by Malone, Nana
She cleared her throat and tried to be calm. How could she explain if he wouldn’t talk to her? “When is he expected back as my teacher?”
Bryan rubbed the end of his nose but his smile didn’t slip. “Not sure. I know you’re a beginner swimmer and worried about a new teacher, but I promise, I’m pretty good in the water, and I won’t let you drown.”
Becca blinked. Yeah, you might be pretty good in the water, but you’re not Liam. She held onto her bag tighter. “Uhm, I think I’d rather wait for Liam to come back before I get back in the water.”
Bryan sighed. “Look, I get it. And I’m not supposed to disclose personal information to students, but I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be back for a while. So maybe it’s a good idea for us to get acquainted and you can see how you feel about swimming with me? We don’t even have to get into the water today if you’re not comfortable.”
Her subconscious fear flared. Damn straight we’re not getting into the water, bucko. You’re not Liam. Becca backed up a step. “I don’t think so. I’ll just check with the front desk and ask when he’ll be back.”
Bryan sighed. “If you prefer, but I think you’ll slow down your momentum if you don’t continue lessons for now. From the notes Liam left, he said you’d been making some tremendous progress. I know a new teacher is always a setback, but if we worked hard together, we could make a great team.”
She studied Bryan more closely. His trunks had Solona Beach Tri embroidered along the side. Great, he was one of those Tribot types. She was definitely not swimming with him now. “Thanks, and I’m sure you’re really good, but no thanks.”
She didn’t wait for a response and headed straight for the parking lot. She paused only to toss on her sweatpants and T-shirt. Once in the car, she drove on autopilot until she got to Van’s house in Golden Hill.
Her best friend opened the door without her even having to knock. She gave her a sympathetic smile. “I saw you parking your car. What up, home skillet?”
Becca fought to hold the tears back. “What up, is my life is a total shit bomb right now.”
Van led her into the living room. “You sit. I’m getting wine and chocolate chip cookies. So we can do this properly.”
Becca couldn’t help the chuckle. She’d come to the right place.
With the wine poured and at least one cookie each consumed between them, she said, “How did it all get like this?”
Van frowned. “Liam still isn’t answering your calls?”
“Worse, now he’s avoiding my lessons. They claim it’s some personal emergency he’s dealing with, but I know that look. It was the honey-you-can-come-back-as-often-as-you’d-like-but-he’s-never-going-to-be-available look. It’s bad when you get a brush off. It’s infinitely worse when they bring their coworkers in on it.”
Van’s eyes rolled heavenward. “That one is the worst. I mean, we’ve all been there when all you want to do is talk to a guy, or in my case knee him in the balls, and his boys back him up and keep you from having your conversation. Nothing more irritating.”
“So now what the hell do I do?” Becca nibbled on another cookie.
“Well, you have to talk to him. You can’t just leave things the way they are.”
“Trust me, I’ve tried. I’ve called. I’ve texted. I’ve obviously been to class.”
Van sighed. “Honey, I’m sorry.”
“I just feel like such an idiot. I mean, this could all be cleared up in a matter of a conversation. I mean, Holden walking in on him was probably super fucked up, but if I could just talk to him, he would understand. He would see that I wouldn’t do that to him.”
“Look, try not to stress too bad. He knows the kind of girl you are. I’m sure he didn’t take Holden seriously when he said you were engaged.” Van’s brows furrowed. “Speaking of douchebags—what the hell are we going to do with him?”
Becca shook her head. “Damn Holden. I mean, what was he even doing in my place? And why did he think it was okay to just use his key? And what right does he have to come at me with all this bullshit about how he’s willing to do anything to be with me?”
Van was silent for a long moment but studied her closely. “Becca?”
Becca washed her cookie down with what was left in her wine glass. “Yeah?”
“You’re not taking Holden seriously, are you?”
“What?” Becca frowned. “No. Of course not.”
