My phone buzzed again. I pulled it out without thinking, glancing at the screen.
Ava
Are you coming over later?
My chest loosened at the sight of her name and I started to type a response.
“Ah.” My father’s voice cut through my concentration. “There it is.”
I looked up. He was watching me with a knowing expression that made my skin crawl.
“What?”
“That look.” He pointed at me with his fork. “I know that look. That’s the look of a man who’s got his hooks in something or I should say someone’s got their hooks inyou.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Bullshit.” He laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “You’ve got a girl. I can see it all over your face. The way you smiled at that phone… Christ, Liam. You looked like a lovesick puppy.”
“I said it’s nothing.”
“And I said bullshit.” He set down his fork, leaning forward, his expression intense now. “Let me guess—she’s different. Special. She makes you feel things you’ve never felt before. You’re thinking maybe this time it could work. Maybe with her, you could be something other than what you are.”
Each word landed like a blow.
Because he was right. That was exactly what I’d been thinking. That was exactly what I’d been hoping.
“Dad—”
“I’ve been there.” He sat back, taking a long sip of whiskey. “More times than I can count. When I was younger, I thought the same thing. There was this girl—beautiful, smart, had alaugh that could light up a room.” His expression softened for a moment, something almost wistful crossing his face. “I was convinced she was the one. That I could be different for her. That love would be enough to change my nature.”
“What happened?”
“What always happens.” The softness disappeared, replaced by that easy, careless smile. “I got restless. Started noticing other women. The girl I loved—the one I was so sure would be different—started to feel like a cage instead of a comfort. And when I finally gave in to what I really wanted…” He shrugged. “Well. You know the rest since that girl was your mother.”
I couldn’t speak. My throat had closed around something sharp and jagged.
“The point is,” he continued, “you can’t fight what you are. I tried. Damn near destroyed myself trying. And in the end, all I did was hurt her worse than if I’d just been honest from the start.” He fixed me with a hard look. “You’re my son, Liam. You’ve got my face, my charm, and whether you want to admit it or not, you’ve got my restless heart. The kindest thing you can do for whatever girl has you smiling at your phone like that is let her go before you hurt her the way I hurt your mother.”
The restaurant noise faded to white static.
I saw Ava’s face—the way she’d looked at me when I told her I loved her. The trust in her eyes. The hope.
I saw my mother’s face—red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks, waiting by the window for a man who was never coming home.
I saw myself, fifteen years from now, standing in my father’s shoes. Making excuses. Breaking promises. Watching the light die in the eyes of the woman I lovedbecause I couldn’t be anything other than what I was born to be.
You’ve got my restless heart.
Was that true? Was that all I was—a genetic echo of the man sitting across from me?
I thought about how easily I’d charmed women before Ava. How natural it had been. How I’d never wanted more because more meant risk, and risk meant becoming exactly what I was terrified of becoming.
But with Ava, I wanted more. I wantedeverything.
And that wanting—that desperate, consuming need to build something real with her—suddenly felt less like love and more like the first step toward destruction.
“I can see you processing,” my father said, not unkindly. “I know it’s hard to hear. But better you learn this now than figuring it out the hard way like I did.” He raised his glass again. “To freedom, son. The only honest thing a man like us can offer.”
