We all speak at once, my name standing out amongst the rest of our reactions—along with the voice that said it.
I lift my eyes slowly away from the zipper they're currently honed in on. Once I'm standing, my gaze lands on the face I knew it would. "Liam," I say, my voice breathy… for so many reasons.
"Hey, it's Sunshine!" Trevor rings out.
Liam and I both look at him, our faces blank, before turning back to each other.
"Hi," he says simply, his expression unreadable.
I stand, staring until a passerby holds out a lemon I didn't realize rolled away. "Oh, here." I take the fruit and dive toward the ground. "Let me get this for you."
I begin shuffling, collecting the salmon, risotto, and garlic that are scattered around. When my hand lands on Liam's as we both reach forthe basket, I yank it back, deciding juggling the ingredients would be better than any further contact.
Trevor watches from the cart, in awe of either my professional baseball playing boss or the catastrophe he's witnessing. I take my time adding the items to the basket now back in Liam's hands, hoping by the time I have to speak again, my face won't look as on fire as it feels.
"So sorry about that," I say, clinging to the cart behind me for dear life as it still digs into my ass.
"No big deal. Long time no see."
I somehow grow warmer as I realize there is no way in this grocery hell that he didn't just hear mine and Trevor's conversation—I'm just not that lucky. So, instead of addressing it, or blowing past him to go crawl into a hole and die somewhere, I make small talk about the first thing that comes to mind.
"What are you making?"
He looks at me confused until I nod toward the groceries. It hits me a bit too late that he may just be crossing things off of his list and not preparing a gourmet meal, but I hold strong to my question.
"Salmon with lemon butter," he answers.
My head flies back, surprised. "Fancy."
"Nah." He grins, and there it is again—the glimmer of sunshine that I've always heard about from others, but I haven't seen much of since Sammy ran away. "There's a recipe for everything."
We both smile, but as my attention turns away from our conversation to wondering whether or not he has a date—and why I would care—the silence turns awkward. Trevor clears his throat behind me, and I jump, almost forgetting he was there. "Oh, duh," I rush to say. "Sorry, in the explosion, I almost forgot—Liam, this is my boyfriend, Trevor. Trevor, this is my boss, Liam."
"Hey." Liam extends his hand to Trevor who, at the same time, holds out his fist.
Liam stills as Trevor quickly opens his palm. "What's up, man?"
"Not a whole lot." Liam's tone isn't rude, but it's even more unbothered than it sometimes is with me.
If Trev notices, he hides it well. "Can't believe it's your last year. Holloway's got big shoes to fill."
Liam tucks his free hand into his jeans pocket, and I follow his movement, avoiding his gaze until my eyes land on the same crotch I just fell into.
I quickly look away.
"He's a good kid," is all he says. I notice his grip on the basket handle tighten slightly and take that as my cue that he's done with this conversation.
"Alright, well, we'll let you go. But I'll see you in the morning."
"Yeah, Tess here loves watching your baby," Trevor says, his face bright.
My eyes must triple in size as I glare at him over my shoulder. When I turn back to Liam, I expect his face to be riddled with anger—frustration, hatred, something. But, instead, he's holding back a cheeky grin.
Our eyes meet, and his jaw ticks. "Sorry again about the collision."
"Don't be," he says without hesitation, his grip loosening around the basket handle. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tessa."
He walks away, and I watch him leave, partly because I want to ensure he's gone before I lay into my boyfriend and partly because his last words—or maybe how he says them—hit me differently than I expect.
