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Myles blinks. “Why? Did you do something to her?”
“No.” I can’t even be bothered to play this game right now. “She’s having some work issues.”
“At the station?”
“Apparently,” I say, my voice tight.
“And she didn’t come to see you before she left?” Myles looks confused. “Why wouldn’t she?”
“She was upset and didn’t want to ruin the party,” Ariel tells him. “I promised I’d tell you all afterward.”
“So she’ll be driving for hours in the middle of the night?” Myles’ eyes are clouded with thoughts. I’m kind of gratified that he sounds as worried as I do. “Have you called her?” he asks me.
“Yes.” But I try again anyway. And again it goes straight to voicemail. “I need to follow her. I can probably catch up with her if I leave now.”
“You can’t drive,” Ariel tells me. “I definitely saw you drinking earlier.”
Two beers with my brothers. And some champagne. Shit. “Have you been drinking?” I ask her.
“Yes.”
I look at Myles and he shrugs. I know for sure that our other brothers aren’t fit to drive either. And there’s no way I can ask any of the guests to give me a ride for four hours just to find my girlfriend.
“I’ll call a taxi,” I say.
“In the middle of nowhere at this time of night?” Myles shakes his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
He’s right. I kick the dirt with my polished shoe, frustrated. “Should I call somebody in Charleston?” I ask him. “Her dad or Lauren?”
“Not now. You’ll panic them for no reason. Wait until morning, then you can leave first thing.”
“That’s too much time to wait,” I tell him. I can’t stand the thought of her driving out there alone.
“What choice do you have?” he asks. “I’ll come with you in the morning. You were there for me when I needed you.” I know he’s referring to the night he thought he’d lost Ava. But he never really had.
He hadn’t lied to her. Hadn’t hidden a dead fiancée from her. Christ, what was I thinking?
Ariel takes my hand again. “He’s right, Liam. I know it’s hard. We can keep calling her until then.”
I nod because there’s no other way. And Myles is right, no car service would get here before morning at the very least. So I call Sophie one more time and actually leave a message this time.
“It’s me. Please let me know when you get back to Charleston safely. It doesn’t matter what time it is, I just need to know you’re okay.” I end the call and look at them both. “I’m going to head back to the cabin.” The last thing I feel like doing is socializing.
Myles nods. “Of course. I’ll cover for you at the party. I don’t think it’s going to last much longer anyway. Let me know if you hear from her. Ava’s going to go apeshit and I’d like to be able to reassure her.”
“I will,” I tell him. “And thank you.”
He nods for a second, but then he steps closer and hugs me. I blink, surprised, but hug him back anyway.
“I love you,” Myles tells me. I must look more upset than I thought. “And Sophie does, too. I hope you know that.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
SOPHIE
The drive back to Charleston takes longer than I’d planned. Mostly because it’s so dark and even with my high beams on I can barely see the twists and turns ahead of me. I’m also shaking, and my head is so messed up with thoughts of my mistakes, of Liam’s fiancée, of just being a complete failure, that I have to drive slowly to make sure I don’t crash.
A couple of hours in, I have to stop in a rest area. The soft drinks I had earlier have caught up with me, so I wander into the building and visit the bathroom before I find a vending machine that serves coffee.
