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“I just met him last night but I’m friends with Liam.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“At the club. He works there and he helps his uncle out in the stable sometimes.”
“I know.”
“You know him?”
She averts her eyes, and in that moment I’m brought back to a night a few months ago, a party.The hot guy from the shore. Did she sayhisname? And now I’m mad. “Were you with Liam, too?”
“It was nothing.”
“You say that a lot...You realize that, don’t you?”
“We kissed. It was nothing. He hates me anyway, so you’ve got nothing to worry about there.”
“Get out.”
“Sarah, wait.”
“Leave.” When she doesn’t move from the bed I physically push her off, and have a fleeting sense of satisfaction when I hear her land with a thump. I roll over after whispering, “Please, I just want you to go.”
Chapter Sixteen
LIAM
I woke up with a smile on my face this morning, but by the time I’m out of the shower and heading back towards my mother’s to drop off her car, the doubt is creeping in and pushing out the good memories from last night.
She won’t be the same Sarah today.
I’m working on some of the equipment today, golf carts and maintenance vehicles, but chances are that I’ll run into her. And I want to see her, I absolutely do, but I’m wary of how it’s going to be between us. Last night was the very definition of a rebound situation. She was hurt, maybe even looking to get back at her guy, and I was the convenient option—that’s all.
And I don’t care. That’s what I’m telling myself because I just can’t. I can’t care, can’t get hung up on some girl I’ve got no shot with, can’t get sidetracked.
Can’t set myself up for a giant letdown.
“Everything all right?” my uncle asks, gesturing to the fingernail I’m gnawing down to the quick.
“Uh huh,” I mumble, hardly acknowledging him as I mentally beat myself up for taking this extra shift.
“What did Jeff just say to you?”
I turn to Uncle Danny, confused. “Huh?”
He backs out of the driveway, shooting Jeff a look as we head back in the direction of the club. “I don’t know why your mother stays with him.”
Jeff may or may not have said something shitty to me; I wasn’t even listening. There are times when I actively ignore him because nothing pisses him off more, but today I was truly lost in my own head. “I don’t know what he said. I like to pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“You know, your mother had so much promise. Maybe that’s why I’m so hard on you. She was my responsibility—”
“You were only a kid yourself.”
“I didn’t push her. She could have gone to college, Liam. She was so intelligent, but I was too busy with my own life.” He glances over at me before looking back to the road. “I look at my little sister now and I’m filled with regret. I feel responsible.”
“But you’re not responsible. She made her choices. ShechoseJeff.” I can’t help but laugh before adding, “Keep in mind, she chose that loser more than once.” I cut him off before he can speak again. “And I know where this is going...You’re not responsible for me either. I made choices, and I know some of them weren’t so great, but it’s my life and I’ll be fine. It pisses me off when you look at me that way, like you’re disappointed.”
“I’m not disappointed in you. I’m sad more than anything. I want to see one of us Murphys succeed.”
