“Okay. I guess. What time?”
Angela finished the call, clicking the phone shut, a smile on her lips.
“I’m not going to be here?” Her father’s voice was reproachful.
She looked up at her father in surprise. “Oh, well. He’s a little gun shy. If I told him my father wanted to talk to him, I don’t think he’d have agreed to stop by.”
Angela stood, crossing the few steps toward her father. “Dad, it’s okay. Liam’s a good guy. Trust me. He’s been through a lot…more than anyone I’ve ever met, but I don’t think I should be the one to tell you. Liam’s…he’s private. And his life is his to tell, not mine.”
She wrapped her arms around her father, felt him hug her close.
“Angela, I trust your judgment…”
“But?”
“I haven’t actually said I’d offer him a job. You’re assuming because you think you have me wrapped around your little finger that I’m going to do as you say.”
She looked up at him, saw the teasing look in his eyes. “You’re going to think about it though, right? Please?”
She gave him her best smile, the one that he said made her dimples appear. She heard him sigh, saw the slight roll of his eyes beneath raised brows and she knew she had him.
She hugged him hard. “Thanks, Dad. It really means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome. But will it mean the same to Liam?”
* * *
Angela fidgeted and paced in her room for the rest of the afternoon, managed to sit through dinner and then resumed pacing through the house. Her father finally banished her from the study, closing the door behind her.
The doorbell rang at eight o’clock. The doorman had been told to expect Liam and to let him up to the apartment. Sophie was heading down the hall for the door, but Angela ran ahead, almost knocking the woman over.
“Angela! Slow down.” Sophie stopped, hands on her hips.
“Sorry, Sophie.” Angela opened the door, breathless as she greeted Liam.
“Hey…” She grabbed his hand, pulling him into the foyer.
“You remember Sophie? Did you meet her? Anyway, Sophie, this is Liam. Liam, Sophie.”
“Hi, Sophie.” Liam barely had the words out before Angela was pulling him down the hall to the study.
“Hey, Angela…don’t I rate a kiss?” He stopped abruptly, pulling against her hand and spinning her around into his arms.
“Oh…yeah.” She let him pull her against him, his lips finding hers. He held her for a moment, the restlessness replaced by the joy of being in his arms.
There was a not-so-discrete cough behind Angela. Liam pulled away, stepping back from Angela. She held his hand, feeling the tension in his grip, as if he wanted to bolt back down the hall. Her father was in the hallway, his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose.
“Hello, Mr. Reynolds.” Angela had never heard Liam’s voice sound so formal. It was odd to hear the stilted quality and it made her uneasy.
“Hello, Liam. Would you like to come in, have a drink? We can…talk.”
Angela pulled Liam forward, trying to ignore the questioning look on his face.
“Sure, Dad. We’d love to.” She tugged Liam’s hand and he reluctantly followed her into the study.
“Anything you’d like? Soda, wine…beer?”
“A beer would be great.” Liam was standing in the doorway, scowling at Angela, myriad questions flitting across his features.
Angela pulled Liam toward the loveseat while her father poured himself a drink. “Here, sit. I’ll go get a beer from the kitchen.”
She flew down the hall, grabbing a beer from the refrigerator, colliding again with Sophie.
“Miss Angela…”
“Sorry…” Angela’s apology was tossed over her shoulder as she hurried back down the hall.
She arrived rather breathlessly back in the study, took a deep breath and handed the beer to Liam. She dropped down beside him on the loveseat, taking his free hand.
“Liam, Angela’s been telling me a bit about your…situation.” Angela felt Liam squeeze her hand, not an entirely friendly gesture.
“I’m not sure what she’s told you…”
“About your fighting…career, is it? She’s quite impressed with whatever it is you’ve told her. I have to be honest, I’m not quite clear on what it is you do, or are planning on doing. But, I trust Angela’s judgment in most things and she seems to think you have promise.”
Angela smiled at her father. She knew he was trying at least to not be dismissive. She only hoped Liam would try just as hard to be receptive.
“I’ve got a proposition for you, Liam. I have an opening at one of my restaurants, nothing fancy. Entry level all the way. If you’re interested, I’d like to offer you the position. You’d have the time during the day to devote to your…to whatever you need to accomplish this…goal. The hours are strictly evening…actually quite late on some evenings.”
Angela had been watching Liam’s face. He’d gone from wary to confused to something that resembled hostility. And then his face closed, that impassive look she’d seen at the party descending. She squeezed his hand again and he turned to her.
“Angela, did you put your father up to giving me a job?”
“I asked him if he would consider hiring you.”
“And I haven’t actually given you anything, Liam. I’m offering. You need to accept if this is to happen.”
“And then what? Am I your charity case? Your feel good for the week?”
Angela thought she could hear the anger in Liam’s voice but there was a desperate edge that sounded like fear. Or his wounded pride.
“Liam,” she said softly. “It’s not like that.” She tugged on his hand. His face remained turned away.
“Look at me. I heard what Frank said today, about the gym fees. I know if you can’t pay, you can’t train.”
She saw a flash of real anger this time in his blue eyes as he finally looked at her.
