Page 14 of Tide Over

“Talk soon.” I bump the fist he holds out for me, and he gives Liam a wave as he heads off.

And as I turn to Liam, a sense of disappointment settles as I see him looking relaxed and comfortable.

“Sorry to be lame,” I say with a wince. “But I have to cut this night short. Four AM comes early.”

He shakes his head. “No problem. I’m ready to go.”

“You can stay,” I say. “You know your way back?”

Liam shakes his head again. “It’s fine, I’d rather go back now.”

“Ok.” I nod and finish off the last of my beer, turning around to wave at Allison for the bill.

When she brings it over, I grab it before Liam can and give him a look. “You took out my wall. Don’t even try.”

He huffs out an amused breath of laughter, but looks uneasy as he watches me pull my wallet out. “I don’t mind?—”

“It’s best not to argue with him,” Allison says with a smirk. “He usually gets his way.”

I shake my head with a chuckle as I tap my card to the machine. “Not quite how I remember it.”

She laughs as she takes the machine back. “See ya later, guys.”

We stand to leave, and I wave to Heather as we head towards the door.

“Sunday dinner!” she yells, and points between me and Liam.

I roll my eyes and push the door open, heading outside into the cool darkness.

Liam doesn’t say anything about Heather’s comment as he falls into step beside me, and we walk in silence along the road towards my house. It’s not too long of a walk, and the sound of the ocean gently lapping against the shore creates a peaceful backdrop. The muffled sounds of music from the pub fades away behind us as we continue down the dark road, and I release a breath. I know I should just get this over with, since there’s no getting out of it.

“So…” I say slowly. “We do Sunday dinner at my mom’s every week.”

Liam nods. “Nice.”

“Yeah.” I hesitate. “And… you’re invited this weekend.”

He turns his head to look at me, and even in the dark I can see the question in his eyes.

“And it’s actually not even an invitation, it’s more of a… demand.” I wince as I look away from him. “Because I’m willing to bet my sister has already told my mom you’re living with me. So, there will be a phone call in the morning asking if you have allergies and preferences.” I run a hand through my hair. “But I get it if you don’t want to, and I can get them to back off.”

Liam is silent for a moment as we continue walking, and worry burrows in the pit of my stomach. I justknowhe is wondering what the fuck he got himself into by coming here. So far he’s been set up to live in a construction zone, set to work on said construction zone, just met people who asked him more about himself than I have in the two days I’ve known him,and now he’s being forced into a family dinner with people he’s never met. And I know I’m not the most welcoming person. This definitely isn’t what he signed up for, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he just up and leaves in the morning.

But he lets out a light chuckle.“Ok,” he says softly. “I get it. They want to know who this random person is living with you. Works for me.”

I turn to look at him, taking in his dark hair blowing in the breeze, and the moonlight highlighting his gentle smile.

And the worry is replaced with something I haven’t felt in a long time.

Excitement.

Because I haven’t scared him off just yet.

SEVEN

I sitat the kitchen island, restlessly sipping a third cup of coffee as I look around the space. It’s somewhat early in the afternoon, and I already have most of the studs out of the wall. There’s a few more to take out before I can patch up the holes on the external wall. Then… I’ll need to find something else to do.

With a sigh, I rub a hand over my face. Theo mentioned he’s doing another job somewhere after fishing today, so I’m not sure when I’ll see him back here. Which means I’m not sure what else I could work on without stepping on his toes. But I need to do something. I can’t just sit here.

---