Van arched a delicate eyebrow. “Because I know he probably said some stuff you wish he’d said a month ago. And I know it might be tempting because he’s the guy that looks good on paper, but you don’t want to go there. You broke up with him for a reason.”
Becca dropped her head into her hands. “I know. But you should have seen him, Van. He looked so sincere. Like he really wanted to try to be better and more supportive. He wasn’t even mad about Liam.”
Van shook her head, sending her braids cascading around her shoulders. “Becca, he’s telling you what you want to hear. Be careful.”
Van had a point. Becca knew better than to believe the words. The actions were what counted. “You’re right. Besides, even if I were crazy enough to believe him. my heart is still with Liam.”
Van nodded. “Okay, then we’re going to fight for him. And by we, I mean you. Don’t give him a way out. Tomorrow, when you’ve showered and you’re looking your hottest, we’re going to go all hot girl warfare on his ass and ambush him at home. Bring the fight to him.”
Becca chewed her lip. “I’ve been avoiding going there. I thought maybe that was too intrusive.”
“Honey, he’s not exactly acting like an adult. You just want to talk. And let’s be clear. He’s getting it easy with you. Because if it was me, I’d have staked out his place by now and delivered my requisite knee to the groin.”
“What for?” Becca asked as she laughed.
“For him not believing in me. He should have stayed instead of bailing. That way he could hear the truth right away. Instead, he took Holden at his word. That gets him a knee to the balls, in my book.” Van grinned. “But he sounds redeemable, so we don’t want to do too much damage.”
Becca laughed. Van had a point though. If Liam was going to avoid her, then she had no choice. They needed to talk, and she wasn’t going to let him avoid her any longer.
Chapter Nineteen
The nurses kicked Liam out at midnight. Visiting hours were long over, and as usual, they’d taken pity on him and let him stay with his mom anyway. She was doing better—as well as could be expected after finding out the cancer had spread. In the past twenty-four hours, the doctors had bombarded her with treatment plans, possible procedures, and odds for this and that. None of the odds were good.
She’d grasped Liam’s hand after the last specialist had left that day and asked him to take her to the ocean. Her favorite spot. “That’s the best medicine for me,” she’d said.
He’d argued that she needed to stay in the hospital, but eventually, she’d cut a deal with him. She’d begin treatment on Monday if he took her to the beach the next day.
Alex had come by the hospital to bring flowers to her and check on Liam. His visit had been the only normal contact Liam had had with the outside world since getting back to San Diego. That, and a call from Addie, telling him she’d missed his texts but wanted to talk to him about the Southland campaign he’d called her about.
Too little, too late, but Liam intended to let Becca know Addison was interested as soon as he could put a complete sentence together. He’d avoided returning Becca’s calls and texts because he was still struggling with his feelings for her, and since he was an emotional mess over his mother, it wasn’t the best time to hear Becca confirm she was engaged to the asshole.
Come morning, he would call her, though. Then he’d take his mother to the beach.
First, he needed sleep. Big time.
But as the hospital doors swooshed closed behind him, he saw his father waiting in the parking lot, next to Liam’s bike.
“Your brother’s plane gets in tomorrow at ten a.m.,” his father said, not meeting Liam’s eyes. His face was haggard and gray under the sodium lights. “I’ll pick him up so you can be with your mother.”
“Thank you.”
His father appeared to want to say something more, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “I thought maybe tomorrow night, I’d cook dinner for all of us. Your mother will be home, Oliver will be here, and I’d like to talk to both of my sons about the business.”
Liam bristled, but his dad raised a hand and said, “I thought about what you said, about the differences between me and Manny. Do you know why we’re so competitive with each other?”
“You both train potential Olympians.”
“It’s more than that. In our younger days, we were friends. On the same team, both on the path to the Olympics. Manny beat me in the Olympic time trials by one-tenth of a second. One-tenth!” He shook his head at the night. “He went on, I didn’t. For months afterward, it was like someone had sucked the motivation right out of me. He ended up with a silver in the hundred meter freestyle, and the next day in the pool, I beat his Olympic time by six-tenths of a second.”
