Page 25 of Accidental Attraction

“So, where to now?” I asked, reluctantly letting his hand go and opening the car door. I loved the feeling of my hand in his. They fit perfectly together.

“How about somewhere to eat? I’m starving,” he offered, starting the car.

“Sounds good to me.”

“I have the perfect place in mind.” With that, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed to wherever we were going. In a great mood, I turned on the radio. Smiling at the song that came on, I started singing the lyrics for “Somebody That I Used To Know” at the top of my lungs.

“How do you even know this song?” Liam yelled over at me.

“Do I live under a rock?” I rolled my eyes. “Since I am stuck at home every day, I play iTunes.”

I kept singing, not caring that my voice sucked. It felt great to just let it out and be myself. Liam kept glancing over at me, but I could tell he was smiling. I loved being the reason he smiled. Turning in my seat, I started singing at him, even making faces along with the song.

“You know, your voice sucks,” he commented.

“What?” I put a hand to my chest. “My voice is like an angel’s.” I didn’t take any offense because I knew my voice was nowhere near angelic. I sounded like a whale begging to die while being dragged behind a car.

“Yeah, like a sweet angel,” he shot back at me.

“Fine, what’s your voice like, oh masterful one?” I asked. “Go ahead.” I gestured for him to sing.

“No, I don’t sing.”

“Come on! You can’t say I am terrible if you are no better. I want to hear it, so sing. The song is about to end, so hurry.” I sat back in my seat, crossing my arms across my chest and staring at the side of his face. Realizing I was not going to back down, he sighed. Liam sang. I sat there in shock. Of course Liam could sing. Damn he could sing. Instead of saying anything, I huffed and slumped down in my seat.

“What?”

“Don’t what me! You can sing, you…you butt-bunch.”

“So?”

“It just isn’t fair! You’re good at everything!” I pouted. I was not one of those people who was born with gifts.

“I’m not good at everything,” Liam said, stopping the car. Looking out the front window, I saw we were at Rick’s Pizzeria. The last time we were here, Liam was being a dick to me, making me leave and get bombarded with paparazzi. “I thought we could finish the meal we were supposed to have,” he said. He looked almost nervous.

“Just what I wanted,” I said, smiling over at him. Getting out of the car, we made our way inside the restaurant. Once again I was hit the smell of fresh pizza and garlic bread. My stomach made growling noises, which made me put an arm around my stomach to quiet it.

“Liam! Back again?” The same lady as the last time came forward and hugged Liam. “And you brought the same girl back!” She gave me a hug as well, and she seated us in a little corner, giving us some privacy. Sending us a weird smile, she backed away.

“Don’t mind Hilda. She likes to embarrass me,” Liam said, grabbing a menu.

“I like her,” I said, grabbing the other menu. While browsing it, I felt a pair of eyes looking at me. “What?” I asked, afraid there was something on my face.

“Uh, um, nothing,” he stuttered before looking down. “What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know. It all sounds so good. I do want garlic bread for sure.”

“How about we get a large pizza and garlic knots? They are the best thing to get here.”

“Sure.” I trusted Liam’s choice, since he had been here before and actually eaten their food. After giving our order to Hilda, we sat there staring at one another, almost awkwardly.

“Liam, thank you for today,” I said, placing my hands in front of me on the table. “You made me feel a lot better. And I want to also thank you again for taking care of me last night.” I was done feeling embarrassed. I had never been that vulnerable in front of someone.

“You’re welcome. I am glad I could get your mind off your mother for a while.” I hadn’t thought of her the entire day, but it was still lingering in the back of my mind, and it wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. I just didn’t know what to do about it. Should I try and contact her, telling her who I am? Should I just ignore her? There was just so much to consider, but I didn’t want to think about it.

“I also want to say something to you,” Liam said, knocking me out of my own thoughts. “I want to apologize for how I acted when I first met you. I acted like a complete jackass to you when I shouldn’t have.”

“Liam—” I started, but he cut me off.

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