“Are you ready for your speech?” she asked.
“As ready as I’m going to be.” He shook his head. “It’s not even the speech that’s making me nervous. Its just being back in that work setting.” He turned to her, his voice serious. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot to have someone here in my corner.”
“You’ve got Xander and Callie too.” They were arriving later that afternoon.
“It’s not the same as having you with me.”
She felt her cheeks turn pink. Although she’d tried to justify that her reason for coming was a paid vacation to New York City, she knew that wasn’t true. She couldn’t leave Liam out to dry, especially when he’d looked so vulnerable in the car, asking her to come with him.
Something had changed during the chocolate tour, and instead of wanting to avoid him, she found herself searching out any time she could be with him. He must have felt the same, because he’d come to the theater every day that week. Sometimes he read a novel—he said he’d read more books since coming to Eureka Springs than in the last ten years combined—and sometimes he’d climb up the scaffolding and sit beside her. They would talk about everything—embarrassing moments, their childhoods, what their favorite foods were, what they believed about life and death. It was the perfect blend of serious and lightheartedness that Viola had always craved in her conversations.
Now, in New York City, she felt as though she were seeing another side to him again. This one jittery and nervous, but also full of anticipation.
She squeezed his hand. “Show me your favorite place here.”
“Hmmm. Right in this spot with you.” He tugged her close to his side and kissed her temple, making shivers run through her.
She playfully shoved at his chest to cover how breathless her laugh sounded. “Where’s your second favorite place, then?”
He grinned, but it lacked the mischievousness that his grin always had in Eureka Springs. “It’s going to sound really cliche, but Central Park.”
“I am all about cliche things while in New York, Liam. I want to see the Empire State Building, the Museum of Modern Art, and Times Square.”
“Well, we have one day.”
“And my day is in your hands, tour guide. Lead on.”
They stopped at a fountain in Central Park, Liam standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him, loving the feel of his strong arms around her. How could this be her life? In Central Park. With an amazing, handsome man who hadn’t run for the hills. A quiet voice poked at her, but she pushed that doubting voice aside. Today, she wasn’t going to stress about the future but live fully in the present, and that included just being with Liam.
“I’ve been to New York City more times than I can count,” he said. “I have an apartment here, even. But it’s like I’m experiencing it for the first time again, being here with you.”
She twisted in his arms so she could see his face. “Why are we staying in a hotel if you have an apartment here?”
“I wanted to stay where everyone else was. I knew you wouldn’t be comfortable staying at my apartment …” He lifted a brow in question, and she nodded in confirmation.
“Thank you for thinking of that.” On a whim, she pushed up on her toes and quickly pressed her lips to his. When she pulled back, his eyes had been lit with a fire.
He ran his hand over her cheek. “I can’t believe we’re here together.”
“Me neither.”
“Thank you for giving me another chance.”
“You’re not apologizing again for Hawaii, are you? Because I have to draw the line somewhere.”
“I’ll never stop apologizing for being an idiot.” He hugged her tighter to his chest and warmth filled her up. “I can’t believe how lucky I am. To be here, with you? I never imagined this could happen.”
She hadn’t either. Some part of her wondered if she and Liam only worked when they were both away from their work and responsibilities, but she decided that for today, it didn’t matter.
And with that decision made, she pushed up on her toes to kiss him again. He slid his fingers through her hair to hold the back of her head and deepen the kiss. Even though the park was in constant motion with people, it felt like they were the only two people in all of New York, locked together in fiery bursts of emotion and attraction. Something swelled up in Viola’s heart, filling her to the brim with warmth and happiness.
Was this love?
She couldn’t be in love with Liam. They hadn’t known each other long enough. It was too soon.
Yet what else could this be?
He pulled back a few inches, searching her eyes for something. He smiled softly, kissed her again and again, murmuring, “I think I’m dreaming.”
She wasn’t sure if she was meant to hear that or not, but she buried her nose in his shoulder.
“Me too,” she whispered.
Liam did his tour guide duties exceptionally well for the short amount of time they had. They finished walking a path through Central Park, a new intimacy between them as they held hands and stole kisses in every moment they could. They saw the Empire State Building from a distance and went into the Museum of Modern Art for about two hours. Viola could have spent two days there. Coming back to New York City was going to need to be a top priority for her.
But as the day went on, Liam grew quieter and quieter, and Viola suspected it was anticipation for the night to come. He’d confided in her, one evening when they’d had dinner together on the scaffolding, that he was nervous about having another panic attack.
“Panicking about panicking,” he’d said, laughing derisively.
But it made complete sense to her. It had happened once, and not only had he been embarrassed, but it had sent his entire life in an unexpected tailspin. Who wouldn’t be worried about that happening again?
What he needed was a distraction.
“How much time do we have left before we need to get ready?” she asked him. The sun had slipped behind the tall buildings, and the air grew cooler with every moment.
“It depends on how much time you need. The car will be at the hotel to pick us up at seven-thirty tonight and its five-thirty now.” He looked at her regretfully. “We won’t have time to take in Times Square.”
