“So,” Liam said, knowing he needed to change the subject quickly. “Eric’s a doctor.”
“Yeah,” Lexi replied, her face flushing with embarrassment once more. “A paediatrician actually. He is so good with children…”
Of course the douchnozzle is a fucking Paediatrician! Liam thought to himself miserably. He had to be fucking perfect. He saves kids, and I arrest bad guys. How can I compete with that?
“Great,” was all Liam could manage to say without his voice betraying him.
She opened her mouth to speak again but stopped suddenly as if something caught her attention, and she quickly pulled her hand free from Liam’s.
Liam followed her gaze, his heart dropping the moment he spotted Eric making his way toward them.
“Hey, Sweetie,” he chirped as he reached them, before he bent down to softly kiss her lips. He then turned and smiled at Liam, holding out his hand. “Hey Liam, good to see you again.”
“You too,” Liam lied, standing up as he took his hand. It really wasn’t good to see him again. Nothing about this was good.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Eric continued, as he returned his focus to Lexi. “Are you ready to go?”
“Sure,” Lexi said, as she too stood up, glancing at Liam. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“My pleasure,” Liam said, giving her a smile he really didn’t mean. “Take care of yourself, Lexi.”
“You too, Liam,” she replied, as she slipped her hand into Eric’s.
Liam held his breath, as he watched her walking away with this other man, his heart shattered once more.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he keyed in his mom’s number.
“Hey, Sweetheart,” Nell said, the moment she answered the phone. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m just checking if you and Dad are ready to go,” Liam replied, ignoring her question.
“Yes,” Nell replied, her voice now had an edge. “We just sorted the last of the paperwork. Liam, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he lied, knowing his mother would see right through him anyway. “I just want to get out of this stupid hospital.”
“Okay,” Nell replied. Liam knew that she knew he was upset, but he felt relieved she didn’t push it. “Why don’t you go get the car, and we will meet you out front in a few minutes?”
“Okay, Mom,” Liam replied, grateful to his mother for not pressing him more.
Saying his goodbyes, he hurried towards the exit, glad to be leaving this hospital, at last, praying it would be a long time before he would ever have to come back.
Chapter 6
Lexi
“Are you okay?” Eric asked as he and Lexi walked out the front doors of the hospital. She could feel him watching her as they made their way to his car in the parking lot, but she knew if she looked at him, she was going to cry.
She liked Eric; she liked him a lot. He was sweet, caring and reliable. He was tall, standing at six foot three, a whole inch taller than Liam. He had blonde hair, unlike Liam’s dark, wavy hair, and his eyes were pale blue, unlike Liam’s green eyes. He was perfect in every way. He was exactly what she needed right at this moment of her life… but he wasn’t Liam.
“Yeah,” she replied, forcing a smile on her face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know, you just seem quiet,” Eric replied with a sigh. “In fact, you’ve been pretty quiet the last few days.”
“I didn’t realise I had,” Lexi replied, but even saying the words, she knew that was a lie.
Since she had met Liam the week before, he was all she could think about. If she was honest, he had been all she had thought about since Eric asked her to move back to San Francisco with him.
She had been happy in her little bubble in New York. Getting over Liam hadn’t been easy, but when she met Eric, she thought that maybe she could look to the future once more. He understood that her career was very important to her, as was his to him. In some ways, he’d been the perfect boyfriend. He worked long hours, which gave Lexi the time and space she needed to work on her photography. He understood that sometimes she would be away for long periods of time. He was happy with them being just as they were. He didn’t want anything to change. He just wanted it to be him and Lexi.
Which was a good thing because, for Lexi, kids weren’t an option.
She and Liam had talked about having kids so many times. She said she wanted two, Liam had said he wanted a house full. They would pretend to argue about it, but Lexi knew she would have had ten babies with Liam if that’s what he wanted, because she would have done anything to make him happy. But that could never happen now.
That was the one single thought that had haunted Lexi for the last five years. It had been the one thing that had kept her away. The one reason she knew that she could never come back to face Liam, no matter how much she wanted to. And if she was honest; she had really wanted to.
Alexandra Ellen Daniels, or Lexi as everyone knew her, grew up in small town in northern California. She was the youngest daughter of Helen and John Daniels, her sister, Shelby, was four years older than her. Lexi was the quiet, shy one, whereas Shelby was the one that was going to be a star.
At least, that was the plan until one day, when Shelby was twelve, she got a nosebleed that wouldn’t stop. Two days later she was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukaemia. Lexi was only eight at the time and didn’t fully understand what that meant. However, slowly, over the coming months, she learned that it wasn’t a good thing. Ten months after being diagnosed, Shelby was taken home from the hospital for the last time, where she died, three days later.
Lexi’s life fell apart completely.
In some ways, she had to grow up almost overnight. Her mother fell apart, and Lexi had to, at times, be the grown up. In other ways, she was held back too. She became the sole focus of her parent’s attention, and at times that had been almost suffocating.