“And I know that would kill you.”
She could feel him trying to pull his hand out of hers.
“I know how much you hate to admit you need help, but I think you do. And we…I mean, my dad…has offered you something that might help.”
Liam was silent, his lips set in that stubborn way Angela had come to recognize either meant an argument or that he had shut down completely. She had hoped for a discussion or even an argument rather than a closed, silent Liam. But her father interrupted her thoughts.
“You know, Liam, you remind me of myself at your age. Stubborn, not willing to take a handout. But I’ll tell you something. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t accepted help when it was offered. And this isn’t a handout. It’s a hand offering help. You’ll have to work…this isn’t a free ride.”
Liam looked down at the bottle in his hands, picking at the label with his thumbnail. He finally looked up at Angela’s father. Angela saw a resigned look on Liam’s face.
“Alright. I’ll take the job.” He rose, walked across the room and offered his hand to her father.
Her father rose, accepting Liam’s outstretched hand. “Thank you, Mr. Reynolds. I appreciate the offer.”
Angela watched Liam, his posture stiff. She had a moment of doubt, that this wasn’t the right thing to have done, but it was too late now. It hurt to see Liam looking as if he had been backed into a corner. She rose, standing behind Liam, taking his hand into hers. The tension in his grip was evident and she felt him squeezing her fingers.
“Here, this is the name of the restaurant and who you’ll ask for. Be there tomorrow at five o’clock. Dinner service ends at eleven. You’ll be working till at least one o’clock…most nights.” He handed Liam a slip of paper who glanced at it before shoving it into his pocket.
“Like I said Liam, this isn’t a hand out. You’ll have to work. No special treatment.”
“I understand. Thanks.” Liam’s voice was emotionless.
Li
am was squeezing her fingers harder now, making her wince. “Liam, I think we have plans, right? We don’t want to be late.”
As she pulled Liam toward the door, she nodded at her father, a sign of her gratitude.
Liam stalked toward the front door, disengaging her hand along the way.
“Wait.” Angela trotted to catch up with him. “Where did you want to go?”
He turned, his eyes hard. Angela stopped short.
“Out of here, for one thing. Then we can decide.” Liam pulled the door open, heading for the elevator. Angela looked around wildly for her purse, grabbed it off the foyer table, slamming the door closed behind her.
“Liam…you have to know…”
The elevator was waiting, the doors sliding open silently.
“Know what?” He was in the elevator, angrily smashing the button for the lobby with his thumb.
“Know that you did something behind my back? That you feel sorry for me? That you think I can’t take care of myself. And you put me in a really uncomfortable situation with your father.”
The doors finally closed and he turned to her. “Angela, I’m trying really hard to be patient with you…with this. But you’ve crossed a line here…” He took a deep breath, but the elevator chimed for the lobby level
The elevator doors slid open and Liam strode across the lobby, pushing the doors to the street open, not holding them for Angela. The doorman started to say something, moving toward the closing doors. She ignored him, pushing them open herself, following Liam onto the sidewalk.
“Liam, slow down. Stop.” She grabbed his arm.
“Listen, please. I know I should have asked you first…but I wanted to know if my father would offer you something before I said anything to you. I didn’t want to get your hopes up and then have him say no.”
Liam had stopped on the sidewalk, turning to Angela.
“You should have asked me…said something. You can’t spring something like this on somebody and not expect them…me to be upset.” He turned, walking down the walk, but at a pace Angela could match.
“Do you understand I was trying to help?” She slid her arm though his.
She heard him exhale sharply. “Yeah, I get that. I do. But…”
“What?”
“I don’t take charity. I don’t want to be someone’s project. Someone called me that the other night at that party. And I don’t want to be that. I want to be…”
“Be what? Liam, what do you want?”
He stopped, turning again to Angela. “I want us…to be on equal footing, equal in whatever this is between us.” He waved his hand.
“Now, I feel like I owe you something…I’m in your debt. Or your father’s.” He shook his head.
“And that just complicates everything. Links us in a way I’m not comfortable with.” He started walking again.
Angela could feel the tension leaving Liam’s body, his posture relaxing. He took her hand finally, winding his fingers through hers.
“I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t think…”
They walked in silence for a few blocks, up past the Museum. The night was cool and Angela wished she’d grabbed a sweater.
“Did you eat dinner, Liam? Are you hungry?”
He looked over at her. “No, I came from the gym. I wasn’t sure what you had in mind.”
“There’s a little place around the corner from the Museum. It’s quiet…we can talk.”
He took a few more hesitant steps. “Angela, you know I can’t afford…”
She held up her hand. “I know. And it’s a pride thing.”
Liam gave her a reluctant smile. “Yeah. I’m predictable.” He sighed, pulling her to him.
“I’ve said it before…this is hard. Maybe I’ve said it too many times…”
“Liam, there’s something called compromise. I know you’ve had to fight for everything in your life…but let someone else take over for a minute. Even if it’s just for dinner and a drink, okay? You’re not giving up your dream if I feed you.”
She gave him a mischievous grin. “Think of it as practice. You practice letting me buy you dinner. You see what happens. If you don’t spontaneously combust for some reason, maybe we can do it again sometime.”