“That’s okay.”
He frowned. “What if we do it after the banquet? It’s magical at night.”
And get to spend even more time with Liam? “Sounds like a date.”
He smiled and she smiled back goofily, until someone jostled her from behind, and they started moving again. She checked her watch. She’d need about an hour to get ready for the event that night, and they needed time to walk back to the hotel and get up to their rooms, which gave her thirty minutes. That was all the time she’d need.
“I’ve got an idea.” She tugged him in the direction of a store they’d passed when they’d first arrived in New York City.
“What idea?”
She stopped walking and turned to him very seriously. “It has been brought to my attention that you have terrible taste in chocolate.”
“Really.” It looked as though he were trying to hold back a smile. She loved seeing some of the nervousness fall off of him.
“Yes, indeed. It’s a sad state of affairs.”
“So what do you have in mind?”
“Your very own chocolate tour, curated by me.”
A little bit of the worry eased in the lines around his eyes as they took on an amused glint. “I’m game.”
“Excellent.”
They approached a corner market with neon beer signs on every available space in the windows. A bell on the door jingled as they walked in, and she took him straight to the candy section. There, she grabbed one of every single chocolate bar, making him laugh out loud.
He held up a Reese’s. “Can this really be counted as chocolate? It’s at least 50% peanut butter.”
“Peanut butter enhances the flavor the chocolate,” she said
in her most serious, chocolate-connoisseur tone. “Changes the flavor from, say, a chocolate mixed with caramel—”
“Or chocolate mixed with wafers?”
“Exactly. Each mix-in really amplifies certain undertones of the chocolate. You’ll see.” She threw him a cheeky smile. “But we need a base chocolate, one to compare them all to, which happens to be the most heavenly of chocolates produced.” She snagged a Hershey’s bar to put on the top.
“Now you’ve gone too far.” Liam led the way to the register. “Hershey’s is little more than chocolate-flavored wax.”
“Perhaps to some misdirected individuals. But to everyone else, we know there’s nothing better than a Hershey’s bar in one hand, a Diet Coke in the other, with the latest Gavin Stone movie on the television.”
“Trade out Hershey’s for imported Belgium chocolate, Diet Coke for full-sugar Coke, add in you and me holding hands while we watch Gavin Stone, and you just described my perfect night.”
She liked the sound of that very much. Was that a life he could ever have, though? With everything he had awaiting him at the end of this break, it seemed impossible to imagine a quiet night in together.
The cashier didn’t even bat an eye as they bought over twenty candy bars, a package of napkins, and two water bottles. They found a bench to sit at and set the bag between them. She loved that Liam jumped right in to trying a bite of every single candy bar. He’d move it around in his mouth, talk about the cacao undertones—“This one is nutty; it’s probably the nuts”—take a swig of water, and try the next.
“We’re going to be too full for dinner,” Viola said as they were finishing up.
“Worth it. In some cases.” Liam had a discard pile, with his least favorite, the Hershey’s bar topping the list. “Okay, my favorite is definitely the Reese’s, which I already suspected, but through this thorough taste testing, it was confirmed. The surprise stand-out to me was the Almond Joy. I’ve never had one before, and though the chocolate was minimal, it really did help showcase the coconut.”
“How have you never had an Almond Joy? That’s like a trick-or-treating staple.”
He shrugged. “Our neighborhoods were all about artisan candy and little toys.”
Ah, the rich neighborhoods.
“Well, the surprise stand-out for me was the KitKat. I haven’t had one in probably a decade, and it had a delightful crunch.”
She looked up from her piles of candy bars to find Liam watching her. “Thank you for doing this.”
“What? Getting you hopped up on sugar right before you’re supposed to go on stage?” she joked.
“No. Being here like this. Distracting me. Introducing me to things like the Almond Joy bar.” He leaned forward over their piles of candy, and she leaned to meet him halfway. He tasted sweet like chocolate, and she knew she’d never get enough of him.
“I change my mind,” he murmured, his lips still close to hers.
“About what?”
“The chocolate I taste on you is my favorite flavor.”
She smiled as their lips met again.
Chapter 16
Liam pulled at the cuffs of his tux as he stood in the lobby of the luxurious hotel Fiona had booked for them. A handful of people had glanced sideways at him and Xander as if realizing that the two men looked familiar, but no one approached, thank goodness.
“How are you feeling?” Xander asked quietly.
“Fine,” Liam said tersely.
“I could have given the speech,” Xander replied. “It’s not worth all this stress.”
Liam softened. It wasn’t Xander’s fault that Liam had agreed to come, nor was it his fault that Fiona insisted that Liam had to make an appearance. A prominent one.
“You hate speaking in public.”
“I do,” he conceded. “Perhaps I could have written down the speech and distributed it to everyone to read.”
That made Liam laugh. “Next time.” He gripped his little brother on the shoulder for a moment. “But I really am doing okay.” For now.
The elevator dinged, and both brothers looked up to see Callie and Viola walk out of it.
