AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’s easy to lo— Fuck.” King’s gut bottomed out and the blood drained from his face. He clutched the chair for balance, dizziness descending over him. Damn it, how had he missed it? Adds had told him. Almost spelled it out for him. She’d agreed that Liam was easy to love. It was right in front of his face and he’d been blind to it. He’d put her concern for Liam passing statistics down to his friendship with Eli. He’d thought they had a sibling kind of relationship, but that was exactly what Adds had wanted him to think. His gut told him it was so much more than that. Her feelings went far deeper than the care she’d developed for her brother’s best friend. She was in love with him too. That’s why she’d been so upset. That’s why Adds had confessed she would be cheating on him too if they accepted Eve’s definition.
Why was he so blind? How had he missed it? It was right in front of him the whole time. He was a fucking idiot. King had done more than hurt her. He’d asked her to let him have the other man she loved—was Liam her first love? Had her teenage crush turned into puppy love and then morphed into something everlasting? Christ, he’d asked her to sit by and watch while he got to love on the man she’d wanted. Probably for years.
Flashes of memories hit him like a ten-tonne wrecking ball. The way Adds smiled at Liam. The affection in her eyes whenever she talked about him. The exaggerated brush offs and eye rolls when he did something to annoy her. That she knew everything about his playing career but didn’t give a toss about any other players or teams. The way she cared for him, making sure he had company. That he wasn’t lonely. King had mistaken her care as familiarity borne of a decade of friendship with her brother. But it was more than that. He was certain of it.
Adds had insisted that King stay behind and tutor Liam. She’d readily sacrificed time together that they’d been talking excitedly about for weeks. It had annoyed him. Frustrated King to no end. But Adds hadn’t been fazed. She’d insisted on going alone as soon as she’d heard Liam was struggling. He’d wanted to complain, but seeing how much it meant to her had stopped him. He’d thought it was because of how close she, Lij, Carol, and Pop were to him. They were like his family. Now that King knew the truth of Liam’s, he understood why she’d insisted. He would have wanted the same thing for Liam too. So he knew his gut feeling was correct, but now he was sure it had been motivated by a different kind of love for him.
She’d been prepared to sacrifice herself all so Liam wouldn’t miss out on the chance to achieve his dream. Every little thing she did was choreographed so no one would realize how deeply she cared about him. She’d become an expert at hiding her feelings in plain sight. Disguising them.
He gripped Liam’s arms, sure his eyes were wild with panic. “We need to go to her. Now.” Liam nodded and looked down. But King wasn’t done. He wasn’t letting the people he cared about misinterpret his feelings. “Lee, look at me.” He lifted his eyes. The usually green highlights in them had dulled to brown. The wariness in them screamed hesitation and fear.
“Yeah,” he said, plastering on a small smile.
“Liam, I’m in love with you too. Whatever happens, we’ll work it out, yeah?”
Liam bit down on his lip, his eyes instantly glassy. He blinked. Then blinked again. Liam nodded and with smiling lips, pressed them to King’s. “You are?”
“I am.”
“Good. Yeah, good.” Liam laughed, joy radiating from him. King couldn’t resist pressing his lips to the corner of his mouth again. He was right there. So tempting. He wanted nothing more than to taste him—every inch of him—but it didn’t seem right without clearing the air with Adelaide first. “Should we, ah, pack a bag? Book some flights?”
“Yeah.”
“We really gonna do this?”
King nodded his answer and Liam’s shoulders relaxed.
“Good. I don’t want Addy to think she’s anything but the centre of us,” King stated, determined to set things right. The weight lifted off his shoulders, making him lighter than he’d been in a long time. “And I want to kiss you properly. Both of you if I’m honest.”
“Then let’s go.”
Fifteen minutes later, flights booked, they were on the road to King’s house to grab an overnight bag. He had no idea what kind of reception they’d get from Adds, but holy hell, he hoped it all went well. There was no way this would end well if King was wrong.
*****
It was late by the time they’d flown in, hired a car, and driven out to where Adds was staying. Neither of them spoke much during the trip, nerves getting the better of King. Liam had his head buried in his phone, tapping away on the screen until he handed it to King. In front of him was an apartment building in the city. “It’s the only one I can find that’s halfway decent,” Liam explained. “We can get a late checkout on Sunday, which will be better with our flights on Sunday night too.” Hopefully they’d have a night or two together that would be the beginning of something amazing.
If things didn’t go well, they might be commiserating.
Once they were in the privacy of the SUV they’d hired, Liam twined their fingers together and held on, not letting go until they pulled up in the drive. King didn’t know whether he had the right to hope for an outcome that saw the three of them together—he sure as heck hoped so—but he couldn’t help it. So he’d spent the time trying to think through what he wanted to say.
It wasn’t really a respectable hour, but Adds still wasn’t answering her phone and he didn’t want to wait. Worst case, they’d go to the apartment, check in, and return in the morning.
Liam had drifted off, the day’s workout, test, and frantic race to get to the airport taking its toll. He was adorable. Like a kitten snuggling down into the seat, rubbing his face against the headrest he tried to find a comfortable spot. King wanted to wrap himself around the man and kiss him until they were both breathless. Or Liam was asleep. He’d be happy either way.
Instead, he ran his fingers through Liam’s hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead, murmuring, “We’re here.” Liam snaked his arm out, hooking it around King’s shoulder and pulled him closer. He was heavy and solid and so beautifully vulnerable in that moment. It meant the world that Liam trusted him enough to let go.
He should probably be worried about someone seeing them. Liam was a professional footballer. Former players had come out, but there was no one King knew of who was still playing. He didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on Liam—his job was hard enough without needing to add coming out to the list of things the media could judge him for. Whatever their relationship would look like moving forward, it wouldn’t be public. He’d changed jobs so that he and Adds could be open, but this was different. Liam was a celebrity in his own right, and being in the public eye was hard enough when the cameras weren’t directed at him. King hated the idea that he could make things more difficult for Liam, so discretion would be essential.
Twenty-three
Adelaide
A
delaide jolted, the knock at the door surprising her. The house was quiet. Marie and her daughter were already asleep. She looked at her phone. It was too late for visitors, but Adelaide didn’t know her landlord that well. It could be anyone coming to see her. She tiptoed to the front door and peered through the peephole. She would know their outlines anywhere, even if the sensor light at the front door didn't light the area so well. Adelaide unlocked it, opening the door wide.
“Adelaide?” her landlord asked sharply. “What are you doing?” She turned to the other woman who looked at her with furrowed brows and pursed lips, rumpled from sleep and clearly annoyed at being woken. Adelaide cleared her throat. Her belly flip-flopped and excitement washed over her. She bit back the fizzy smile that wanted to break free.
