AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Doing the same now, I see it matches.What the hell?
I don’t understand why he would have this since I lost it when I was fourteen or fifteen, away at camp—an offense that devastated my parents and got me grounded for an exorbitant amount of time. It was a fatal mistake because I had spent months asking to attend that camp, and that transgression guaranteed I’d never go again.
My pulse thumps in my eye sockets and temples and ears as I wonder what else Wells has left out, but I bury that thought. I’m sure there’s a simple explanation. We’ve been through too much to leap to conclusions.
I stack some empty suitcases to stand on, return all the boxes to their rightful spots, and jump down, the necklace still in my hand, twirling in circles. Undecided. Finally, I mosey into the bathroom, pull out my makeup bag, and stick the necklace in an inside pocket—for safekeeping and easy access later. I’ll ask Wells about it tonight.
Banishing the uneasy feeling swarming my stomach, I pluck the keys off the dresser and scurry out to find Liam, his arms crossed and snickering.
“Not a word,” I snap.
He holds up surrendering hands and follows me to the garage. Once I’m seated in the driver’s seat, windows down in spite of the chill, Liam grinning ear to ear, my only thoughts are about freedom and the wind flapping my hair. We buy a plentiful stash of the warmest, gooiest, coziest doughnuts in existence, along with two lattes—pumpkin for me—and stop at a nearby park to enjoy them.
The mid-afternoon sun is peeking out from behind the gray clouds, a snug golden blanket enveloping our snack break. The autumn perfection keeps beckoning my mind to drift into dandelion dreams—damp earth and yeast and pumpkin spice floating on the breeze—but Liam is an agitator, bugging me with a childlike nagging to stay present. In his defense, his phone is lying on the table, but he hasn’t touched it, offering me his full attention. So, I return it.
We’re perched side by side at a picnic table, giggling like kids over the fact that we’re eating far too many of these delicacies. If we don’t stop, there won’t be any left to take home—a crime against Gage, which is punishable by slow torture, surely resulting in death.
“Thanks for giving me your afternoon, High Society.” Liam is straddling the bench beside me, and I can feel his arrogant twinkle on my face.
I knock him in the ribs with my elbow. “Seriously, Liam? You didn’t have to bribe me with sugar and your sweet ride to spend time with you, but this was amazing.” My mouth twitches into a gratified beam as I think about the drive here. “I really opened her up, right?”
“You sure did.” He chuckles, wrapping a friendly arm around my waist for a tickling pinch. “And you looked good doing it—sodainty.”
That earns a scowl from me, so I turn to share my glower, and a cinnamon-sugar doughnut smashes into my mouth as he howls.
I shake my head like a bulldog biting into a steak, tuck my chin back, and attempt to chew while laughing and shoving the other half into his mouth, crushing it so the granules of cinnamon and sugar disappear inside his golden scruff.
“You should know better than to mess with me,” I quip as he smirks and scrubs his hand over his stubble.
We both breathe for a beat, swallowing the remainder of our desecrated treats. He reaches over and dusts my wind-chilled nose. “You’ve got a little something”—he circles his finger around my face—“right … there.”
“What? Here?” I point at my pouted lips, coated in the powdery grains, and cross my eyes with a teasing giggle.
And I lose my damn breath because his hand glides over my cheek at the same time his mouth presses into mine, his sweet and smoky fragrance invading my nostrils as my heart pounds against my sternum.
My hands move to his chest, shoving him away. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Jesus, Wells is going to fuck him up for that.
Blood rushes to my face, heating me with equal measures of fury, terror, and sadness.
He scratches his chin, a stunned expression on his face, and a haunting ache pangs in my chest. Maybe he got swept up in the moment. This is Liam. I should give him the benefit of the doubt. My mind says that, but my lungs have forgotten how to function. He’s not saying anything, and I’ve never seen Liam speechless, so I try a different approach.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Not really.” He puffs a breath, his messy dirty-blond locks fluttering with the wind, and my heart plummets to my stomach.
Liam’s emotions wreck me, partly because I know his rocky childhood shaped him far more than he’d like. He’s more fragile than he lets on, but there isn’t anywhere to share that—not when he works so hard to be the quick-witted bad boy who isn’t fazed by anything. This probably has nothing to do with me and everything to do with him feeling lonely or something. I can’t imagine how hurtful it was to be shuffled from family to family, never feeling chosen.
His eyes land on me. “Sometimes, I wonder if things would’ve been different if I’d met you first.”
Fuck. Not expecting that.
My stomach knots, but he’s obviously dealing with something. He’s the one who told me I belonged with Wells back in September, so none of this makes sense. Wells would be furious that I’m not decking him, but I also know he loves Liam like a brother. I’m not going to shut him out. We have to work through this so I have a positive spin to offer my husband.
“What do you mean?” Despite the stress, I try to keep my tone gentle.
“You and Wells are amazing together, but we could’ve been—”
