As Harper rounded the car, she spotted Dale and Hamilton who were setting up their things in the third row of seats. Harper would have the middle to herself again. Maybe she’d stretch out along the bench seat and take a nap for the three-and-a-half-hour ride. Though, odds were her brain wouldn’t be able to stay quiet long enough to let her doze off.
“You got everything?” Bennett asked her as she walked up to him.
“Yup.” She nodded.
“I got you another juice; it’s in the cooler with some bottles of water. Organic apple this time.” He looked over at her and waggled his eyebrows.
“Ohhh, fancy.”
“You know it. That’s how we roll.” He stacked another bag into the trunk just as Dale stepped around to the back of the SUV.
“Did you seriously just say, that’s how we roll?”
“Yeah, you got a problem with it?” Bennett asked.
“No problem.” Dale shook his head. “Just didn’t realize how hip and cool you are.” The sarcasm was dripping from his words.
“You know, it’s a long walk back home, buddy.”
“Like you’d leave him,” Hamilton said, joining the group. “Mel wouldn’t let you.”
“Fair point.”
Both boys grinned before they grabbed bags from the rolling cart and started loading them into the back, allowing Bennett to take a step to the side.
His gray-blue eyes were uncovered and he looked Harper over with concern. “You feeling any better?”
“I think I’m about as good as I’m going to get for a while.”
He nodded, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against his solid body. He pressed a kiss to her temple before he pulled back, his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I’m not oblivious enough to not see that something is going on. I got your back, Harper. No matter what it is.”
“Make that two of us,” Hamilton said as he continued to load the car.
“What am I? Chopped liver?” Dale asked. He stopped and looked over at her. “Make that three of us.” He pointed to his chest. “I got your back, too.”
One of the few genuine smiles she’d felt in days turned up her lips, but a second later it was sliding off her face.
Hamilton’s gaze was fixed on a spot over Harper’s shoulder and he waved, calling out. “Hey! Liam!”
Harper spun around immediately, her heart now lodged in her throat as her eyes focused on the man crossing over to them, cowboy boots and all.
And dammit, she couldn’t stop herself from admiring the all. His jeans looked like they were made for him, and the V-neck of his green T-shirt was pulled low by the aviator sunglasses that hung from the collar, exposing the very top of his chest.
Even with his eyes uncovered, she couldn’t read anything in them. Between that and the set line of his mouth, she didn’t find anything promising in his expression.
“Were you staying here, too?” Hamilton asked as Liam joined the group.
“No, I’ve been staying with Logan. But I was wanting to catch a word with Harper before you guys hit the road. Is that okay?” His gaze focused on her, and for just a second she saw hope flicker through his eyes. But it was gone just as quickly and she was pretty sure she might’ve imagined it…or it was a trick of the sun.
“Yes.” She turned to Bennett, whose eyes were focused intently on her. “Ten minutes?”
“Take as long as you want. We’ll be here.”
She made a move to step away but Bennett grabbed her hand, making her stop and look back at him.
“Right here, Harper,” he said only loud enough for her to hear. “If you need us.”
“Thanks.” She squeezed his hand before she stepped away, following Liam. When they walked out into the sun he pulled his glasses from his shirt and slid them onto his face. He led them to a patch of green on the side of the hotel, heading for the black metal bench in the corner that was shaded under a massive tree.
They sat on opposite ends, as much distance between them as possible. The space felt forced…wrong.
All wrong.
Liam took a deep breath, letting it out as he rubbed his hands across his jeans. “I’m sorry about last night. I was a dick, and no matter anything that’s happened, you didn’t deserve that.”
“I…” Her brain went momentarily blank. “I, um…”
Nope. Nothing.
“I believe you,” he continued. “I believe the baby is mine…or ours really.” He stopped rubbing his hands across his jeans and reached up, running his fingers through his hair. “Wow, that sentence didn’t exactly seem real coming out of my mouth.”
“I know what you mean,” she said, finding her voice. “I was in denial until a week ago.”
“What was a week ago?”
“I finally took the pregnancy test, or tests really. And there were plenty of signs that I ignored…or tried to ignore.”
“How many tests did you take?” he asked, dropping his hands. Some of his hair fell across his forehead, and just like the night before she wanted to reach up and brush it back.
“Fifteen,” she said as she settled her hands on the bench next to her, tapping her fingers against the warm black metal. She needed something to do with her hands besides touching him.
“Seriously?”
“Five a day, three days in a row. And I think I was still in denial until my doctor’s appointment the other day. So really, coming to grips with this after about twelve hours is pretty impressive on your part.”
“So…this was only just confirmed?”
“Yeah.” She nodded slowly.
“And who else knows?”
“Mel and my other friend Grace.”
“So you haven’t told your parents?”
