Page 52 of The Love Chase

His words were like aloe on a sunburn, soothing the pain that I had carried since he moved away. Lost for words, I took a sip of the latte and closed my eyes as the heavenly liquid filled my mouth.

“Good?” he asked, smirking at me.

“Perfect.” I met his gaze, suppressing a shiver. “Thanks, Liam.”

I tried to ignore the way he was staring at me as I took another long drink, focusing on the sweet, smoky taste of the coffee. I was doing an excellent job at tuning him out. At least until he said, “It looks good on you.”

My eyes snapped to his. “What?”

Liam nodded at my hand. “The ring. It suits you.”

Heat crept into my cheeks as I looked at it. “Oh. Yeah, it’s stunning. Bridget did a good job picking it out.”

Liam made a weird face that had his nose scrunching and a crease appearing between his brows. “Bridget didn’t pick the ring.”

I was confused. Bridget had done everything for the wedding, so I had just assumed that this was one more thing she’d handled.

But if she didn’t choose it, who—

“I picked it out.” He cleared his throat. “It reminded me of you.”

Liam chose my wedding ring? My heart grew wings and threatened to burst out of my chest, joining the party of butterflies taking flight in my stomach. The fact that he cared enough to want to pick it out instead of letting his manager handle it meant everything to me. It made the ring so much more special.

“It’s beautiful, Liam.” It was all I could say as unexpected tears threatened to spill onto my cheeks.

His green eyes studied me for a long moment, and I couldn’t read his face. I wished I could tell what he was thinking. Finally, Liam smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m glad you like it, Em.” Turning to fix his own coffee, he asked, “What do you have planned today?”

I took a seat at the island, not taking any chances about my knees getting weak in his proximity, watching him masterfully make another cup of coffee.

“There are forecasted supercells headed over southern Iowa today,” I managed to say. “I was going to christen my new equipment.”

I grinned at the horror on Liam’s face. I couldn’t help it. I loved the thrill of severe weather. I loved the beauty of nature running its course. He had always thought I was a crazy nerd for liking such things, but I was okay with that.

“You’re really going to chase after tornadoes?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes wide and confused.

“There are worse things I could chase after,” I replied, meeting his gaze.

Did he feel the double meaning in my words?

After a tense few seconds, his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Well, I’m coming with you.”

I laughed. “Excuse me?”

“Someone’s got to protect you,” he said matter-of-factly.

I burst out laughing. “I’ve shadowed plenty of experienced storm chasers, Liam. I know what I’m doing. Besides, you’re terrified of storms.”

He scowled. “I’m not terrified.”

I arched a brow, challenging that blatant lie.

“Not terrified,” he reiterated. “I just don’t like them. They’re loud and destructive.”

“But they’re also beautiful forces of nature,” I retorted. “They’re less scary when you understand how they work. That’s the point of chasing them. To understand them. To learn from them.”

He gave me a skeptical look.

I waved a hand in dismissal with a chuckle. I needed to get moving if I had any chance of catching a tornado. “I’m going to get ready. Thanks for the coffee.”

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