Her mother became obsessed with her health, always terrified that she would become sick like Shelby, so she treated her like a fragile little bird. She controlled almost every part of Lexi’s life until she moved to San Francisco to attend Stanford. It wasn’t that far from home, but far enough away to give her a little space.
Lexi loved her parents very much. She knew that in their own way, they were the best parent’s they could be, but she found her relationship worked better with a little distance between them.
Still, when Liam cheated on her, the only place she wanted to be, was back home with her mother and father. So that’s where she had ran to when she left him. She never told them what had happened between her and Liam, only that they hadn’t worked out. But running home and hiding hadn’t solved her problems, it had only made them worse.
Once the hurt that she felt about Liam cheating faded, the hurt she felt without him was so much greater. So he’d made a mistake. He made one stupid mistake, but she still loved him. She knew in her heart that she loved him enough to get past this, she loved him enough to try and make it work, because she knew he loved her too.
But pride stopped her from calling him. She was afraid that by leaving, she had destroyed whatever chance they had of getting past this. Also, she was hurt that Liam hadn’t come looking for her. He had let her walk away without fighting for them, and she wondered if maybe there was nothing left to fight for.
But then three weeks after going home, Lexi found out she was pregnant. At first, she refused even to acknowledge that she was pregnant. It hurt too much. She was still so angry with Liam, and the thought of talking to him just hurt too much.
But as time passed, she knew she needed to tell him the truth. She thought about calling him and telling him, but she couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to tell him over the phone from a million miles away. So, she decided she was going to go back to San Francisco. She would tell him face to face; then they could decide like grown-ups what their next step would be.
The day she was heading back to San Francisco, the rain was pouring. Her mother
wanted her to wait, but Lexi was determined. She knew she sounded stupid, but something told her it had to be that day.
Little did she know how stupid her decision would be?
The truck that hit her seemed to come from nowhere. She woke up in the ICU two days later feeling like hell, her parents sitting next to her bed, her mother crying like she had the day her sister died. Lexi knew straight away something was very wrong.
When the doctor said that, due to the injuries she sustained during the crash, Lexi had lost her baby, her heart broke into a million pieces. But then the doctor told her that due to complications from the miscarriage, they had to perform an emergency hysterectomy.
Lexi didn’t hear another word the doctor said after that. Her world was in pieces. She decided right then and there that she would never go back to Liam. She would let him go, because she was no longer the woman he loved. She was no longer a real woman. At least, that was how it felt at the time. Everything just hurt too much.
Her mother and father tried to talk to her. They begged her to call Liam, but she refused. Her life was different now, and Liam was no longer a part of it.
Lexi knew that coming back to San Francisco would open up old wounds, but when Eric asked her to come, she knew it was something she needed to do. Maybe it was the closure she needed.
“Lexi!” Eric’s voice said, pulling her from her thoughts. Lexi turned to look at Eric and realised he had been talking to her, but she hadn’t heard a single word. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied with a smile, knowing that she could never explain to him what was going on inside her mind, right at that moment. “I just didn’t sleep too well last night. I guess I’m tried.”
“You’ve seemed off the last few days,” he sighed, giving her a worried look, as he stopped at the car, turning back to look at her. “Are you sure there isn’t something you want to talk about?”
“I’m okay,” she assured him with a smile as she leaned in and softly kissed him on the lips. “I promise.”
“Good,” he smiled back before he turned and opened the passenger door for her. Giving him one more smile, Lexi climbed into the car, as she mentally scolded herself for being such an idiot.
Eric was a sweet, amazing guy. He was perfect for her; her future was with him. She needed to push Liam Murphy out of her head, he was her past, and that’s where he needed to stay. It was done.
“So,” Eric said, once he was in the car. He slipped the keys into the ignition, starting the car, before he looked over at her, smiling. “You know the famous Liam Murphy!”
Lexi’s heart began to race. She knew instantly where this conversation was going, and it was nowhere good.
Eric didn’t know anything about her relationship with Liam. He didn’t know about the baby or that she’d been on her way back to Liam when she had her accident. All he knew was, she was in a crash and because of the injuries she sustained during the crash, she could no longer have children.
Lexi didn’t tell him the rest because it hurt too much to talk about it. The only ones that knew about the baby were her parents and Nikki, Liam’s brother’s assistant and that was the way she wanted it to stay.
Lexi had become friends with Nikki while she was dating Liam. They just seemed to click. Nikki was the one she turned to the night Liam told her he cheated. She spent the night at her apartment before she headed back to her parents’ house the next day. Nikki had pleaded with her not to leave, but Lexi knew she couldn’t stay.
When Lexi found out she was pregnant, Nikki was the first one she called. She knew she couldn’t tell her parents, because they would insist she call Liam straight away. Lexi needed time to think. So she called Nikki.
She, of course, wanted Lexi to talk to Liam too. Nikki told her that Liam was a mess since she left, but Lexi said she just needed time. She knew that she was putting Nikki in a tough spot. She was close to Landen and had a good relationship with the rest of the Murphy family, including Liam. But Nikki was a loyal friend to her too, and as much as she hated it, she agreed to keep the baby a secret until she figured out her next move.