He laughed. “Fine. You’re not giving up on this, are you?” He kissed her, his mouth firm against her lips. She could feel the residual tension in his lips, his fingers against her skin.
“I’m not giving up on you, Liam. There’s a difference.”
They found the small bistro in the lobby of a hotel. The maître d escorted them to a small table in the back of the dark restaurant, leaving them each a menu.
Liam was frowning at the menu. “Okay. I’ll admit I’m out of my depth here.” He closed the menu, laying it on the table.
“This just makes you really uncomfortable, doesn’t it?” Angela was reading the menu.
“Yeah. It does. Like being against the ropes and not knowing what to do. It’s uncertainty and I don’t like the feeling.”
“But it’s me, Liam.” She grinned at him over the top of the menu. “You’re not uncertain when it comes to me, are you?”
He shook his head. She finally saw a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Not you as much as everything that comes with you.”
He reached across the table, taking her hand.
“I’m trying, Angela…really. It just doesn’t look like it sometimes.”
She squeezed his hand. “I know. That’s all that matters, that you give me a chance.” The waiter interrupted her and she ordered for both of them, watching Liam frown as she spoke.
“What exactly am I getting for dinner?”
“You’ll like it…it’ll be fine.” She took a sip of water.
“Tell me about the gym…what exactly do you do…I mean, what are you training for?”
“Frank has a match in a couple months he wants to line up for me, one with scouts from the pros. He thinks I’m ready now, but he wants to wait. The matches coming up are with higher level contenders than me; he’s playing this cautious for some reason. I keep pushing him to set something up sooner, but he won’t budge.”
“Is there money involved in these?”
Liam shook his head. “Not the one Frank wants me to take. The one next month has a purse though, which is why I’m interested in it. But Frank…he’s smart, he’s got his reasons. He says I need to learn patience, not just in the ring but in the rest of it, the business end of it. He’s worried about injuries from lack of training or conditioning, thinks if I’m not prepared, I’ll get injured.”
Angela was quiet for a moment. She wasn’t sure how to approach Liam with what was on her mind.
“Do you ever think about doing something else? Or what you’d do if you couldn’t fight?”
Liam stared at her. “No. Not since I started training seriously with Frank.” He took a swallow of beer.
“When I first started at the gym, it was more just a place to be, rather than on the street. But after Frank took an interest, started training me personally, it’s all we’ve ever worked for. Frank says I’m his million dollar baby.”
“Is this more Frank’s dream than yours?”
Liam shook his head. “No…not by a long shot. He’s made me see my potential, given me the tools and the guidance. But this is me, all me, my dream. Frank’s part of it, but it’s mine.”
Their food arrived and the look on Liam’s face made Angela laugh.
“It is a steak, Liam. Just with a fancy name and some odd vegetables. You’ll like it.”
Liam cut a tiny piece from the steak, gingerly tasting it. Angela watched as he closed his eyes.
“Oh, wow. This is amazing.” He dove into the steak with gusto and Angela laughed.
“Not so bad, huh? Will you let me take you out for dinner more often, if we come here?”
Liam shook his head. “No. This is a one-time thing,” he said, speaking around a mouthful of food. “Next time…and every time…I’ll
take care of it.” He took a swallow of beer.
They ate in silence, Liam devouring everything on his plate, tasting some of Angela’s scallop salad, asking for more, finishing it and then finally sitting back.
“You actually look happy, Liam Cross. I don’t think I’ve seen ‘happy’ on your face all day.”
Liam smiled. “I’m full, and that makes me happy. And you…you usually make me happy.”
Angela pouted. “Usually…just ‘usually’ makes you happy?”
He laughed. “Up until tonight…”
He grew serious. “I am…was…really upset with you.”
Angela nodded. “I know and I’m sorry. It seemed like such a great idea…it is a great idea. But I got so carried away with the idea I forgot about how you might feel about it.”
She reached across the table, running her fingers over the back of Liam’s hand, smiling. “I think I have a way of making it up to you though.” She signaled for the check and Liam found them a cab in what seemed like record time.
“You have a real knack for getting us a ride, Liam.” She laughed up at him, her dimples flashing, as she slid into the cab.
“When I have a beautiful girl and the promise of make-up sex, there’s not much that could keep me from that.”
Liam let them into the apartment, not turning on the lights. He pulled her to him, resting his forehead against hers. He spoke slowly, hesitantly, as if the words were foreign to him.
“Angela. Thank you. That’s not something I say very often…I told you that. It makes me…I guess I’m scared. No one has ever bothered to really care before or at least never bothered to show they care. I don’t know what to do…I don’t know how to react. I don’t trust any of it.”
Angela watched his face in the soft dark of the living room. “I know. I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to…”
“You’re not, really. But…” She squealed as he suddenly scooped her up.
“I think you said something about a way of making this up to me?” He laughed before carrying her through the bedroom door.
* * *
The next several days dragged by for Angela. Liam had told her between work and training, there’d be little time to see her. He’d call her late though, after work, sounding exhausted and frustrated. She wondered if it was lack of sleep or if something else was going on.
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