"We can sit here if you want." He strides to the passenger side of the truck and cracks the door open.
I move toward him, an unspoken conversation looming over us like the last time we talked alone in his truck, back when Jace Holloway's name was written across my back.
I'm not sure what to do as I get closer to him, pulled between wanting to spew my thoughts before I back out and wanting to jump into his arms and not talk at all. Luckily, I don't need to decide. When I'm within arm's reach, Liam puts both of his massive palms on my shoulders and pulls me to him.
"I missed you today," he says, inhaling deeply as he rests his chin on the top of my head.
I sink into him, breathing in his smell and this feeling, almost completely forgetting what I was worried about in the first place. "I missed you too."
He releases me, holding out his hand to help me into the truck. I settle into his seat as he closes the door, and I wait the painfully long few seconds it takes for him to get back to the driver's side.
"Thank you for coming," I say as soon as he's in, more eager than I thought I'd be to explain.
He turns toward me. "Of course," he says. "But I have to be honest, I'm not any more sure about what's going on than I was when Jo called earlier."
I nod in understanding, and he drops his hand onto my knee—so warm, so familiar. The flicker of the porch light.
"I just knew I had to be here."
His voice comes out thick, and his throat moves up and down with nerves. I drop my hand onto his, fighting the urge to brush everything off and simply melt into him instead.
"I got a call this morning that Jo passed out in the lobby of a hotel she was staying at."
Liam's face creases with concern. "Is she okay?"
I curl my fingers around his. "She is. She was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes at the start of the year, and she's been having a hard time adjusting to it—getting her readings straight and her dosage right."
Liam tips his chin down. "I had no idea. That must be so hard.”
I smile softly, that familiar guilt creeping back in.Of course he didn't know."It's been tough navigating it all, but she's good now. She has a plan."
"Good."
I swallow, knowing what's next. "I left even before the call this morning, actually. I was worried about her and was planning to check in. We got into a pretty big fight while you were gone. She wasn't answering me, and I was really worried that something might be—"
"Tessa," he interrupts gently. "Why didn't you tell me any of this? I asked you how things were at home, and you said fine. I could have helped you. I could have been here."
I squeeze his hand, inhaling deeply. "I know," I say. "And that's the reason Jo called."
He furrows his brow, leaning in closer.
"I left so early this morning to find Jo, but also because I needed to think about us before we planned to tell Ruthie."
His face instantly falls, his jaw growing so tight I can almost hear his teeth grinding against each other. "Are you…" He clears his throat, but his voice still comes out weak. "Are you having second thoughts about being with me?"
"No," I blurt. His shoulders fall, if only briefly. "Well, yes… But not because I don'twantto."
He blinks hard. "I—I don't understand."
I blow out a heavy breath, slipping my fingers between his. I follow how they curl around each other perfectly as his thumb naturally brushes short, soft strokes against the back of mine.
And then I explain.
I tell him everything I said to Jo, just like she told me to. I talk and he listens, so invested in what I have to say that I have to physically look away from the eye contact he gives me. I tell him the porch light theory and how I've never been one to expect the flicker—no one's ever reallyoffered it before. And how I'm having doubts that I can be enough for Ruthie and for him—Golden City's Sunshine.
"You don't just leave the light on, Liam. Youarethe light," I say at the end. "For Ruthie, your team—for your whole city." I chance a look at him, and find his expression unreadable. "You were so quick to say you would have been here for me, and I know that's true. But I didn't even give you that chance."
I pause, scared to say what I really need to.