“You never told me that.”
“I should have. That and a lot more. Most of all, I should have been there for you. I know I unfairly compared you to Oliver. And I couldn’t stand to see you in the hospital. It tore me apart because I knew how much you wanted it. I knew it was my fault you were there. I know I wasn’t the best father then. But I didn’t know how to deal with letting you down.”
“Dad—”
His father shook his head. “And for the record, you’re right about Manny. He was a gifted swimmer, and he’s a great coach. He invests emotionally in his students which gives them an edge.” His father looked Liam in the eye. “You’re the same way. I know you’ll never coach for me, but I’d like to talk to you about scouting for me. You could still scout for Manny, or whomever else you want, but I’d like you to consider helping me fill a few slots on my team as well.”
His dad was holding out the olive branch. It was a start. “I’ll think about it,” he said. “Meanwhile, how about you come down to the inner city pool this week and offer a free lesson to my advanced swimmers?”
His father looked pleasantly surprised. “Really? You’ll consider scouting for me?”
It would make Liam’s mother happy and not require he give up his soul. “If you’ll give up an hour of your day to coach my kids, yes. I will.”
His father held out his hand. “Thank you. I know we have a lot to work out, but…thank you.”
Liam stared at his dad’s hand for several moments. Finally, he shook. “See you tomorrow, Dad.”
* * *
By the time Liam pulled into his parking place and climbed the stairs to his apartment, his eyes were drooping and his feet felt like hundred pound weights.
He and his dad had done the heart-to-heart thing. It hadn’t been sunshine and roses, but at least they were speaking to each other civilly again. There was a lot of pain and stupid shit to work through yet, but Liam had hope they could at least have future conversations without killing each other.
As he hit the top of the stairs, he saw a brightly colored lump in front of his door. The hallway light was dim, but he was pretty sure the lump had a mass of kinky curls.
“Becca?”
“Mmm…” The lump shifted, legs extending and arms stretching as Becca sat up and blinked away her sleepy expression. “Liam. Oh, God. Liam, we have to talk.”
Now? Shit, he was dead on his feet. “What are you doing here?”
She stood, blocking the door. “Sleeping. Waiting for you, actually. I have to explain about Holden.”
“Holden?” Oh, right. Must be the asshole. “He already set me straight.”
“You don’t understand.” She gripped his upper arm to stop him from walking inside. “I broke up with Holden before I slept with you.”
His legs wouldn’t hold him. He leaned against the doorjamb, rubbing his eyes. “I think you forgot to tell him that.”
She looked down at her shoes, back up. “He has selective hearing. I was very clear, and I gave back the engagement ring. He chose to ignore those obvious signals that it was over.”
What guy misunderstood a woman returning his engagement ring? “Look, Becca, it’s been one long-ass day. Maybe we should discuss this tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Really? I’m trying to set the record straight and tell you I want you, not Holden, and you’re blowing me off? Real mature, Liam. You don’t return my calls, you ignore my texts, and here I am, sleeping on your doorstep, and you’re turning me away. Van’s right. I should knee you in the balls.”
His brain processed her words, but kept looping through I want you, not Holden. Through the exhaustion racking his body, a spark of hope flared to life. “I’m not blowing you off. I mean, I kinda was, because…” He sucked at this shit. “Because I couldn’t believe you were toying with me. That you were engaged and having an affair with me at the same time, but Becca—”
She cut him off before he could explain. “Let’s get one thing straight right here and now. I never led you on, nor was I engaged while we were sleeping together. I told you I’d recently broken up with someone, and that was true.”
He was an idiot for not trying to talk this out the day before, but it was still hard to understand why she hadn’t told him about Holden sooner. “Tell me that the first time you kissed me, you weren’t engaged.”
