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“You’re wrong,” he said, gulping past the geyser of bitter emotions welling inside him. Images of Cora’s past lives flashed through his mind—the same images the angels had shown him in the Chamber of Judgment. Cora working in a factory during WWII...dying during an explosion. Cora as a young nurse, caring for soldiers during an outbreak of scarlet fever...dying in a hospital bed. Cora as a nanny, rushing to save a young child from the path of a runaway horse...dying in the street. “You’re not going to be okay on your own,” he said miserably. “You’ve made mistake after mistake, and it’s always ended in tragedy.”
“How dare you?” Hot splashes of color bloomed in her cheeks. “You haven’t even known me long enough to comment on my dating history.”
“Magnus Blackwell, for example?” Oh, it was a low blow. Liam knew it the moment he said the blasted words, but they cartwheeled out of his mouth before he could catch them.
Cora gaped at him in disbelief, pain flashing across her face before she could cover it up. Bloody ever-loving hell, he was an idiot of the highest order. This, right here, was why he didn’t deserve her.Heput that stricken look on her face. He would give his soul to take it back, but unfortunately, his soul was already wagered.
“Cora, I’m so sorry,” Liam said in a rush. “It was an asinine thing to say, and I didn’t mean it. Sometimes stupid things just come flying out before I think because I’m a damned fool. What happened with Magnus wasn’t your fault; it was all him. You must know that I don’t believe—”
“Magnus was a mistake,” she said in a strained voice. “It almost cost me my life. That’s true. But he was a one-off. I’ll be much more careful when I choose to date someone new. Regardless, it’s none of your business.”
“You can’t—” Liam broke off in frustration, choosing his words carefully. He didn’t want to risk making her madder than she already was. The smart thing to do would be to back off and try his plan again in a week or so, but he didn’t have the luxury of doing that. Taking a deep breath, he said, “You don’t have to date someone new.”
“Again,” she said evenly. “None of your business.”
“You’re right. It’s only that I want you to be happy, and... There’s already someone in your life who cares very deeply for you. He’s right under your nose and has been there all along.” Cora looked guarded, yet so vulnerable. Liam wanted to embrace her and promise her everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie to her any more than he already had. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but if you could just give Finn a chance, you might realize how suited you are for each other. You deserve someone like him.” If only he could tell her the truth about why it was so important. Maybe then, it would help her understand.
“You seem to be forgetting that Finn is packing up his life, as we speak, to move across the country,” she pointed out. “For good.”
“That’s not carved in stone,” he said quickly. “Things can still change.” He had to believe that, or all would truly be lost.
“Nothing’s going to change, Liam, because I won’t let it. Finn is a good friend, and I’d never stand in the way of his career. I know what drives him to do what he does. His job is everything to him.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he said fiercely. Finn was as enamored with Cora in this life as he’d been back in 1844 Ireland.
“And how would you know?” she asked, scoffing. “You couldn’t even stand Finn when you first met him, so don’t act like these last few months have made you the expert on his feelings, or mine, for that matter. Why do you even care so much? Look, you’ve already made it clear you’re not interested in this.” She waved a finger between them, her voice trembling. The next words out of her mouth were like claws raking across his heart. “I’m not some pathetic person who needs you to play matchmaker or push me toward Finn like he’s a consolation prize. I get it, Liam. You don’t like me. And you know what? That’s—”
“I don’t like you?” he interrupted, reeling from the sheer absurdity of it. “Like?Jesus wept, Cora!” A jagged bark of laughter erupted from some broken place inside him. Was that truly what she believed? Every single action, every breath he’d taken since falling into this new life, was because he loved her. The whole reason he was in this predicament was because he couldn’tstoploving her. And though it didn’t serve his purpose, and because he was an utter fool, he had to set her straight right here, and now. He couldn’t let her go on believing he didn’t care.
“You have no idea what I’ve gone through these past few months, living with you under the same roof,” Liam said. “Knowing your face is the first I’ll see every morning when I wake. Your voice the last I’ll hear every night slipping into my dreams. Feeling you so close every day, yet unable to...” He trailed off and dipped his chin before he bared everything—his hopes, his dreams, his imperfect, damaged soul. There was a fine line he still had to walk here, but it was hard when straining under the weight of so many secret emotions. With a ragged breath, he lifted his head, letting her see all the anguish and yearning and despair, telling her with his eyes all the things he couldn’t allow himself to put into words.
“You are,” he said reverently, “the very best person I’ve ever known, or could ever know. The way you care for others. The way you put their needs ahead of your own. Your adventurous spirit and bravery and willingness to see the good in people. You are dazzling in your grace and compassion. Everything about you is pure and fresh and hopeful as the dawn, Cora. And you don’t belong with an ordinary man who’s done terrible, selfish things—a man like me who will ultimately be your downfall. There’s no world in which I could ever deserve to lo—” He stopped himself just in time before he said something that could ruin everything. “I care too much to see you end up unhappy. You deserve someone who’s good down to the very marrow of his bones. Someone who will always do right by you and never hurt you or cause you pain.”
Cora was standing before him with a stunned look on her face. A wave of understanding swelled in her gaze, turning her ocean-blue eyes soft and misty. He had the feeling she saw right through to his imperfect, damaged soul, anyway. He’d said too much, but fools often did. There was no taking it back now.
“So, that’s what this is about.” She said it like a revelation as she stepped closer. Dangerously closer. Her sweet, intoxicating scent enveloped him, making it difficult to focus. “You think you’ll hurt me.”
“I know I will. I already have.” He was breathing hard. Angry with himself, and angry with her for being so damned tempting and making this so difficult. This conversation wasn’t going at all the way he’d planned. They were supposed to be talking about Finn and arranging to spend the evening with him. “I’m not a good man, Cora. I never have been, and I won’t see you hurt. I’ve made that mistake in the past, and I can’t allow it to happen again.”
Ever so slowly, she reached out and took his hand, tracing the lines on his palm. Liam felt the gentle touch like a spark of heat igniting him from the inside. Everything around him narrowed down to that slow, sweet drag of her fingertip over his calloused skin. “What if I said I was willing to take the chance?”
A fierce longing gripped him so hard it stole his breath. He’d waited so long to see her look at him like this he could barely force himself to choke out, “We can’t risk it.”
Cora dipped her chin and let his hand go.
He curled it into a fist, as if he could hold on to her touch forever.
“Suzette told me that you don’t want to be tied down,” she said, leaning against the counter. “You said there were too many fish in the sea?”
Liam glanced away with a silent curse. He’d been able to lie to Suzette, but there was no way he could stand in front of Cora and say something so absurd. Not after he’d practically bared his heart only moments earlier.
“It’s true, I suppose,” Cora mused, shrugging. “I mean, I’m nothing special.”
His gaze shot to hers in angry disbelief. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Just one woman out of billions out there,” she said with a melodious sigh.
“But the only one who matters,” he said fiercely. Cora’s slow smile made him feel like he’d been dipped in warm honey. Mother of God, he was in trouble. What was happening? Somehow, in the space of just a few minutes, Cora had gone from giving him the cold shoulder to giving him a sultry smile that felt like a gift he wanted very much to open.
