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Sullivan rolled his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. I’m not telling you what to do. It’s just like dating a friend’s ex. You can’t date someone's father. That should be obvious.”
Liam wasn’t sure when the hell his son had become such a damn idiot, but every man on the planet should know not to accuse a woman of being dramatic. It was self-preservation 101.
“Not to me.” Lilly had gotten a mulish expression on her face, one Liam hadn’t really ever seen.
Sullivan had pushed a hot button, clearly.
“Torin,” Sullivan called out to his cousin.
Buckle up. Sullivan was dragging others into this. It was about to get interesting.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Torin said. He strolled over, spinning a bottle opener in his hand.
“Dad just said he’s taking Lilly out on a date. Is that or is that not fucked up?”
Torin gave Liam a look of appreciation. “Smooth move, Uncle Liam.” His gaze shifted back and forth between him and Lilly. “Have fun, kids.”
Liam wasn’t surprised. Torin was not a judgmental guy. Or one particularly interested in anyone’s sex life but his own.
Sullivan gave a sound of disgust. “Thanks for nothing. This is insane. I’m calling Sloane. She’s not going to be okay with this.”
Liam grinned. “What, you’re going to tell on me? She’s my daughter, not my mother.” He also didn’t think Sloane would care. She was living in his old house, her childhood home, with her husband and baby and niece. She had a happy, settled life.
“Speaking of your mother, I just might call Grandma too,” Sullivan said. “Tell her you’ve lost your mind.”
That made him laugh out loud. “Do what you need to do.”
“Sullivan, just stop,” Lilly said. “You’re embarrassing me. We’re adults and it’s one date.” She got down off her stool. “I’m heading home.”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Liam said, because even though Beaver Bend was a safe place and the parking lot was well-light, it would make him feel better to see her safely in her car.
“Somebody’s a player,” Sullivan said.
Now his kid was just asking for it. He had probably walked Lilly and a hundred other women to their car over the years Tap That had been open. This had nothing to do with Operation Pull Sullivan’s Head Out of His Ass.
“What happened to your new friend?” he asked Sullivan, wishing his son would see the pointlessness of his current social life. “The blonde?”
Sullivan made a face. “Her friends cock blocked and took her home.”
He thought that made them wise women. “She’s lucky she has such good friends. They saved her from wasting her time.” With that, he put his hand on the small of Lilly’s back as she walked toward the door.
They left Sullivan scowling behind the bar.
Lilly let out a sigh of relief when they were outside in the parking lot. She glanced back at him and shook her head a little. “My hands are shaking.” She held one up to show the tremor in her elegant fingers. “I hate confrontations and I don’t know why, but that felt like a confrontation.”
“It’s because Sullivan demanded you do what he wants, not what you want.”
Lilly looked thoughtful as she lifted the fob to her car and unlocked the doors. “That’s true. If I’m being totally honest, I don’t think he’s ever going to be interested in me. I think I need to be realistic.”
That damn near broke Liam’s heart. For a split second he felt guilty that he was encouraging her in any way to pursue Sullivan. Maybe she was right. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. But then he thought about Sullivan’s determination to ruin his own life and the melancholy look on Lilly’s face, and figured it was worth a shot to see if they could be happy together.
“I think you’re giving up before you’ve even started.”
“It’s been four years!” Lilly protested, opening her car door.
She drove a very sensible compact car. Lilly was an intriguing juxtaposition in that Liam had seen her having fun dancing, seen her giving the guys in her friend group a hard time, yet she was pragmatic, having a very solid job at an insurance company, living in a modest apartment, and always leaving the bar at a reasonable hour, sober and solo. The only time she seemed to indulge herself was when she took Finn out for ice cream.
And her feelings for Sullivan. That was pure indulgence.
