by Ciara Knight
“First, I don’t spin girls up. Second, I can’t help it if women throw themselves at me. Blame it on my boyish charm.”
The car speaker shrilled with a phone call. Anna eyed the name displayed on the console screen. Rachel Vine, a woman Cynthia had told her much about. Liam sent it to voice mail. Twenty minutes down the road it rang again. Same number, same name, same reaction.
“I rest my case,” Anna mumbled.
He kept his eyes on the road straight ahead, and Anna knew she was right.
As the sign at the edge of Riverbend came into view, Liam pointed at it. "Where dreams begin…just around the Riverbend. I once thought that sign was written for you. I guess I was half-right. You made all your career dreams come true. Too bad love wasn’t in the equation.”
Her insides tightened and her anger boiled. A million words pummeled her mouth for release, but she bit her lip to keep them sealed. She wouldn’t be coaxed into an argument, and she flat out refused to fall for his boyish charm. No, she wouldn’t do that, not again.
The car pulled into a parking space out front of the country club, and without waiting for him to turn off the engine, she opened her door. “Sometimes dreams get run over by a fancy sports car and grinded into the asphalt until there isn’t a glimmer of hope left.”
Chapter Two
The afternoon light filtered through the front windows, highlighting Anna’s beautiful auburn hair. Liam still remembered its wild curls hanging in her eyes when they were children playing in the streets together. How things had changed. He’d spent most of the tasting wanting to argue that she was the one who stomped on his heart, not the other way around, but this wasn’t the time or place to discuss it.
Anna’s gaze drifted to the solid wood paneling on the walls, to the white table cloth, to the tea candle with flower pedals scattered around it―everywhere but at him. “I think we should go with the chateaubriand with baby green beans,” Anna announced.
Liam pointed his fork at the chicken. “I think we should go with the orange glazed chicken and roasted potatoes.”
The caterer sighed. “Do you two agree on anything? What about the hors d’oeurves?”
“No caviar,” they said in unison.
The woman clapped her hands together. “Finally, we have a decision on one thing.”
Anna giggled, a hint of the sweet, fun girl he once knew. “Fine. If Mitchem doesn’t like mushrooms then we’ll skip the chateaubriand, but we need a vegetable, not just meat and potatoes.”
Liam offered his hand. “Deal.”
She took it with more strength than he expected and shook it once. “Deal.”
“Yes, chicken and potatoes with baby green beans. Now, back to the salad.” The caterer hovered over them with her pristine white, pressed shirt and crisp hat tipped slightly to the right.
Liam took a bite of each. In one, a minty flavor overpowered the dressing and toppings. The other tantalized his pallet with strawberry, offset by a walnutty- earthy flavor, the taste a blast from his childhood. It reminded him of their first kiss on the rooftop of Historic Hall, her mother’s antique shop after they had wished upon the brightest star that she didn’t have to leave Riverbend. The night she stole his heart and took it with her, never to return it. “This one.”
“Why?” Anna asked, her fork held mid-air.
“You mean you’re not going to automatically disagree with me?”
Anna shook her head. “I'm a reasonable woman. I just know what I want, but you have a point. This isn’t my wedding. Besides, you might have a valid reason for your decision.”
Her business demeanor irked him. Where was the fun, passionate, dreamer he once knew? Why couldn’t she ever lower her veil of professionalism and have a normal conversation? “Because I like the strawberry flavor. It's fresh and inviting. It reminds me of something.”
Anna took a nibble of each then nodded. “I agree.”
“I’ll write this up before you change your minds.” The caterer spun and raced for the back room, her checkered pants and black shoes blurring in his peripheral vision.
Anna laid her fork on the plate and dabbed her napkin to the corner of her lips. “What did it remind you of?”
Liam shook his head. “Ah, I think it’s best I don’t say.”
Anna placed her napkin by her plate. “Since when are you shy about sharing? Tell me.”
“Only if you promise not to impale me with that fork.”
Anna smiled, not a warmhearted smile, but a go-ahead kind of smile. “Promise.”
“It reminds me of strawberry ChapStick.”
Her chest drew in quick, her pupils dilated, and her cheeks tinged pink for a moment. “Oh.”
She remembered. With only a few words, he knew that she’d been drawn back to their time together. It was the first sign that she even acknowledged they’d once cared for each other. He leaned forward, dropping his own napkin on the table. “That’s all you’ll say?”
“What do you want me to say?” She rose from the chair onto her tall heels, her legs even longer than he remembered. Being a leg man, he figured hers the best he’d ever seen. “Congratulations on enjoying tasting so much strawberry ChapStick over the years?”
He stood only a step away, not allowing her to escape the conversation again. “No. Only when I was fifteen.”
She inhaled, her chest high and her lips slightly parted. He swore his words affected her the way he’d hoped. He could almost see the memory shining back at him in her emerald eyes. Did she remember the cold air that night and how they snuggled together under the blanket counting the stars, each one a promise to return to one another when they were old enough? Her hair had been soft against his cheek, and the streetlight had flickered, an occasional conversation on the streets below reached them in muffled tones. It was as if the entire world had been blurred away, allowing them a final moment together. That was when she turned and he kissed her. And in that moment, he thought he could touch the stars.