“No. The plan was to tell you first.” Yeah, she’d planned a number of things that hadn’t exactly happened. Hadn’t been close to happening.
“You should know my parents know.”
“They do?” Oh. Dear. God. They probably thought she was the worst person in the world. Well, maybe not the absolute worst…but pretty far up there.
“They travel all over the continent these days, so there’s no telling when I’ll see them again. It isn’t exactly information I want to inform them about over the phone. So I told them this morning, and my brother and sister found out last night.”
So his entire family knew. And none of hers did. She was going to have to change that very soon.
“How did they take it?”
“They’re all supportive. My parents are kind of used to unconventional at this point. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”
For a second her mind reeled, thinking that he had other kids from other women out there…apparently she was no better than he was last night. But then something clicked in her brain, making her heart twinge in pain. “Are you talking about Logan and his daughter?”
Madison had been the little girl’s name, and the image of the “M” tattoo on Liam’s arm flashed through her mind, the bird taking flight above it. He’d gotten the tattoo for his niece who passed away.
“Yeah.” He nodded.
Harper knew about Logan and his daughter, not only because it had been big news a couple of months ago, but because of Abby’s involvement in the whole debacle. It had almost ended Abby’s relationship with Logan, but in the end they’d found their way back to each other.
Maybe there was a possibility something like that could happen again…
“After Madison, they have a very different perspective on things.” The pain in his voice was palpable, not all that shocking as Liam and his family had dealt with an extreme loss. Death of a loved one was never easy…but the death of a child?
Unimaginable.
Yup, if his family thought that she was going to keep this child from Liam, they would without a doubt hate her.
“Liam, I swear I was going to tell you. If…if you believe anything, please believe that.” The desperat
ion to fix this was clawing at her insides.
“I do. I believe that.”
Okay…well, that was something at least.
“So what about your doctor’s appointment? Was everything okay with the baby? With you?”
“They’re doing a complete blood workup, but those results won’t come back for a week or two. But everything they were able to check at the appointment was good. Well, for the most part. The nausea has been hard to deal with, so they gave me some medicine to help with that.”
“So you’ve had bad morning sickness?”
She couldn’t stop the scoff that escaped her throat, couldn’t help herself. “That title is full of false advertising. The mornings are actually the easiest. Afternoons are when it really hits the hardest. If it gets worse than what I’m currently dealing with I need to go back in. But as it is, my next appointment will be in a month.”
“Did they give you a due date?”
“January thirtieth.”
“And did you hear the heartbeat?” He shifted closer to her.
“No, not yet. It was too soon. That should happen at the next appointment.”
“I want to be there,” he said immediately. “I don’t want to miss it.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t want to miss any of it, Harper. I don’t want to screw this up.”
Her hands tapped out a faster rhythm against the bench. “I think I already took care of that. I messed up. Made this harder…and I’m sorry.”
“So, what do we do? What do you want?”
“I’d like to get to know you.”
The flash of frustration in his eyes was apparent, and he let out a bitter huff through his nose. “I wanted that six weeks ago.”
“I…I know. I wish there was a way to start over.” Her throat had to work hard to get those last words out, tightening around them.
“We can’t start over. Too much has happened.” His mouth made that hard stubborn line again. The finality in it clear as day.
So that was it. They couldn’t start over.
She turned away from him, looking over at a couple walking their dog on the opposite side of the little park. She closed her eyes hard in an attempt to block out the image of the people in front of her, but instead different images filtered through her brain.
Liam walking up to her at the bar. Liam pressing her against the wall as he kissed her for the first time. Liam singing to her, his voice resonating in her bones. Liam looking down into her eyes as he moved inside of her. As he consumed every part of her.
But that was over. Apparently there was no finding their way back.
So that was where they stood…the only way he was going to be a part of her life was through their child. That was just how it was going to be. Splitting holidays, one Christmas with, the next without. Meeting halfway so that Liam could have him or her for the summer.
People did it all the time. Shared their child.
This was how it was going to be. And she was just going to have to accept it.
Chapter Ten
Catching Up
The next ten minutes were in no way easy for Liam. He was fighting with every ounce of his strength to keep his hands to himself, because all he wanted was to reach over and touch Harper.
It took everything in him not to pull her into his chest. Took everything in him not to wrap his arms around her, press his nose into that spot just underneath her ear, and inhale. Even now, the scent of honey filled his nose with every breath, testing his will.
As her eyes were his biggest source of insight, and her sunglasses currently covered them, he couldn’t be completely sure of her emotions. But she was fidgeting, something that until last night he wasn’t used to seeing her do. And for whatever reason she seemed just as confused and lost as he did.
He had no clue what to do about any of it. It was hard for him to get over how mad he still was at her.
She’d left.
Yes she’d explained it, said she was scared. And he got that, really he did, because he’d been terrified. But that didn’t change the facts.