After the crash, everything changed for Lexi. Nikki begged her to call Liam, to tell him what had happened, but Lexi made Nikki promise she would never tell a soul about the crash or the baby. Nikki hated that she was lying to everyone, but she promised Lexi she would keep her secret.
They had stayed in touch over the years, but for some reason, Lexi still hadn’t told Nikki she was back in San Francisco yet. She knew she would have to now before she heard it from Landen.
“I knew him a long time ago,” she replied, keeping her answer short and to the point. “I knew all his family.”
“So you weren’t one of his many conquests?” Eric asked with a laugh, totally stunning Lexi with his question.
“What are you talking about?” Lexi asked, her mind racing with what her answer should be.
“Well,” he replied as he pulled the car out of the parking lot, heading for home. “The stories that go around the hospital about him are wild. Apparently, he is known for being something of a ladies man. He’s slept with half the nursing staff allegedly, much to his brother’s embarrassment; and never the same girl twice. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but I guess you can never tell.”
“And you think that I’m one of his one night stands?” Lexi asked, her heart almost breaking from what she had just heard. She stared at Eric in disbelief. She didn’t know what hurt her more, the fact he thought he had to ask the question, or the fact Liam has slept with so many faceless girls. “You think I would just sleep with some random guy?”
“Lexi, I was kidding,” Eric quickly replied, sensing he had hurt her with his comment. “I know you’re not one of those girls that would fall for someone like Liam Murphy. You would never do something like that. It’s what I love most about you.”
She stared at him for a moment. She knew that she should have told him the truth then and there, but she also knew if she opened her mouth to speak, she wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears she was fighting, right at that moment.
“I’m sorry, Lex,” Eric continued, glancing over at her once more. “It was a stupid thing to say…”
“It’s okay,” she quickly cut him off. She wanted to change the subject as fast as she could. Just like she wanted to push the thoughts of Liam fucking an endless stream of stupid girls from her mind. “Just forget about it.”
“Okay,” he replied, but the look on his face told her he was surprised by her reaction. He looked like he wanted to push her more, but he didn’t, and for that Lexi was grateful.
They drove for a short while in an uncomfortable silence. Lexi knew that Eric was brooding. She knew she needed to say something to smooth things over with him, but right at that moment, her mind was completely blank.
“So,” he finally said, and Lexi could hear a slight edge in his voice. “Seeing as we are talking about old friends, when are you going to tell Nikki that you’re back in town?”
“I’ll give her a call this week,” Lexi replied, knowing that she couldn’t put it off for much longer. If she was honest, the reason she hadn’t called Nikki before now was because she knew that once Nikki knew she was back, Landen would find out, and then Liam. But now that she’d already seen Liam, there was no reason not to tell Nikki she was back in town.
Well apart from the fact she was worried about what Nikki would say when she heard that she was back almost a month but hadn’t told her. She knew she was being ridiculous. Nikki was her friend, and if she had asked her, she would have kept this secret too. She just didn’t want to have her to lie anymore.
“I don’t know why you waited so long,” Eric chuckled, keeping his focus on the road ahead. “It’s important to have friends, Lex, and you’ve been friends with Nikki for so long.”
“I know,” Lexi sighed, knowing he was right. “I just wanted to be settled before I told anyone I was back.”
“Who else is the
re to tell?” He asked with a laugh, glancing over at her once more. “You’ve never mentioned anyone else.”
“You know what I mean,” she shrugged almost angry that he was laughing at her. She crossed her arms, turning her focus to the car window and the world outside the car.
“Lex,” Eric sighed, glancing over at her, but she didn’t reply. He glanced at her once again, then released a long sigh.
They drove the rest of the way home in silence, Lexi was lost in her own thoughts. When they reach their apartment, Eric suggested that he run a nice bubble bath for Lexi; then while she was relaxing, he would get dinner started.
Lexi smiled, saying that sounded perfect, but part of her felt guilty he was trying to make it up to her because he thought he was the one that had upset her.
As she stripped off her clothes in her bedroom, thoughts of Liam filled her head once more. Lexi thought about what Eric had said in the car and the stories he’s heard about Liam. It was hard to believe that the same sweet man that she once planned to share her life with was the same man that Eric was talking about.
Sure he had hurt her, more than anyone else ever had. But she knew he had made the biggest mistake of his life, one he regretted more than words could ever express. Lexi knew it the night he told her what happened. She could see the fear in his eyes. Fear that he was going to lose her. Fear he had pulled their world apart.
There was a tiny part of her that wanted to hold him. She wanted to tell him that everything would be okay. But something had stopped her; something inside her refused to let her lower her walls and let him back in.
Now she wondered if she’d ever really known him. Had she been so wrong about him?
“Your bath is ready,” Eric said from the doorway, pulling Lexi from her thoughts once more.
“Thanks,” she replied, giving him a grateful smile. As she pulled her bathrobe closed around her body.
“Lex,” he said with a sigh, and he slowly closed the distance between them. “About what I said in the car… I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Liam (The Murphy Boys Series Book 4) Page 6