“Here is the order, all written up.” The caterer had worse timing than the police after a murder.
Anna retreated and snagged her purse from some fancy magnet device she’d used to hang it from the table. Probably a gift from a prince or oil tycoon. “Thank you so much. We’ll pass this on to Mitchem and Cynthia.”
“Great. I’m glad you were able to handle this for them. How long have you two been together anyway?” the caterer asked.
“We’re not together,” Anna said before Liam could even open his mouth.
The caterer rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Anyway, do me a favor.”
“What’s that?” Liam asked.
“Don’t ask me to cater your wedding. I don’t think I’d have the strength.” She laughed, but her meaning was well received. Anna and he were like opposing teams on a football field.
Appearing to ignore the comment, Anna already had her cell phone out, her thumbs dancing along the touchscreen. She didn’t look up as they left, not even when she stepped through the doorway onto the front walk, or when they reached the car.
“I guess I better get you home. You’re obviously an important, busy woman.”
Anna didn’t even acknowledge him with a nod.
He opened the passenger door and settled her into the car before sliding into the driver’s seat and driving along the river into the main part of town. It was only when he neared the university that he remembered he had papers to grade. “If you don’t mind, I need to run by the university. After that, I’ll take you home.”
She shrugged. “That’s fine. Don’t have to call until tonight. Production in China.”
“Do you ever complete a full sentence? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t want to talk to me.” He turned down Walton Street and doubled back, twisting through some back roads and residential areas, then through the old industrial park around the backside of the university.
“Stop,” Anna said.
He glanced over and discovered her head was raised
and her gaze focused out the side window instead of at her phone.
“I said stop!”
Liam mashed on the brakes. Horns sounded behind him. Anna hopped out of the car and up onto the sidewalk, her large scarf flowing in the winter wind. Two more horns sounded, so he pulled forward until he found a spot to park along a side road. When he rounded the corner, she still stood there, coat flapping.
“What are you doing? What’s wrong?” Liam eyed her pink nose and trembling hands.
“What happened? It’s so run down.” Anna stepped forward, her heel catching on the broken edge of the sidewalk. Liam caught her mid-stumble. “When did this happen?”
Liam eyed the old building his uncle once owned, the one where Anna had lived for four years above her mom’s antique shop, before moving out west. Its crumbling brick walkway, cracked Historic Hall sign that hung from one nail on its side, and peeling paint made it look as abandoned as his heart felt after all these years. He knew it was silly and juvenile to still hold a torch for a fun-loving, exceptional dreamer that disappeared, replaced by this formal diva in front of him. “I don’t know. It’s been awhile since I drove by Historic Hall. Most of this area has been abandoned since the shopping mall opened five or six years ago. There’s no reason for people to drive here. I’m surprised they haven’t torn these buildings down yet.”
“Tear it down?” Anna pulled on the front door, but it wouldn’t open. She smeared her hand across the dusty glass and pressed her nose against it.
“I’m a little surprised you even noticed. Haven’t you told me before that the past is gone, that it was time to move on?”
Anna leaned back, a smudge of dirt on the tip of her nose. “I guess I…”
“You guess what?” Liam edged closer, watching her expression morph from sadness, to hope then to confusion and something he couldn’t recognize.
“I guess I just thought it would always be here.” She walked around to the side and stopped at the fire escape. “I remember when that ladder broke. It was Halloween night. You told me you’d climb up that ladder some day and propose to me. But I told you the ladder wouldn’t hold you and you’d get hurt.”
“Yeah, I remember that.” He rubbed his shoulder where the scar from his twelve stitches remained. “You were right. It wasn’t sturdy enough. I guess I had to learn that the hard way.”
“If I remember correctly, you had to learn everything the hard way.” Anna spun on her stilettos with poised precision, a put-together look plastered on her face, except for the smudge on her nose. She was completely adorable.
He removed his handkerchief and stepped toward her. She backed away and held up a hand. “What are you doing?”
“You have dirt on your nose, and I know you can’t handle anyone seeing you when you’re not perfect.”
Anna lowered her chin to her chest. “I’m not perfect.”
The rawness of her voice gave him a glimmer of the girl he once knew. He tilted her chin higher and wiped the smudge from her nose. “No one is.”
Her hands trembled and her lip quivered.
“We need to get you out of the cold. Come on. Let’s head back to the car.” He slid his arm around her shoulder and tucked her into his side to keep her warm. She stiffened and pulled away, but he held tight. “You can be stubborn and I’ll respect your space unless it means you freezing to death.”
She relaxed into him and eyed the building. “I wish we could go inside. I’d like to see it one more time before they tear it down.”
They rounded the corner and the wind beat against their faces, so he quickened their pace. “Why? I thought you’d left that place behind a long time ago.”
Anna shrugged.
“Don’t shrug. Tell me why you want to see the inside of the building.”
They reached the car and Anna slid away from him, lifting her chin high once again. “I did not shrug.”
“Get into the car then we can argue about it. I’m freezing my boxers off out here.”
