She looked like she belonged. There, behind the island, cracking jokes with Will’s parents. It was unfathomable that a mere five days ago I had met her for the first time. It was hard to rationalize the feelings that had grown since that first meeting, but then again, I didn’t know anyone else who married two days after meeting someone and then proceeded to spend every single day with them from then on. Maybe we were on an accelerated path thanks to spending the last four days constantly together.
I watched them a moment longer, observing how Deb wrapped her arm around Tori and said something directly at her ear that caused her to turn her teasing grin toward Bob who held up his hands as if he’d been caught.
Were it not for the few crying faces at the table filled with Will portraits, you might think this was any occasion other than a funeral. But it was exactly how Will would have wanted his farewell to be: full of people who loved him, people who would remember him fondly, people who could tell stories and laugh despite the ache in their chest.
The pain would likely linger for all time, a spasm that I would never be able to reach. I supposed that it was better to grieve him, to have that piece of him in a way, than to have nothing else.
I lost sight of Tori and Will’s folks as I moved through the crowd, craning my neck over the dozens of bodies to see which way she went. But I came up empty.
“She went to the den,” Nicole said, pressing a beer into my hand as she passed me. “She’s in there with Bob.”
I mouthed ‘thanks’ because she had already moved far enough away that she couldn’t hear me over the other noise and made my way down the hallway, past more bodies, until I was in the den. Surprisingly, it was the only room in the house not absolutely crammed with bodies. Just the two, Bob and Tori, bent over looking at Bob’s computer, their backs to me. Tori was directing him to click a link, then to download something. I waited patiently just outside the threshold, watching as Tori walked him through a program I wasn’t familiar with.
“Thanks, Tori,” Bob said, scratching his head. “I tried to figure this out for weeks. Couldn’t even get a kid from the college to come out and help me—paid. Pain in the ass, I’ll tell you.”
“No problem,” Tori said with a smile. She turned and spied me in the doorway.
“Found you,” I said, appreciating the way she walked directly into my arms. She gave me a kiss that made me feel like we’d been apart for far longer than we had.
“You did.”
21
“Why are you up so early?” I asked in the pitch black of the morning. Liam was out of bed and getting dressed. At my question, he froze.
“I have to run home and load up the side-by-sides. I’ve still got the boat hitched to my truck.” He pulled a sock on. “And I’ve got to check on George.” He leaned over me, kissing me on my forehead. “Go back to sleep; it’s your day off.”
“Oh, no, don’t think you can tell me you’re going to see George and not expect me to want to come along to meet her.” Whipping the covers off of me, I stretched to look at the clock. It wasn’t too terribly early, but with the blackout curtains closed, it sure felt like nighttime. “I just need a minute or two. Brush my teeth, all that jazz.”
“Okay. Well, if we’re going out to the house you might want to bring your clothes for the day too. We can leave right from my house to meet the guys out in the desert, since you’re coming with.”
“Got it.” I yanked my last remaining pair of clean jean shorts on and pulled a tank top over my head.
“Where’s your hat?”
I snagged it from behind my suitcase and grabbed my purse. “Ready.”
“Just remember I’ve lived as a bachelor since I bought my house, okay?” he asked me as we rode the elevators down to the lobby.
“What does that mean? Do you live like a slob? Because I’ve seen the way you fold your clothes in your suitcase, and I find it really hard to believe that you have an actual junk drawer in your house.”
“You got me, no junk drawers. But what I mean is that it’s pretty sparse. I bought the house and put some furniture in it, but I wasn’t very mindful of decor, necessarily.”
“Function over looks,” I said, understanding immediately. I would be shocked if he didn’t have solid wood furniture—pieces that would last a few generations, at least. It was sensible, and Liam was the most sensible man I ever met.
“Exactly. Plus, I’m hardly home as it is. I travel so much that when I am home, I’m not too worried about filling it up with furniture that I’ll have to dust.”
I leaned over to him, putting my arm around his back. “Hey, Liam?”
“Yeah?” he asked, handing his tag to the valet.
“I don’t care about your house. I just want to meet George.”
Liam laughed easily, settled into my hold on him. “I guess I can accept that.”
Liam had been underselling his house when he had described it to me. Sure, from the outside it stood relatively unimpressive: a squat, four-bedroom ranch-style house with little to no landscaping. But inside was open and warm. The living room only had one sofa, a coffee table, and a television mounted on the wall, but it was homey. The kitchen boasted newer appliances and the counter tops were clutter-free.
He gave me a quick tour, showing the bedroom, two guest rooms, and a bedroom he had turned into his office. His office had been the most exciting room because in the corner, beat up and water-stained, stood a life-size cut out of Keanu Reeves.
“What?” Liam asked at my glee.
“You have Keanu! Deb was wondering where he ended up.” I pulled my phone out and handed it to him. “Can you take a photo of me and Keanu? My mom will die.”
He snapped a few and then we continued the tour.
As I expected, every single room was tidy. Even his dishwasher was empty. I knew, because I opened it—much to Liam’s amusement.
“I’m impressed,” I told him, looking in all the places I would expect dust to collect. “But where’s George?”
