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I nod. “I just don’t want to bring attention on us in any way. What if Crew is really good at hockey? You know how it is with social media. I don’t want to be on Carter’s radar at all.”
“Shit, Skylar. You’re really freaked about Lewis, aren’t you?” He reaches forward and takes my hand in his.
“I am. He isn’t a good guy. Who pushes a woman who’s carrying your child to the ground and doesn’t look back? He knew I didn’t have any way to support myself. That I was alone. He’s also temperamental. I don’t see him having the patience that’s needed to raise a child.”
“Maybe that’s why he walked away. He knew he wasn’t up to the task, and he didn’t want to do that to a child of his. I’ve heard stories about the way he grew up, and they weren’t good.”
“I know,” I say. “His dad drank quite a bit. His mom wasn’t around. His dad would rough him up.”
“He told you?” Liam asks.
“Sometimes he’d open up to me.” I nod. “It’s what led us to become friends. We had similar backgrounds in a way, and we were both the odd poor kids attending a rich school.”
“Only, you’re kind and caring,” Liam adds.
“And Carter was influenced by his upbringing. I did everything in my power to get out of my shitty situation, and Carter was determined to make the same mistakes as his father,” I add and then I look off to the side.
“What is it?” Liam gently reaches forward and touches my chin. He moves me so I am looking at him.
“I worked so hard in high school. I made it to Brown, and I royally screwed up anyway, and I don’t mean because of Crew because that boy is my life. He taught me all about love and being there for someone unconditionally.”
“I think you’re amazing,” Liam says, surprising me. “You’re strong, resilient, smart. Crew is a great kid. To me, it looks like you’re winning.”
“How so?” I ask.
“Some guys think they have it all, but they’re lonely. They don’t have a purpose,” he reveals.
“Are you lonely?” I ask and swallow because this conversation has gotten deep.
“I thought all I needed was hockey to make me happy. Don’t get me wrong. I love what I do, but it doesn’t carry the same punch after a while. At the end of the day, my bed is cold and empty, and I don’t have a family to look forward to. In some ways, it feels like I’ve never had that kind of comfort, and it’s something I always craved. Something I thought we would eventually build together,” he confesses, and my heart cracks right down the middle.
“Oh, Liam.” Now it’s me reaching across the table to comfort him.
“I want to take you back to my place,” he says low and gravelly.
“Let’s go.”
We’ve finished eating, so he pays the bill, and we head out.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Liam
We head into my apartment. It’s much easier for Skylar to walk with her walking cast than with the plaster cast and crutches.
I take her coat and help her with her one booted foot. Then I sweep her off her feet.
“What are you doing?” She laughs.
“Not wasting time. I was thinking about us together the whole time I was gone,” I say, taking in her milky skin. Her warm green eyes. She smells like strawberries, spring, and second chances.
Her palm comes up to my face. “I like this version of you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“The teenage boy version of you was unsure and sad,” she clarifies.
“True, but we were also sneaking around. I was always worried about the Pattersons catching on to us. Now I don’t need to worry. I can make you scream as loud as I want, and no one will bother us.”
