted a second before the vibrations started again.
This person had met my it’s an emergency bar, so I nodded to Jenny, who was currently talking, and hurried down one of the aisles while pulling out my phone. I glanced down, half expecting to see it was Abigail calling, and frowned when Isabelle’s name popped up.
I quickly accepted the call and brought the phone to my cheek. “Isabelle?” I asked.
“Sabrina?” Isabelle sounded out of breath, like she’d been running.
“Yeah.” I paused. “Is everything okay?”
“Are you at the library?”
I glanced around, wondering what was happening. “Yeah,” I said slowly. Had someone told her I wasn’t here? “I’m here with the book club.”
She exhaled. “Oh, good. Okay. Just checking.”
I frowned. Was she worried that I was going to skip town again? I thought I’d been clear when I got back that Harmony was my home. I was ready to dedicate myself to this island and the library. Did she doubt that?
“I’m really grateful that you gave me this opportunity again,” I hurried to say, just so she knew where my loyalty lay.
“I know. You’re good,” she said. “Have a good night.”
The way she said “good” confused me, but she’d hung up before I could dig further. I stared at my dark phone screen as I tried to process our conversation. Deciding that she was probably out running an errand or…actually running, I slipped my phone into my back pocket and rejoined the ladies.
Janice had brought snacks, and the women ate and lingered for about fifteen minutes past the end of book club, then they all started filing out of the library. Once Phyllis was picked up, I flipped the lock on the door and made my way over to the circle of chairs we’d used and started to put them away.
I was halfway done with the circle when the scraping noise of the intercom sounded from above me. I screamed, grabbing my chest and whipping my gaze up to the speaker.
“If loving you is violence. Let it leave me ruined. Blessed.” Liam’s voice filled the empty library.
I stood there, frozen. In all of my years watching two thousand slasher movies, I knew singing to their victim was not the usual tactic.
“Hello?” I called out. If this was a killer, they were good. They knew how to disarm me. Use my favorite musician’s music against me.
Liam’s voice came again, this time not singing a Drifter song. “This is silly. Can’t I just go talk to her?”
My heart started to pound. Was Liam…here?
“It’s romantic. Keep going,” Isabelle demanded.
I was thoroughly confused. I abandoned the chairs and started making my way toward Isabelle’s office. I wanted to believe that Liam was here. That he’d come back for me. But I was physically incapable of allowing myself to even fantasize about that. The last time I’d convinced myself that Liam was standing on the other side of a door, it had been Bob, the owner of a moving company.
I wasn’t sure I could survive two disappointments in one day.
Isabelle’s office door was shut, but the light was on. Another Drifter song had started over the intercom, and I just stood there, willing myself to see if he was really here. Finally, I wrapped my fingers around the door handle and pulled.
27
LIAM
I don’t know why I let Isabelle and Abigail talk me into this. When I’d shown up at Sabrina’s apartment, I’d allowed myself to visualize this big, romantic moment between us. She would open the door. Her eyes would widen. Her lips would part. She would probably smack me for basically breaking up with her through my manager. But after I groveled and begged for forgiveness, she’d fall into my arms, and I would finally be able to kiss the woman I hadn’t stopped thinking about since the first day I met her.
But that was the exact opposite of what had actually happened.
