Page 20 of So Bad It Must Be Good

There was a simmering kind of frustration building inside of him and he wished he could spend a couple hours quietly in his workshop getting something accomplished. Then maybe he could figure it out and eradicate it.

Instead, he had to go to a few appointments with Dad, and often that work could relax him too. But he didn’t feel like being around anyone right now, no matter how much he enjoyed his father’s company.

He wanted to be alone. He wanted to sort out these unwanted and unbidden feelings assaulting him. He was not a big feelings guy. He did what had to be done. He fixed.

He did not get bent out of shape about being asked to keep something from his brother. He hadn’t even been planning on telling Aiden. So why it grated that Kayla had asked him not to say anything about her drunken evening chastely in his bed, Liam couldn’t figure out.

He shouldn’t be surprised. Of course she didn’t want Aiden to know. Even though nothing had happened, it didn’t exactly look good on either of them that she’d gotten drunk and Liam had taken her home.

He slammed the truck bed door closed. He was probably as irritated with himself as he was with everyone else, and he didn’t get it.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to. But it was a problem, and problems always needed fixing. Quite the conundrum.

He glanced up at his house and Kayla stepped out of his door. She held her shoes in one hand, her colorful purse strapped across her chest. She was wearing the dress he’d washed for her, but he puzzled over the fact she was wearing his T-shirt over it.

She approached and though she was always pale, the hangover paleness of her skin seemed to make her freckles stand out even more. Despite clearly looking sick, she was pretty. Clean and fresh, and a little disheveled.

“Sorry. My dress kind of, um, shrunk in the wash and . . .” She made a gesture with her hands that he had the uncomfortable feeling had to do with her breasts, so he just nodded his head.

“It’s fine. Keep it.”

“Oh, well, I can always return it.”

Liam shrugged. He didn’t expect to be seeing Kayla much after this. If she didn’t remember taking a shower after throwing up in his yard, he doubted she remembered her grand plans to have him teach her woodworking.

Which was good. Great, even. He didn’t have time to teach anyone shit.

“Ready?” he asked, maybe something more of a demand, as he rounded the truck to the driver’s side. He hopped in and waited for her to do the same.

But she stood outside the passenger door, an odd expression on her face. Eventually though, she clambered into the passenger side seat.

He shoved the key into the ignition and turned it. He felt exactly as he always felt around Kayla. Uncomfortable and stiff. Whatever camaraderie they’d had last night had clearly worn off. Maybe that had been some sort of bizarre effect of her drinking. He felt comfortable enough to let down some of his guard.

It was certainly all back today. He was a damn fortress.

“What’s your address?”

She rattled off the number and street, clutching her purse in her lap. She looked as uncomfortable as he felt and he realized part of it was probably the nasty hangover she must have. He should’ve offered her some breakfast or some coffee. He should . . . not be a dick. It wasn’t her fault this was weird.

Okay, it was kind of her fault that it was weird, but sometimes when people were in complex situations in their lives, they made mistakes. She was young. Three whole years younger than he was.

He’d made dumb mistakes. Somewhere along the line. Probably.

Still, the point was people made mistakes and Kayla was going through a rough personal time. Maybe he didn’t understand it and maybe she’d had a lot of stuff handed to her due to her family’s wealth or whatever, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still a tough time for her.

So he needed to stop being Fortress Patrick, or Captain Stick in the Ass as Aiden might say, and do something about it. Fix it.

“You want to stop at McDonald’s or something? Sometimes greasy food helps a hangover a little bit.”

She still didn’t look at him, but she pressed her hands to her stomach. “I can’t decide if the idea is revolting or absolutely what I need, but you don’t have to do that. I’ve already imposed on you enough.”

“It’s not an imposition to go through the drive-through at McDonald’s on the way to drop you off. Besides, my first appointment this morning is kind of near your place.” If the opposite direction was kind of.

“Kind of,” she repeated, her mouth curving a little. “You are not quite what I thought you were, Liam. You’re . . .”

When she didn’t finish her sentence, he knew he should let it go. But there were a lot of things he knew when it came to Kayla Gallagher, and in the past twenty-four hours he seemed to ignore all of them. “I’m what?” he asked, flicking his glance to her as he drove.

Her mouth curved even more. “You’ve always had a very standoffish demeanor when it comes to me. But that’s not actually you at all, is it?”

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