by Abby Brooks
The guy means well, but his awkwardness just adds fuel to the fire of frustration in my belly. I return his thumbs up, looking decidedly less enthusiastic than he did, and head off in search of the supplies I need. When I come back into Liam’s room, Brent is still talking a mile a minute.
“When that bitch comes back—” He looks my way as I walk in, a greasy smile sliding across his face as if he wasn’t just talking about me.
I raise my eyebrows to let him know I heard, but bite my bottom lip to keep in the response that’s stomping its way up my throat. They can think whatever they want to think about me as long as I never have to see them again once they check out of the hospital tomorrow.
“Shut up, Brent,” says Liam, and for the first time since he was admitted here, I feel like thanking him.
Liam meets my eyes, and, taking extreme care to exaggerate his movements, he grabs his IV stand, turns, and crosses the room to sit in an armchair, stretching the power cord to its limit.
Yes, his hospital gown is open in the back.
No, he’s not wearing anything under it.
I am more than certain he thought he’d embarrass me by giving me a view of his admittedly magnificent backside, but he’s going to have to try harder than that if he wants to unsettle me. I’m a nurse, for heaven’s sake. I see people’s butts all the time. If he’s looking for a flustered girl with red cheeks, he’s looking at the wrong woman.
“Thank you,” I say as I come to stand at his side.
Liam stays silent as I pull on a pair of gloves. I pick at the edges of the tape around the gauze and he turns to look at me.
“Eyes front, please.” I don’t meet his gaze. The last thing I want to do is give him another reason to complain about something.
He flops back in his chair, ripping the bandage from his face with the movement. The thing dangles from my hand and I stare at it in surprise. So much for being gentle.
“See?” he says, flaring his hands and glaring at Brent. “She won’t even look at me. Can you think of any other time a female has been this close to me and not lost her fucking head trying to get my attention?”
Being rude back won’t get us anywhere, but he’s got one more chance to be an ass before I won’t be able to keep my mouth shut anymore. I’m strong, but I’m not that strong.
Brent waves a hand in my direction. “She is obviously not in your target demographic.” His gaze sweeps over me, assessing and dismissing in one smooth movement. “She’s too old and not nearly trendy enough to matter. If I were you, I would take it as a good sign that she’s not trying to engage. This is not the kind of girl you’re looking for.”
I dab antibiotic ointment on his wound, biting the inside of my lip so hard I taste blood. “I’m right here,” I mutter.
Liam shakes his head and pulls away from me. “Holy shit, Brent. Do you ever shut the fuck up?”
I lean in with my ointment and Liam waves me away. “They’re all going to act this way.” His dark eyes flash as he gestures towards me. “You and I both know that my brand is all about sex. The body. The face. No one cares what I sing as long as I look good doing it.” He rests his ankle on his knee and looks me full in the face. “Be honest. You can barely stand to look at me. You’re not going to like my music as much now that I look like this.”
“All I want to do is change your bandage so I can check on my other patients. As your manager suggested, I’m not in your target demographic.” I almost tell him I never liked his music in the first place, but I swallow the words. Two wrongs don’t make a right and just because he’s an ass doesn’t give me a reason to be awful in return.
“What the hell happened to you?” Liam stares me right in the face and laughs. “It looks like you swallowed something nasty. Face all screwed up. Nostrils flaring. Not your prettiest look, sweetheart.”
So much for being professional.
“First of all,” I say, my words carefully carved from ice and stone. “I didn’t swallow something nasty, thank you very much. I just get a little sick to my stomach being around you. Second of all, I can barely stand to look at you because you’re an asshole. And third of all, I never liked your music. You can rest assured that’s not going to change now.” I put a finger on his dropped jaw and turn his head towards the wall. “Now, if you’d just keep your face pointed that way, I can get you bandaged up and get out of here.”
Liam does not look at the wall like I just asked him to. He brings his gaze right back to me and there’s a flash of emotion on his face that I recognize. It’s only there for a moment, one tiny little millisecond of feeling, and then it’s gone. Whisked away with a sniff of his nose and a shake of his head. But it doesn’t matter. I saw it and I recognized it for what it was.
Despair.
Brent goes off like a windup toy, a slew of words sliding from between his overly balmed lips.
“Holy fuck, Brent. Shut up,” Liam says without looking away from my face.
Brent does not shut up. “This is ridiculous, Liam.” He pinches the bridge of his nose and smooths back his perfectly shaped eyebrows. “I don’t know who she thinks she is, saying those things to you, but we’ll have you on the first plane to LA as soon as I get my assistant on the phone. And you…” He levels a finger at me. “You can rest assured that I’ll have your job for this.”
Liam sighs and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they’re trained on mine, and for the first time since he’s been here, he looks real. “You might be the first person to ever be honest with me in my whole life.”
A million sarcastic remarks want out past my lips. Little caustic things, venomous revenge for every awful thing he’s said to me over the last couple weeks. A minute ago, I would have let them fly in a glorious display of self-righteousness. And in all honesty, I’m not convinced he still doesn’t deserve a solid dose of the truth. But that look in his eyes. The despair. I can’t say any of those things after seeing that.
I finally settle on: “I’m sorry.”
“I might be, too,” he replies. And then he blinks and the moment’s gone. “Now, finish whatever it is you’re doing to my face—” he waves a hand over his cheek and turns away from me, “—and get the hell out of here.”
“Gladly.” I bite off the word, instantly sorry I didn’t let my sarcasm fly when I had the chance.
I’ve never liked Liam McGuire. His music is vapid. Soulless sound designed to showcase his sex appeal. Combine that with the ridiculous headlines smeared across the tabloids—the temper tantrums, the womanizing, the utter asshattery—and you can bet that I’ve considered him a scourge on this Earth for the better part of a decade. But seeing that despair in his eyes just now? That bothers me. This guy has everything money could possibly buy, a lifestyle that anyone would be crazy not to lust after, and yet he still knows the cold, dark, empty pit of hopelessness. There’s something profound there. I’m just too pissed off to dwell on it.
I gather my things and leave the room. Liam and Brent start in on another argument as I pass Gary and Josh, pausing to blow a puff of air past my pursed lips once again. Whatever it is that Liam’s dealing with that hurts him like that, I’m sorry for him. I really am. But I sure will be glad when they ship his spoiled ass back to LA.
Brookside Romance
Wounded
Inevitably You
This Is Why
Colton’s Story (Coming soon!)
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The Moore Family Series
Blown Away (Ian and Juliet)
Carried Away (James and Ellie)
Swept Away (Harry and Willow)
Break Away (Lilah and Cole)
Purely Wicked (Ashely & Jackson)
Love Is…
Love Is Crazy (Dakota & Dominic)
Love Is Beautiful (Chelsea & Max)
Love Is Everything (Maya & Hudson)
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First and foremost, thank you to Mr. Wonderful and the Mini Wonderfuls. You guys are the reason I live.
To my early readers—Linda, Candy, Joyce, Nicki, Jackie and Debra. This book is much better and everyone is WAY nicer thanks to your feedback. You ladies are a special kind of wonderful.
To my friends—Alison, Anya, and Jen. One day we will all be in the same place at the same time and have drinks. It will be magnificent.
And to the wonderful women in Brooks Books. You might not know it, but you keep me moving forward even on days when I want nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep the day away.