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“What kind?”
“The getting-to-know-your-spouse kind.”
Interesting.
“Okay.” I raise a brow and fold my arms over the counter. “Why didn’t you play along in Vegas? After we agreed to lies only, why did you have to go and give me all your truths?”
“Someone’s a grudge-holder,” he teases, the sing-song quality of it almost as good as his smile.
“See, we’re learning more about each other already.”
A beat passes. Then, “I was serious about wanting you to be able to find me. But also… my dad is kind of a chronic liar. He’s a lot of things. I’ve watched it my entire life. Lived through the fallout of four wives. Call it rebellion, but I don’t lie to women… even if they ask me to.”
I want to apologize for asking him to lie and for the fact that someone in his life has made a habit of it when I know how bad that feels. Instead, I guess at another truth.
“So, not much in common with your dad, then.”
Liam’s head drops into a slow shake as he lets out a humorless laugh.
“We’re more alike than not. In too many ways.”
“Like how?”
“We look alike. Same interests. Same— hell, a lot of things.” He clears his throat. “Both athletes. It’s why we started butting heads, and maybe what pushed me to perform at the level I do. He was actually my manager early on, but I had to let him go when I realized he’d been cheating on more than just his wives. We’ve been mostly estranged since then.”
All I can do is stare. My heart hurts thinking of what that betrayal must be like.
No matter how bad my situation with Ray was, my family was always there for me. I never had to question their love.
Bracing a hand on the island between us, Liam reaches across and hooks his finger beneath my chin. “Close your mouth. You’ll let the flies in.”
This time I say it. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not even the worst thing he’s done. But it doesn’t matter. I’m done with him. And like I said, I do what I can not to be like him.”
“Is he… part of the reason you said you’d never marry for real?” I thought there must have been a woman behind it. But I was too caught up in how Ray burned me to push Liam for an explanation he didn’t want to give.
“He is. Part.”
I nod. “Suddenly, your going along with my crazy plan makes more sense. The whole preventative-action wedding didn’t totally seem like your speed.”
He huffs a laugh. “No?”
“You just come across as kind of… controlled. Deliberate.”
“Yeah, it was out of character for me.”
“God, I can only imagine what you thought when you woke up with my ring on your finger.”
He taps the counter and knocks back his glass. “Spoiler alert, it was pretty simple. I thought, ‘Where the hell is my wife?’”
5
Stormy
There’s no censure in his voice. No heat or accusation. But that hint of a smile feels like no smile at all.
And it shouldn’t. I pinch my lips together and stare at my hands, remembering the way I’d stared down at the tangle of sheets and half-naked man within them. The dawning realization that I’d made a mistake.
