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She drew a deep breath, staring up at Tower Bridge, the spires strong and firm, glowing a bright green. “Like you said, life is full of disappointments. But also, life is what you make it. If you keep being disappointed by the same thing over and over again, you have to ask yourself if something needs to change, you know?”
He stared down at her as she continued, apparently unaware that he was hanging onto her every word.
“I mean, there are some things in life you can’t change,” she said. “And there are some situations where we need to learn to let go and just deal with the disappointments as best we can. But in other situations—like a job, for instance—we can either choose to keep being disappointed, we can choose to see the good in what we have, or we can choose to leave it behind and find something better.” Her eyes met his, unwavering. “Something that will lift you up instead of drag you down. Something that brings you lasting joy.”
When she finished, Liam stared down at her, his mind swirling with thoughts, though his tongue remained empty.
Lasting joy.
When was the last time his work had brought him lasting joy? Had it ever? The only thing in life that had done that was taking photographs, and how often had he gotten the chance to do that in the last few years?
“Or,” Claire continued, her eyes on the Thames, “I could just be an insane person trying to convince you to be crazy along with me. Either way, in my experience, crazy is much more fun than corporate.”
Liam couldn’t help his smile, though her words left him unsettled. Unfortunately, quitting wasn’t so simple for him to do. There were other things to consider—wasting eight years of his life at a single job, being just as miserable in another career, the what-if of receiving a promotion if he could just stick it out a little longer.
Still, she’d spoken a truth to his mind he hadn’t considered for many, many years.
Why was he staying with that job?
“Can I ask you another question?” Claire asked.
Liam glanced toward her, unable to say anything but, “Yes.”
“Why did you throw away that number?”
Liam stared, narrowing his eyes. “What number?”
“The waitress’s. From the restaurant.”
Recognition dawned, surprise filling in the spots his confusion had left behind. “Oh. I don’t know.”
Claire gave him a dubious look. “Come on. She was gorgeous. And so obviously into you. There’s no reason for you to have thrown her number away unless you have a girlfriend or something.” Then she paused. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Liam hesitated, finishing off the last of his hot chocolate and tossing the cup into a nearby rubbish bin. “No, I don’t.”
She nodded, seeming satisfied as she shifted her body away from the river to face him, her side resting on the barrier. “Then why did you throw the number away?”
He turned to face her, too. Why was she so interested? “I have my reasons.”
“And they are…”
“I’ll tell you if you agree to answer a question for me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And what question is that?”
“I don’t have one yet. But when I do, you have to promise to answer it.”
Without a second thought, she nodded. “Fine. Deal. Whatever. Now tell me.”
He smiled at her obvious impatience. “So anxious, I see.”
“I’m not so anxious. I’m just curious, that’s all.” She turned away as if to prove her point.
Alright, so she was a terrible liar. That was good to know.
“I threw away the number for two reasons,” he began. Claire turned toward him with invested eyes, apparently forgetting her decision to appear uninterested.
“Number one, that woman didn’t know that you and I weren’t dating until the end of the meal. If she was flirting with an unavailable man—even a potentially unavailable man—I’m fairly certain she wouldn’t hesitate to flirt if she was unavailable herself.”
