“Me, too.”
Chapter Eighteen
“And then the kangaroo stole the baby and we all did coke,” Noah said.
Liam started from his thoughts, turning his narrowed eyes towards Noah.
Noah sighed. “So now you’re listening.”
“Sorry. I’m distracted.”
“No shit,” Noah said, finishing off his beer and setting the bottle down on the coffee table. “What’s going on?”
Liam debated whether or not to tell him the truth. Where would he even begin?
With the mornings he spent walking through Florence with Min talking about literature? How he scoured the city for a copy ofThe Sun Also Risesso he could read it himself at the same time she was reading it, even though he could never admit that to her? How he’d kissed her? How it took everything in him tostopkissing her? That he thought he was going to lose his fucking mind if he didn’t kiss her again soon?
That he gave her a book of poetry – a book filled with sensual love poems that he wanted to sear into her skin? That he’d been exchanging lines from those poems with her for the last week?
“I kissed Melynda Taylor.”
“Fuck.” Noah leaned forward, bracing his arms on his knees. “At the bar? Last night?”
“In Florence.”
Noah thought for a minute, his forehead wrinkling. “That was weeks ago.” He stared his friend down, like Liam’s thoughts were scrawled across his face. “Since then?”
“Nothing really.” Noah shot him a look like he knew Liam was holding back. Liam huffed out a breath. No use keeping things from him. Noah knew about the night they’d met; he might as well know it all. And really, aside from the kiss in Italy, nothinghadhappened. But it felt like it had, or at least like it was starting to. “Flirting. But that’s it.”
“You can’t do this, Liam.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” When Liam didn’t respond, Noah got up and grabbed them each another beer. Liam took a long pull from the bottle. “You have to get over this.”
“I don’t know how,” Liam said miserably.
“You better figure it the fuck out, and fast.”
Liam wanted to laugh. The idea of getting over Min was so unbelievable Noah might as well have told Liam to sprout wings and fly. If it were just that she was beautiful, he could have shrugged it off, found another beautiful woman to lose himself in, and forgotten about Min. But how did he walk away when he knew the way her eyes shone when she cried, the way she read her favorite books over and over until she knew them by heart, that she poured every last ounce of herself into her music? How did he turn his back when he believed he was creating some of the best music of his life with her? How would he get over someone like that? He wouldn’t.
“I’m falling for her.”
Liam was nearly as surprised by his confession as Noah was. He hadn’t said it out loud, hadn’t let himself really entertain the idea that his feelings for Min extended beyond a carnal desire. But he couldn’t deny the ache in his chest when he thought about never holding her again, the way he was physically incapable of keeping his distance from her. Saying it out loud loosened that tightness behind his ribs, like releasing a bit of steam from the pressure valve. Not enough – not nearly enough – but a start.
“Listen to me, man,” Noah said, placing his hand on Liam’s shoulder and waiting until his friend met his eyes. “If you care about her, you have to stop this before it goes too far. You’re setting her up for everyone to think she’s only gotten where she is by fucking her professor. Her grades would be called into question. She could face academic honesty hearings. And if word got out beyond the university, it could mess up her chances to get into grad school.”
Liam didn’t respond. Min was brilliant and so talented. She had a real shot at a truly remarkable career. He wanted her to have anything she wanted – everything she wanted. He couldn’t stomach the idea of getting in the way of that.
“Not to mention that if my uncle catches even a whiff of any of this, you’re through,” Noah continued. “He does not tolerate professor-student relationships. You can’t throw your career away. You are so close to having everything you’ve talked about since we were undergrads. When you nail down this donation from the Dietrichs, you’ll be set.”
Liam tensed at the mention of Aidan’s family, his thoughts flying back to the way Min had reacted in the garden in Italy, the way she’s flinched away from him in the bar the night before. He knew something was off, that Aidan had hurt her. He just couldn’t figure out how.
“I can’t put that little shit’s name on my theater,” he said, mostly to himself.
“You aren’t serious.” Noah stared at him, wide-eyed. For once, Liam couldn’t tell what Noah was thinking. Over a decade of friendship, and Liam didn’t think he’d ever seen his best friend so stunned. But the moment passed and the shocked expression on Noah’s face quickly melted into incredulity. “What happened? You found out the Dietrich kid and Mel used to fuck –”
“Stop,” Liam said, dropping his head into his hands. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