“Crude, Liam Harrow. I see not much about you has changed.”
Liam made sure her feet were in before slamming the door shut. Then he settled into the driver’s seat but didn’t start the car. It was now or never. This was probably the only time she would be a captive audience.
“You need to press the button to start the car, you know,” Anna said, her tone hitching with sarcasm.
Liam leaned back. “I know how to start the car, but I just realized something.”
“What’s that?” Anna checked her lipstick in the visor mirror.
“I’ve been trying to speak to you for the last year, every time you float into town. But every time I try, you make some excuse to run away.”
“I don’t run away from anything,” Anna huffed.
“You keep telling yourself that, sunshine, and maybe you’ll start to believe it.”
Anna shoved her lipstick back in her designer purse. “I didn’t run away. My mother moved us. I’m not the one who disappeared.”
Liam turned to face her, ready to fight, but the way her lip trembled told him to back down. Whatever happened to change her mind and keep her from returning to Riverbend didn’t matter anymore. She simply didn’t want him, and maybe it was time he let the idea go. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
“I couldn’t return, not immediately,” Anna said, her voice low and raspy. “My mother…she wasn’t well. She wasn’t well for a long time. That building back there that’s crumbling, that was where I saw my mother happy and healthy for the last time.”
“I didn’t know.” Liam took her hand in his. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Anna half-shrugged then stopped and laughed. “Okay, so maybe I do shrug sometimes.”
Liam stroked her knuckles with his thumb, remembering the first time they’d ever held hands. The excitement and newness of it all made him feel like he could fly over the town clock without wings. “What happened to your mother?”
Anna tugged her hand free and sat tall in her seat. “Oh, she’s fine now, living in Boca Raton.”
Liam knew he’d lost her back to that world behind the great barrier of perfection. “Right, okay. I guess I better get you home.”
Anna pulled the seatbelt across her lap. “Liam?”
He pressed the button to start the car and pulled away from the curb. “Yes?”
“I don’t want to fight anymore,” Anna whispered.
Liam drove through the university to the College of Arts, Social and Health Sciences building. “Neither do I, sunshine.”
Anna opened her mouth, but then closed it again and leaned back in her seat with a mischievous smile. “Okay, then maybe we just concentrate on Cynthia and Mitchem’s wedding and not talk about the past.”
“Sounds like a plan. Do you think we can test that promise and head to the hospital after this? I think we should check on Andrew. He is my godson and all.”
Anna fiddled with her purse straps. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”
Liam pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. “Maybe by the end of the wedding we’ll be more ready to talk.”
Anna shook her head. “It won’t matter at that point. I’ll be leaving Riverbend. This time it’ll be for good.”
Chapter Three
A deep neck ache drew Anna from a restless sleep. The smell of antiseptic mixed with bitter coffee jolted her upright. “Whaa?”
“It’s okay. We’re still at the hospital.” Liam’s warm arm settle around her shoulders, his hand grazing her collarbone.
A reactive shiver stirred her fully awake. “Oh, right.” She rubbed her eyes then realized she probably looked like a manic beast with black mascara smudged along her cheekbones. “I must be such a sight.” She rummaged through her purse and retrieved the jeweled mirror she received as a gift from a diplomat in Greece.
Liam covered her hand with his. “You look perfect as always.”
“Really? You’re suave, even at…what time
is it anyway?” She eyed the wall clock, its large hands clicking away the seconds.
“Six-thirty, and if I was trying to be suave you wouldn’t even know it. But if I’m being honest, you don’t look perfect.” Liam brushed a curl behind her ear. His thumb against her earlobe sent the familiar shiver into a full-blown tsunami.
“You have several unruly curls that give you that just-out-of-bed sultry look. And your bright lipstick is gone, but I like the natural pink anyway. Looks soft. Your eye shadow and blush have also faded into more of a highlight of what you naturally have to share with the world. But I know you like to be perfect, so I only answered what you wanted to hear. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
She fought the urge to lean into him, the way she had so often up on the roof of her building at night. “Well, I guess I should thank you for not being full of yourself.”
Liam’s playful smile parted his lips. “What can I say? You bring it out of me.”
A distant high-pitched twitter drew her attention to the hall.
Liam chuckled. “It’s the third light down that corridor. It’s been making that noise and flickering all night.
“You didn’t sleep?” Anna asked.
“I dozed a few times, but mostly I just watched you, in an admiring, nonstalker sort of way.”
“Glad you clarified. Any news on Andrew?” Anna stretched and opened the jeweled mirror, confirming that her makeup had faded to nearly gone. Ugh.
“Not since you spoke to Cynthia around four this morning.” Liam looked over Anna’s head, and she followed his gaze to see Cynthia coming through two double doors.
They both shot up, but Liam kept Anna tucked close to his side. She didn’t have the energy to fight with him, let alone push him away. “How is he?” she asked.
Cynthia rubbed her forehead. “I’m happy to say he’s finally conscious. The doctors confirmed his brain might be slightly bruised, but there is no sign of major brain injury.”
Anna could tell by the way Cynthia looked at the floor and continued rubbing her forehead that there was more. “But?”