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“I got your present,” she said, hearing how hoarse her own voice had become.
His grip turned more urgent. “And it made you lose all color and tremble? Taylor…I would never have gotten them if I’d known they would upset you. It was only that I heard you needed them. I thought it would make you happy. Nothing like this.”
She hated to ask outright so she tried to hedge as she asked, “You don’t know why spray cans would be a good present for me?”
“Not at all,a stór. They were a complete surprise, but I always trust my guidance. I would never willingly buy you a present that would upset you like this. I’m sorry I didn’t sense that.”
She searched his face. She knew the difference between earnest and devious, and he wasn’t the latter. Letting herself sink back against the counter, she bit her lip to fight off the emotion attached to this realization. He didn’t know her secret, but he knew the way to her heart.
Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to trust someone this special with her secret. With the truth that lived at her core. Oh, what a heady thing it would be. But hadn’t she learned her lesson? The last time she’d trusted a guy she loved, it had bitten her in the ass and broken her heart. Besides, her secret life did a lot of good, and being revealed could change all that. How could she take that risk?
She stared at him, teetering between her past experience and the present Liam was offering. In the end, she decided she needed more time. “It’s okay, Liam. I got a little freaked out, thinking you’d used your woo-woo skills and invaded my privacy too far.”
“I would never do that.” He cupped her elbows, his eyes scanning her face. “Let’s sit down and you can tell me—”
She looked off, trying not to gaze at the box again and the intention he’d put into making the present for her. “Please, Liam. Don’t push me on this.”
He let go of her and stepped back, and somehow that made her fortress start to crumble more. “That’s fine then, Taylor. I had no idea my gift would upset you like this. I know we’ve just met, but I hope you believe that.”
She sucked in another breath. “I do. This is me freaking out. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. God, I didn’t expect this. I just came here for a job I thought would let me do something meaningful, something I could—”
She stopped herself from saying,something I could be public about.
Because being a notoriously anonymous street artist who bounced around the world painting social messages was her secret and had to remain so. No one knew Taylor McGowan wasVeritasexcept the hacker who covered her tracks and the lawyer who advised her. Millions of her followers waited for her next street mural detailing everything from sexual abuse to domestic violence to human rights.
Only this time it would be about the harassment of a woman on a public road—her. And only she would know it was a self-portrait. The idea had started coming to her last night, and Liam’s gift felt like a crazy confirmation of it.
Was it risky? Sure. Her first shot across the bow at Malcolm. But that was what she did. Had since she’d first used graffiti to right a horrible wrong in her high school after no one had listened to her and the other girls about another bad man who’d misused his power.
“Whatever you’re thinking right now, it’s really powerful.” He touched her arm as if she were a skittish animal. “I know we don’t know each other well, but I still want to remind you that I’m here for you. I have your back. Like I did yesterday. All the way.”
Her eyes flew to him. He was watching her so intently she feared he’d read her every thought. “I don’t know how we’re going to do this. Get to know each other like normal people when you can sense everything I think and feel. Liam, it’s too much, too soon.”
His hand fell from her, and he took a slow breath. Then he tapped his thigh with his finger, the sound as stark as the ticking of a clock in a silent room. “I’m struggling a little with what to say here. Taylor, from the minute you’ve arrived, things have been at a fever pitch. I wanted to help you relax, but it seems I’m now doing the opposite. It’s also really hard for me to turn off who I am. Because Idosense things, and I listen to what I hear. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have shown up for you yesterday.”
Point one for him.
“More…I don’t know how to act differently, and I wouldn’t in any case. I love who I am, and that’s the man I want to be with you. Not some half version of the truth.”
The use of that word struck her hard. It couldn’t be a coincidence. She lifted her head, shocked at how much hurt she felt at their discord. She didn’t know him, and yet part of her was breaking over this confrontation for him as much as for herself.
“I don’t know why I was supposed to drive all the way to Castlebar to an art store to buy you that spray paint in those particular colors,” he continued, “but I did as I’d heard to. I have to keep trusting my intuition. If I don’t, I won’t be true to myself. I’ll be lost. Taylor, I don’t like that it makes you feel exposed and vulnerable, but I also don’t want to back away. You’re…”
For the second time, she watched his face tense and listened to him tap his thigh. “I feel something with you—something stronger than I’ve ever felt for another woman. That might freak you out even more, but I have to say it all the same. Taylor, I’m so happy you’re here. After I finally calmed myself down last night, I could reconnect with the joy of you. How beautiful you are. How strong. How canny. And how you’re so very direct and honest about everything.”
His emotion ripped through her, and she could feel the rare burn of tears in her eyes. How was it this intense between them?
“I can’t be any other way either, Liam, but I do have secrets,” she confessed. “Important ones. For important reasons. Ones I don’t share with anyone. Ones…I don’t know if I ever will.”
The tapping on his thigh resumed. “Trust takes time, and I’m not asking for more than you can give right now. So… Can we simply go on a bike ride and maybe have some ice cream? Because I woke up smiling thinking about being with you today.”
She sucked in a breath to control the crazy emotional storm inside her. “I woke thinking about you too. Liam, last night and this morning—you were my happy thought.”
His throat moved with a feeling she recognized because she was filled with it herself. “I’m glad for that. Thank you for sharing it. I’d feared… Never mind, we’ve beaten that horse. Will you come for a ride then? If you have your license, I’ll even let you drive for a bit on an easy road. That’s something I’ve never done before.”
Because it was an act of trust. Which he was offering her. She stared at him across the short distance between them. Every line of his body was tight with emotion, yet the warmth in his eyes was still there. “That’s a pretty big deal for a guy. Letting a girl drive his ride.”
His mouth broke into a short smile, one she knew cost him. “As you say. But it’s your choice.”
