My struggles were for me and me alone. I had to have hope that eventually I was going to fix what was broken inside of me. I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone every day, even if it was just a baby step.
Flirting with Rex had blown up in my face, but I wasn't going to view it as a failure. I’d done something that I hadn't done in a very long time. I’d taken my first step toward what Carson wanted me to do and what the board was demanding I do. Noah was the only person who knew of my failure, and I was confident that he wasn't going to talk to me about it. That wasn't the kind of relationship we had.
For the first time, I was grateful that Noah had been there instead of anyone else.
"I'm so sorry," I said as I offered Abigail a forced smile, hoping that she wouldn't see past it. “I’m not sure what's wrong with me. I just started feeling sick. I needed a break.” I waved my hand towards the air around me. "There's something about fresh ocean air that heals the soul." I took in a deep breath. "Whatever it was has passed." I met her gaze. "I'm ready to go back in."
I could feel Abigail's hesitation. She didn't buy my lie, but thankfully, she didn't push it. She studied me for a moment before she threaded her arm through mine and started to guide me towards the back door. When her hand landed on the handle, she paused.
"You know you can trust me, right?” she asked.
I glanced over at her, but she wasn't looking at me, her gaze forward. Guilt coated me. The last thing I wanted was for her to think that this had anything to do with me not trusting her. I had problems. I had issues. But so did Abigail. And I didn’t want to push my weakness on her when she was already struggling with her sister. I'd come here to be a help to her. I couldn’t be a hindrance.
“Of course, Abigail.” I shifted with the hope she would look my direction.
It worked. She glanced over at me and held my gaze for a moment before a soft smile spread across her lips.
“In fact.” I paused, waiting for the strength to say the next sentence.
Even though flirting with Rex had been a disaster, I knew I couldn’t avoid it forever. Minus getting a mail-order husband, I was going to have to speak to someone if I was going to fulfill the Torres stipulation. I couldn’t run and hide from my issues. Doing that would just create more.
“Let’s talk about the investor’s dinner.”
Abigail’s entire face lit up. “Really?”
“Yep.” I cleared my throat as my emotions, yet again, rose up inside of it. It was going to take time to get used to the change that had been suddenly thrust upon me. But, with every step I took forward, I would eventually get to the place of acceptance.
I would not fold in on myself again. I was going to be a strong mother to my son and a strong woman to honor my husband’s memory. Torres Investments had been his life, and I would fight for it until my last breath.
Abigail squealed. “I have so many ideas!”
13
SABRINA
I was never going to get used to this. I would never get used to a lot of things when it came to Liam. It was hard enough to keep my head straight when we were alone in a hotel room together, but out in public—I was out of my depth.
The stares and whispers that erupted everywhere Liam went baffled me. I knew in theory that a lot of celebrities went through this. After all, tabloids made a killing off stalking them in their most intimate moments. But knowing and experiencing were two very different things.
I kept glancing over at Liam to see if he noticed the attention he was getting while we waited for the maître d’ to seat us, but he didn’t seem phased at all. Instead, his gaze remained forward with his arm hooked around Samuel’s car seat handle—he insisted on carrying Samuel into the restaurant.
I could only guess the assumptions that were being made right now. Liam with a strange woman and a strange baby. Their thoughts were as plain as the noses on their faces as they shifted their gaze from Liam, to Samuel, to me, and then back to Liam before they turned to whisper to each other.
Maybe this had been a mistake.
We were seated at a table in the back in record time. The owner apologized profusely to Liam about the wait time. Liam just brushed him off, telling him not to worry, he understood. The owner seemed grateful for Liam’s grace, but internally he was raging. I feared for the maître d’ who was going to get an earful later.
We propped Samuel’s car seat up on one of the chairs, and then Liam hurried over and pulled out my chair before I could stop him. I gave him a look, but he didn’t acknowledge it. He just smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.
“I’m your?—”
“Assistant, I know,” he said as he waved his hand toward the seat. “But you’re on your lunch break right now, so technically, you’re just Sabrina, and I am just Liam.”
I met his gaze and then instantly regretted it. I’d thought that he was just flirting like always, but what I saw in his eyes was anything but flirty. He looked…genuine. Like he was enjoying that, in this moment, we weren’t boss and assistant. That we were just a guy and a girl. No strings attached.
I turned away from him and sat, not wanting to dive deeper into his meaning or what those words were doing to my insides. I stared at the white china plate in front of me and commanded my head to get straight. I was not going to help myself by romanticizing every interaction that took place between Liam and me.
He was probably just being nice. And since I was so used to flirty Liam, when he was just Liam, I stupidly assumed that meant he was falling-for-Sabrina Liam.