Liam opened the garage and then the door within the garage that led to the screened in porch outside. There, in the corner on a cat tower that rivaled any cat tower I had ever seen was a giant, fluffy furball of a cat.
“Hey, George,” Liam crooned, running his hand over George’s head. George stretched tall and pushed her head eagerly into Liam’s hands.
I dragged my hand over her head and down her back. “Oh, she’s so soft.”
“She needs to get brushed often or else her fur mats.” George climbed onto Liam’s shoulders and butted her head against his. “I know,” he told her. “I’m here.”
Ugh. My heart pinched. The cat looked so small in his arms, but he held her like she was fine china.
“Want to hold her?” He extended her to me.
Given her size, I expected her to weigh a solid twenty pounds. But she was light as a feather and she climbed right up onto my shoulder, resting her chin there like she had always done this.
“Do we have to go four-wheeling?” I joked, rocking side to side while George nuzzled my neck. Her purrs tickled and I knew I could be content spending the rest of the day snuggling her just like this. “I just want to curl up in your bed and cuddle her.”
He laughed and tucked his hands in his pockets. “Without a doubt, I would prefer that. Especially the part about you being curled up in my bed.”
I leaned into him, feeling—for the first time in a long time—absolutely content. Everything with Liam was so effortless, so natural. Like we had always existed in one another’s orbits—not like we were strangers just a week ago.
His arms came around me and we stood on the deck, just rocking back and forth.
So many exes of mine had made me feel like I was too much. I teased their friends too much. I had too much of a shady past—not even knowing the truth of it like Liam did. I was too flirtatious. I had too many wild moments. I was too loud; an embarrassment. But not once had Liam made me feel like I was too much of anything. He laug
hed when I told him about my past shenanigans. He listened when I spoke my mind. He told me I was right. He challenged me. He invited me into his life, introduced me to his friends, and brought me into his home. And not once had I been made to feel like I was not enough.
If anything, it terrified me how well we worked together. It hadn’t yet been a week since we met, and I felt closer to him than any guy I’d ever dated. Maybe because he made it so easy for me to be myself, so easy that I didn’t second guess myself. He wasn’t like James, who insinuated I was a slut, an irresponsible adult, any number of negative things. He wasn’t like my dad, who treated me as if I was still his fragile little girl. He wasn’t like most of my friends, who pegged me as unserious and crazy and uncontrolled. Liam knew my darkest shame and embraced who I was, where I was. I couldn’t say that for anyone else in my life.
That realization rocked me to my core, sending a hot flash of recognition through me. What the fuck was this? Had I really and truly caught feelings for my fake husband? I looked down at my hand on his chest, the silver band glittering defiantly at me, like it knew all along.
Well, this wouldn’t do. I was the breaker of hearts, not the one clutching its shattered pieces. I’d been there before and had no desire to return to that place. Blindsided by this unnamed emotion, I gave Liam what I hoped was a steady smile. “We should probably get going.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, taking George from my arms.
“Yeah,” I told him, realizing just how untrue that answer was. Thank God we weren’t playing truth or dare. “Totally.”
Liam unloaded the two side-by-sides out in the middle of nowhere, among miles and miles of sand dunes. Well, to me it was the middle of the nowhere. But Chad, Naomi, Seth, Nicole, and Vince had all found it just fine.
“I call driving,” Vince said, hopping into one the minute it was detached.
Chad and Liam exchanged a look and Chad nodded. “Naomi and I will ride with Vince. You guys can take the other one.”
Thankful, I turned to Liam with a wide grin. “Who’s driving?”
Liam held up the keys. “You want to?”
Of course I wanted to. “I’ve never driven one of these before though.”
“You never do until you do,” he said and tossed them my way. “Seth and I will ride in the backseat.”
Nicole climbed into the seat beside the driver and Seth turned to me. “Precious cargo in the front, okay? So, don’t crash.”
We pulled helmets on and I turned to Liam. “Okay, Mr. Risk Assessor. What’s the risk with riding these?”
Liam snapped on his helmet and then grasped the buckle under my chin. “Well, rollovers happen sometimes. You could be crushed or tossed. There’s actually a lot of danger with ATVs and UTVs.”
I fanned my face. “Wow, you’re so hot when you talk about risks.”
Laughing, he snapped the buckle under my chin and tapped the front of my helmet. “That’s why we wear these.”
“I’m surprised you own two of these side-by-sides, considering their inherent risks.”
“Well, Will was always driving out to California to ride ATVs because he could get a cheaper rental there. I thought if I bought one, we would spend more time together here, when I was in town. I couldn’t keep doing our twice-yearly friend trips, not with my unpredictable work schedule, so I thought I’d bring some adventure home. And then Chad and Naomi got together, so Will and I split the purchase on that second one.” He pointed to the one Vince was starting. “We just don’t use them enough, now that everyone has scattered.”
He bought this vehicle in order to spend more time with his friend. Knowing Liam, the thoughtfulness didn’t surprise me. But it still touched me that he did it at all. I loved my friends, but I couldn’t imagine plunking down thousands of dollars just to spend time with them.
