Page 32 of Something Forever

We’re quiet on the ride to JFK. All through security, we barely engage in conversation. I comment on the length of the line, and he says nothing in response. When we finally sit down at the gate, we have over an hour until boarding starts.

He turns his full gaze onto me, his eyes hard. “What did I tell you? I could’ve slept another hour.”

I shrug. “Better safe than sorry.”

“I’m already sorry,” he mutters under his breath. I try to hide my chuckle at his grumpiness, which I’m starting to find entertaining. He stands and gestures at the Starbucks. “Want a coffee?”

“Oh, sure. I’ll take a?—”

“I got it,” he cuts me off and walks away without another glance.

I take out my iPad and connect to the Wi-Fi, downloading a few Netflix episodes for the flight. Ten minutes later, Liam returns with two drinks and a bag. He hands me one of the cups and the bag.

I eyeball the two items. “What is this?”

“Iced oat milk latte and a cake pop. What does it look like?”

My mouth hangs open in shock. “How do you know my Starbucks order?”

He just shrugs in response. “You’ve left like four of those cups in the trash and I saw you eating a cake pop twice in the last week. Don’t know how you can stand them. They taste like balls of sugar.”

“What a great new term of endearment for you, Sugar Balls.” I open the bag and sure enough, there’s a brownie cake pop sitting inside. “Thank you, Liam.”

He just nods curtly, avoiding my eyes. He’s acting like it’s not a big deal, but I’m surprisingly touched that he noticed anything about me other than what an annoyance I am.

While I finish downloading a few episodes of Stranger Things onto my iPad, Liam takes out a book. I slant my gaze over to read the title — it’s a Vonnegut book.

He catches my eye. “What?”

“Nothing. I was just wondering what you’re reading.” He opens the book to the first page. “I liked that one.”

He glances up again. “You’ve read it?”

“Yes, women can read you know.”

He shakes his head. “Why do you do that?”

“I was joking.”

“It wasn’t very funny,” he says bluntly, his eyes falling back down to the page. “If this is going to work — you know, me being your husband and all — you might want to give me some benefit of the doubt. Stop assuming the worst.”

I huff and cross my arms. “I was trying to be friendly! Make small talk about Sirens of Titan. Maybe we have that in common.”

He shrugs. “I guess we’ll find out once I finish.”

I sigh and turn back to my iPad, feeling frustrated that my efforts at conversation turned into another argument. Maybe I am being too harsh on him. But he started it by acting like a jerk the last few weeks we’ve been living together.

“I liked Slaughterhouse Five, so I thought I’d try another,” Liam pipes up from beside me. I glance over at him, and his gaze meets mine, open and… warm?

I realize he’s trying, too. He’s giving me an olive branch.

I smile softly. “Yeah, I liked that one too. I thought he’d be insufferable and pretentious, but he’s actually got a really interesting style.”

He hums in agreement and turns his gaze back to the book. I let my eyes wander over his face, his sharp jaw line, his speckled green-hazel eyes, his soft brown curls and rugged beard that I want to reach out and touch. It would be a lot easier to hate him if he weren’t so absolutely gorgeous. I force my gaze back down and pretend he’s not there.

When the flight starts boarding, I slip my iPad into my bag. Of course, I want to wait until the last second to board, but Liam stands when they call our group, glancing back at where I’m sitting.

He smirks. “Surprised you aren’t the type to wait by the sides to board, blocking everyone in your path.”

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