She’d left.
The sting of waking up alone was still there, itching underneath his skin. And it had absolutely nothing to do with his pride. Hell, that had gone out the window about a second after he’d met her. After he’d seen her really. And it wasn’t like he’d regained it, either. Case in point his ridiculous love anthem that would be officially released to the airwaves in a few weeks’ time.
He tried not to cringe at the thought of it. Yup, the second that was out there, the only name for what he was would be a fool.
And then there was the fact that she’d waited so long to tell him about the pregnancy.
Okay…so she’d just confirmed it a week ago…and then the doctor’s appointment to really confirm it had only been a few days ago. Denial was a word she’d used in describing the time gap between suspecting and knowing.
And denial was a word that he was becoming fully acquainted with as well.
Because he really thought he could do it, really thought he could get through it all without making a bigger ass out of himself. And he almost did, too. Made it through the part where he programmed her number into his phone—and he was going to ignore the relief of finally having it. Made it through the appointment confirmation of her next doctor’s visit that he would be going to—and which was conveniently during a break of the Isaac Hunter tour. Made it through walking the short distance back to the hotel where her friends were waiting by the car.
But he couldn’t have things stay that way. Couldn’t let her leave like this. Because at the end of it all, he couldn’t walk away. He still wanted her.
They were ten feet from the car when he gave in. He pulled his sunglasses from his face, hanging them on his shirt, before he grabbed her hand. He was unable to ignore the relief that coursed through him at finally touching her. She came up short as she turned to look at him.
“You want to get to know me?” His hold on her hand tightened, and he closed the distance taking a step forward.
“Yes. I do,” she answered without hesitation.
“Okay, new rule: no barriers.” He reached up, pushing her sunglasses into her hair and revealing her eyes. She winced at the sudden brightness, but she didn’t look away from him.
What he saw first was surprise mingled in her eyes, violet eyes that he’d been unable to get out of his head for the last few weeks. But underneath the shock they were tired and sad…sadder than anything he’d seen on her face before.
Considering everything, that was saying a lot. He hated seeing that look there. Hated it.
“Like I said earlier, we can’t start over. It’s not possible with everything that’s happened. Certain things can’t be undone.” He let go of her hand, grabbing on to her hip and sliding his palm around to her back. His other hand moved to her face, cradling her jaw.
“Like me leaving.”
“There are a number of things, and that’s one of them.” He nodded slowly. “I wish I could forget that part. I really wish I could, but it happened, and it sucked something serious.”
“Believe me it sucked for me, too. I’m sorry, Liam. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell you that enough.”
“I know that. I do. And, though we can’t erase it, we can move past it. And even though we can’t start over, we can catch up.” His thumb brushed her cheek.
“And how do we do that?” Hope flickered in her eyes, a hope that was running through him as well.
“One day at a time.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers gently, just a slow simple brush before he pulled her bottom lip into his mouth. His hand moved back, palming the base of her skull as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss.
She opened for him immediately, like she needed to taste him just as much as he needed to taste her. And then her hands were at his sides, tightening in the fabric of his shirt.
He didn’t care that they were surrounded by people, most
of them strangers and a group of four that he had no doubt were watching their every move. Nope, he didn’t care in the slightest. All he was focused on was the fact that the woman in his arms was not only holding on to him, but kissing him like her life depended on it.
When he pulled back from her a minute—or two—later, they were both good and truly breathless. He leaned down, resting his forehead against hers.
“Despite everything that’s happened,” he whispered, “I still want you, Harper. That hasn’t changed.” Will probably never change. He moved just enough to where he could press his lips to her forehead.
She pulled back and looked up at him. “So how does this ‘no barriers’ work?”
“Honesty. We share everything personal.”
“So the exact opposite of six weeks ago.”
“Exactly. We talk. Every day. And at a minimum we learn three new things about each other daily.”
“Like what?” she asked, her mouth quirking to the side and giving him the first smile he’d seen on her face since finding her again.
“Like, I’m twenty-nine, have an older brother and younger sister, and I’m a musician.”
“I already know all of those things about you.”
“But I don’t know any of those things about you,” he said as he continued to move his thumb across her jaw.
“Okay, I’m twenty-six, an only child, and a massage therapist.”
“That’s interesting, both of our careers are dependent on our hands.”
Speaking of hands, hers were now climbing up his chest, something he had no problem with in the slightest.
“You have to go again,” she said as her fingertips brushed his collarbone.
“I hate Brussels sprouts, I have a slight fear of heights, and I hope our child has your eyes.”
Her hands stopped moving, her fingers now laying against the base of his neck. “Liam.” She breathed his name and he did the only thing he knew. He kissed her again, savoring everything about the taste of her on his tongue.
Unsung Page 13