“I was, but that was more of an accidental kiss, and I apologize for leading you on after that until I did breakup with him, but Holden was—is—a challenge for me, and I let him manipulate me in more ways than you know how to swim a lap. But it’s over between us. It was actually over before I even met you. I just wasn’t being honest with myself.”
Down the hall, Mrs. Bixby opened her door and leaned out. “Liam, how’s your mother?” she asked in a soft voice. “Is she going to make it?”
Becca’s eyes widened. “What happened to your mom?”
Liam nodded at Mrs. Bixby. “We’ll know more after next week. Looks like a new round of chemo and radiation.”
“I’ll be praying for her.”
“Thank you.” He took Becca’s hand and led her inside the apartment then closed the door behind them. “That’s what I was going to tell you. I’ve been at the hospital with my mom for nearly twenty-four hours straight. She’s relapsed, and worse than that, the cancer has spread.”
Becca grabbed her stomach. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”
He tossed his keys on the breakfast bar, dropped into the nearest chair. “She wants me to take her to the beach tomorrow. I don’t think she believes she’s going to make it.”
Becca sat across from him on the coffee table. “Why didn’t you just text me and let me know you were tied up? They told me at the Club that you had a family emergency, but I just thought…” She slapped a palm against her forehead. “I thought you were ignoring me like a big baby.”
He chuckled. It took more energy than he had, but Becca could always make him laugh. “Trust me, you’re impossible to ignore.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
She wasn’t engaged, and she wanted to be with him. Although Liam wanted to talk more about ground rules for a relationship, it was probably smarter to save that for a time when he could think straight. “Stay with me tonight?”
Her eyes were sad as she looked at him, but she smiled. “You don’t think you can use the my mom is sick card to manipulate me, do you?”
“Never crossed my mind.” He sat up, took her hands in his. “I want a relationship with you, Becca, if you’ll still have me.”
She kissed him, then, long and slow and sweet. “I’ll think about it.”
He laughed and kissed her back before pulling her into the bedroom.
* * *
The next day, Liam brought Becca flowers. And chocolate.
She o
pened the door, saw his gifts, and laughed. “Sunflowers and truffles. You know me so well.”
Inside, she opened the box of chocolates and tasted one, then handed him a vase to put the flowers in. “I’m ready for another swim lesson if you have time.”
“Later today will work. I took my mom to the beach this morning after you left. We talked, and she agreed to see a new specialist at the Cancer Treatment Center. I made an appointment for her, and they’re seeing her on a rush case scenario, since her cancer is spreading.”
Becca rubbed his back. “That’s good news. I’m glad she agreed to pursue another method of treatment. You’re really good to her. And me.”
He arranged the flowers in the vase, but it was pointless. The arrangement looked like the work of a kindergartener on a sugar high. “I’m worthless as a floral designer, however.”
She gently shoved him aside. “Here, let me.” Her doorbell rang, and she glanced at him. “Will you go see who that is?”
“Sure.” He left her playing with the long stems and headed for the door. He popped it open and froze. “You.”
The asshole stood in the hallway, looking as surprised to see Liam as Liam was so see him. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Liam?” Becca called from the kitchen. “Who is it?”
“Your ex-fiancé.” He emphasized ex as he called back, then lowered his voice to the asshole. “You’re not welcome here.”
The guy shoved on the door, trying to back Liam up. “That’s up to Becca, not you.”
Liam held the door so it didn’t budge. He heard Becca scurrying into the living room. “Let’s ask her then.”
Becca reached the door just as Liam released it. “Holden! What are doing here?” she said as the asshole practically fell into the room.
He straightened up and tugged on his jacket lapels, putting everything back in place. One hand slicked down his hair. “I have some information about your boy toy that I thought you should know.”
Information? Liam frowned at the tone in the asshole’s voice. Like he had a big secret or scandalous gossip.