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“How did you two meet?” Liam asks once the waiter leaves.
My lips become a tight line so I don’t snap and remind him that’s not why we’re here. I’m playing a part, and questions like that are acceptable conversation starters. But I still narrow my eyes at him. His waggle, and my spine goes rigid.
Not only did this just become a fishing expedition, he is blatantly flirting despite my fiancé sitting next to me. And I set the entire thing in motion.
“We’ve known each other for years,” Thad tells him, trying to mimic Liam’s casual position. I roll my eyes because the guy is not hiding his intimidation well. Thad is not a pussy, but it seems he’s leery of guys five inches taller and with sixty pounds on him. “Our siblings are friends, as well. I think you might have met my sister, Eden, at Angel and Josephine’s wedding.”
Liam’s shoulder lifts. He brings his tumbler of whiskey the waiter just delivered to his lips with a grin. “I was only paying attention to one person at that wedding.”
My brows dip for a moment before I smooth my expression. “Thad was my first kiss,” I giggle like a girl in love. “Of course, he didn’t know it was me. You see, I had the biggest crush on him, but he was older and didn’t know I was alive. So at this party I wasn’t supposed to be at, I saw him go into a room, looking for more alcohol, and I snuck up behind him and kissed him.”
Thad chuckles beside me, bringing my fingers to his lips. “She surprised the hell out of me, but she was only fourteen. I was a senior in high school. Needless to say, it wasn’t happening. The stars didn’t quite align for more back then.”
“But we stayed in touch over the years. In fact, Thad is one of my closest friends.” I lean into him, fluttering my lashes.
“And things just clicked when she returned to LA over the summer.”
And the Academy Award goes to…
I preen at how believable we sound. We’ve had practice, but no one would ever doubt us.
Liam’s face is a mask of indifference as he sips his whiskey, but judging by the flames in Liam’s eyes, he believes it, too.
If I were a chicken, I’d strut.
“How did you end up in the music industry?” Thad asks.
Liam rolls his neck a couple of times. He hates this topic. I hate how much pain it causes him because his love of music was stolen from him by assholes. “Once upon a time, I was in a band,” he confesses, but his tone makes it clear that’s all he’s giving.
Thad and Liam fall into easy conversation, but my mind wanders to when I asked him the same question.
I moved across his apartment, dragging my fingers over everything in fascination. This was my first time in his space, and I couldn’t stop my curiosity.
He leaned against the counter, watching me with obvious nerves. It was adorable. “Not even close to what you’re used to, I know. Would’ve offered you a tour last night, but this…” I turned my attention to him when he paused, a brow lifting, encouraging him to continue. “Yeah, this is it.” He rake his fingers through his hair before running it over his face, shaking his head.
“It’s perfect,” I assured him.
He never said it, but I got the impression that the difference in our backgrounds… maybe didn’t bother him but made him insecure. There were a lot of things that made him nervous about us, more so since this became more than a fling.
I stopped at a silver frame that held a picture of him and a cute little blond with the deepest blue eyes I’d ever seen, smiling at him like he hung the stars and the moon. Casey, his daughter. My lips curved at the purest adoration I’d ever seen, and it made my heart ache, missing these moments with my own dad. More pictures followed. I assumed they were his friends and family, but the only people I recognized were my brother and his friends.
A stack of books sat shoved in a corner. I stooped to look closer, noticing they were all about music. It led my eyes to the guitar sitting in the corner.
I walked to the instrument, covered in a thick coat of dust, and plucked a string. “That’s the E string,” he told me. I glanced at him as my fingers wrapped around the fretboard, chuckling at the way his eyes darkened, and he swallowed hard.
“How come you never play?” I fluttered my lashes and bit my lip.
“What makes you think I don’t?” He chuckled when I lifted a brow after swiping my finger through the dust. Even if it had none, I knew. He never talked about music or his connection to it unless it was related to the bands he managed. And I never asked. That’s not who we were. But it was who I wanted us to be, and I think he did, too.
“I haven’t touched it since I moved in,” he admitted. “Haven’t played since…”
I waited with as much patience as I possessed, which had never been much, for him to continue, but when he continued to look at the floor with a deep V between his eyes, his mouth tugged down, I prodded further. “Since?”
His eyes slowly slid back to mine as he pushed from the counter, walked to the sofa, and dropped. “Since my band.”
“Will you tell me about it?”
His chest rose, and the muscles in his jaw ticked, but he gave a tiny nod. “Come here.”