Liam’s heart completely stopped beating when he saw Viola. Her long auburn hair had been pulled half-up, and the curls that remained tumbled halfway down her back. She wore a flowing dress in a blue so deep, it was the color of the night sky just before dawn. A long, charcoal coat hung from her arm, and he helped her into it after she approached.
“You look incredible,” he told her, his mouth close to her ear, his heart racing as tendrils of her hair brushed against his chin.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she replied, turning to face him, her eyes caught intently in his.
The elevator dinged again, and this time their mother stepped out of it. She seemed even older now than the last time he saw her. Her hair was dyed brown and cut short, as always, but she seemed to be moving slower, and there was a weariness around her eyes that he hadn’t recalled seeing before. He resolved to do better at staying in touch with her. As he had learned so painfully with his dad, she would not be around forever.
Xander stepped forward to kiss their mom’s cheek, followed by Callie, who clasped her hand, and then Liam, who gave her a hug. “It’s good to see you,” she said.
“You too, Mom.”
“And who is this?” she asked, indicating Viola.
“Viola Nightingdale,” she replied with a friendly smile. She stepped forward and took his mother’s outstretched hand.
“Ah, so you’re the young lady who has caught my son’s eye. Callie’s childhood friend, correct?”
Liam lifted an eyebrow at Xander, who had the decency to look abashed. It appeared that his little brother had been keeping more in touch with their mother than he had.
“She was worried about you,” Xander murmured while their mom asked Viola what she did for a living.
“She could have called me.”
“And you could have called her.”
Liam conceded that fact with a nod. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to call his mom, it was that he hadn’t really thought of it. He needed to change that going forward.
“Ready?” Xander asked the group. “There’s a car outside for us.”
They walked outside to where a driver stood, waiting for them.
Viola leaned close to Liam, and he inhaled her fresh scent. “By car, he meant limo, I assume.”
“What else would it be?” Liam smirked, and she nudged him gently with her elbow. The driver opened the door to the black, stretch limo, and the party of five climbed into the back of it.
The memorial event was being held in a luxurious banquet hall near Central Park. Conversation swirled around Liam, but he stared out the window, mindfully working on calming his nerves. He wasn’t nervous about the event, necessarily—he’d been to thousands of events and never had problems talking to people—but he was worried about being in public after last time’s debacle.
A cool hand slipped into his and squeezed his fingers. He looked over at Viola, who was telling his mom about the theater restoration, making everyone laugh with her rendition of throwing Liam’s phone down the vent.
“I like this one,” his mom said, making even Liam laugh this time, despite the tightening twist in his stomach as they got closer and closer. He held on to Viola’s hand, grateful she’d agreed to come with him. He couldn’t imagine facing this first public appearance without her.
Sooner than he would have liked, they arrived at the banquet hall. Liam helped Viola from the limo and then his mother. Each woman took an arm, and he led them inside.
It had been decorated to the nines in honor of his father. It took his breath away to see a photo gallery across one wall with pictures of his father, starting from when he was a young boy and then continuing onward through Liam and Xander’s childhoods, Pets and More through the years, and finally, some from the last year of his life.
“Did they get these from you?” he asked his mother
.
“Some of them,” she replied, her gaze also glued to the wall. “There are a few I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.”
The group drifted to the wall to get a closer look, and Liam’s mom slid out of his arm so she could go at her own pace.
“This is your dad?” Viola looked back and forth between pictures of his dad when he was was about Liam’s age, and Liam. “Wow, you could be twins, a generation apart.”
Liam smiled. “That’s what I’ve heard.” He studied the picture of his dad, one arm around each of his sons, smiling proudly at the camera. “I can’t believe it’s almost been a year.”
“A lot’s happened this year.”
“It really has.”
They moved on to the next picture, and Liam found himself relaxing more and more with every story he told Viola about his childhood. Viola laughed when he told her about the lemonade stand he’d opened when he was about eight years old. His dad had made him draft a business plan before he’d invest the money Liam needed for supplies. “It probably amounted to, maybe, five dollars total for the lemonade mix, cups, and poster board for fliers. Dad wanted to make sure he got a return on his investment, including interest.
“That’s hard core,” Viola said.
“I made forty bucks,” he replied.
Her jaw dropped, making him laugh. “The most I made at those things was like a dollar fifty. And my only customers were my grandma’s friends, who I suspect she called to come over and buy from me.”
“I had a good business plan.” Liam smiled at the memory. His dad had definitely set him up for business success. He was a man who always kept moving, though, and in Liam’s attempt to keep up with him, he’d burned out. “He never slowed down.”
“And that’s partly why he died so young,” his mom replied. Liam hadn’t even realized that his mom had come to stand beside them again. “I’ve always hated that lemonade story, you know. You and your dad loved to tell it at parties, but it made me so angry at the time.”
“Why?” Liam asked, surprised. It was one of his fondest memories of his dad, and he thought his mom found it humorous too.
Her Billionaire Heartthrob: Billionaire Bachelor Mountain Cove Page 9