“You got this,” Nicole said, buckling in. Seth sat in the seat directly behind me and Liam sat behind her. He showed me how to start the vehicle and taught me the basics of operating it.
“You sure you trust me to drive this?” I asked him. Excitement thrummed through me but knowing that this wasn’t just like driving a car on a paved road gave me pause.
“Yes.”
His one-word answer, again, fluttered through me. He trusted me. I mean, I knew he did on some level. But he trusted me behind the wheel of a vehicle I’d never driven before. He was either out of his mind, or completely with it. I didn’t know which scared me more.
But it turned out that I had psyched myself up for nothing. The dunes weren’t as difficult to navigate as I’d expected, and Liam coached me through driving up and over them. Nicole squealed the whole time, giving me the confidence I needed to go faster when I might have gone slow.
There was something about driving a fast vehicle like this in such a wide-open space. There were no speed limits, no road constraints, no traffic lights forcing us to comply. It was just us and the dunes and it was exhilarating.
We stopped for lunch near where Liam had parked his truck and ate sandwiches that Chad and Naomi had picked up at a shop. We shared a few bags of chips as we sat on the side-by-sides or in the back of the truck. Nicole told me about her job as a social worker, and how she was working on getting her masters. When the topic of my job came up, I told her what I’d told Liam, about feeling aimless.
“I think that’s normal,” she said. “I don’t even know if social work is something I want to—or can do—forever. It’s hard work. Some people aren’t meant to do one job for the rest of their lives.”
I felt seen by her remark.
“She helped Bob out with his computer last night,” Liam said. He raised his sandwich to me. “Maybe you could do something like that.”
“Oh, for sure,” Nicole said enthusiastically. “Think of how many seniors jump to technology to stay in touch with their loved ones, only to feel overwhelmed by it. You could help them out. Teach them.”
“I don’t know,” I said. The idea was intriguing. “I’m not a very patient person.”
“Says who?” Liam asked, jumping off the back of the truck and coming closer. “I’ve seen nothing but patience from you.”
I looked at him quizzically.
“You want examples? Fine. That Katy person—seems like it would take a saint to put up with her whining, and you did without telling her off. And knowing how easily Bob is confused—like with his grill—it takes a lot of patience to walk him through the steps to figure something out like you did.”
“I just don’t think I’m a good teacher.”
“You’re already teaching,” Liam replied.
Okay, well, he had me there. “I don’t know,” I repeated. “I just wouldn’t know where to start with that.”
Nicole took a swig from her water bottle and then pointed it at me. “Look into some workforce training classes. A lot of colleges offer night classes to adults who want to brush up on their language or cooking or technological skills.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Liam butted in. “And I know for a fact that our community college is always hiring workforce training instructors.”
Too late, Liam realized what he had just said. So did everyone else, as silence fell around us. Liam and I had agreed not to talk about where we were going after this week ended, but there it hung on the periphery anyway.
“I’m sure colleges back in Idaho offer it too,” Liam added to break the silence.
“Did you bring any beer?” Vince asked, lifting up the lids of Liam’s and Seth’s coolers. The distraction was a welcome one, but I could see the frustration on Seth’s face almost instantly.
“Nope,” Liam said, chugging his water bottle. “There are some waters though. You should hydrate. It gets hot as hell out here.”
“I’ve had plenty of water,” Vince said, but I hadn’t seen him drink from anything except the new stainless-steel water bottle—which matched the one he had nearly pegged Nicole with—and somehow, I doubted its contents were water and
water alone.
Nicole offered a chip to Seth. “Eat this,” she said, breaking the tension in his shoulders. “It’s okay,” she added, so quietly that I was sure only he and I could hear. But Seth looked at her like it was not okay. They exchanged several long looks before Seth turned and gave a similar one to Liam.
“Naomi and Chad shouldn’t be riding with him if he’s drinking,” Seth said under his breath. Vince was still digging through coolers as if Liam had lied to him.
“Should we head back?” Nicole said, still quiet enough that Vince wouldn’t be able to hear.
Liam nodded and turned to Chad, communicating wordlessly that the trip to the desert was over. It seemed unfair that one person was ruining it for everyone else, but there were no easy solutions to this problem. I could see the agitation in Vince’s shoulders as he came up empty handed. He would likely insist on driving the side-by-side again, with who knows how much alcohol in his system, and it wasn’t far for anyone to have to share that vehicle.
“I gotta head back,” Liam said, looking at his phone like he was reading a message. “Work calls.” Everyone except Vince took this easily and began picking up our trash and bottles.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Vince asked, causing the rest of us to freeze.
“Sorry.” Liam tucked his phone in his pocket and straightened.
“What the fuck was the point of coming all the way out here, only to spend a few hours on the dunes?” Vince’s dark eyes were black, and his body turned red from sun or from anger—I didn’t know which—but he was a scary sight to behold.
“Sorry,” Liam repeated. “It’s my job. I have to head back. And since it’s my truck—”
“You’re pathetic,” Vince spat. “Always bailing on all of us. The boring one. Boring Liam Best.”
One Little Dare Page 18