Page 26 of Accidental Attraction

“No, I was not right doing that to you. I was the one who asked you to do this, and in return I act like a conceited jerk with no consideration for your feelings. I said a lot of terrible things to you that I cannot take back, and I want you to know I am so sorry. If I could go back to when I met you, I wouldn’t have acted the way I did. I thought that if I was rude to you, you would take back your decision and leave, but you didn’t.” He stared down at his hands. “I just…I’m sorry, Jenna.” He looked up at me, and his blue eyes shone bright. I could tell he meant every single word.

“I forgive you, Liam.” I reached out and put one of my hands on top of his. I did forgive him. I’d forgiven him a week ago, when he started being nice toward me. I knew I shouldn’t have forgiven him so easily, but I did. I understood where he was coming from.

“But—”

“No buts. I get why you were acting so rude. Just don’t act that way again, please.”

“I won’t. I promise.” Sending me a bright smile, he squeezed my hand.

“Here you lovelies go,” Hilda interrupted us, moving our hands to place a big pizza in the middle of the table, followed along with a basket of garlic knots. “Enjoy.” When I saw the food, I could feel myself salivating. It all looked so good.

“Since I don’t know a lot about you, how about we play twenty questions while we eat?” Liam suggested, dishing a slice of pizza onto both of our plates. It sounded like a good way to get to know Liam better so I agreed. Not caring that I was acting un-lady-like, I bit into my pizza and moaned. I hadn’t eaten anything all day, so I stuffed the pizza into my face, completely forgetting Liam was sitting across from me.

“Jenna, slow down. There is plenty more.”

“Sworry,” I said around a mouthful. He shook his head at me.

“Since your mouth is full, I’ll start. Something simple. What is your favorite holiday?” He took a bite of his pizza and waited for my response.

I sat there thinking about it. No one had ever asked me that question, and I didn’t have an answer. I hadn’t celebrated any holidays since after my mother left me. Holidays were just another thing that I despised. Being alone did that to you.

“I don’t have one,” I finally answered.

“You don’t have a favorite holiday? How?”

“I just have never celebrated any, so I can’t really have a favorite.” I shrugged. It wasn’t that big of a deal. “Anyways, what is your favorite kind of candy?” I switched the subject.

“Nice change of subject.” He shook his head at me. “Mine would have to be Snickers. How about you?” Finishing up my piece of pizza, I grabbed another slice.

“Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Best thing on the planet. What is your favorite sport?” I asked, thinking back to all the trophies I found when I first moved in.

“Football. Fun to play and to watch,” he answered immediately.

“Is that why you played it in high school?”

“Yeah, Blake and I were always active when we were younger. To keep us entertained our parents put us into football in elementary, and from then on we played it.” I was surprised he actually answered me. When I asked him about it before, he’d just brushed me off.

“So you played three different sports in high school?” I asked. He looked at me, confused. “I found a box filled with trophies and rings from your high school,” I confessed.

“Little Miss Snoopy, aren’t you?” he teased, obviously not mad that I went through his things.

“Hey, it’s your fault for leaving me unattended.”

“But, to answer your question, yes I played three sports in school.”

“Why did you quit? It looks and sounded like you were great,” I asked, wanting to know.

“I got hurt badly in my freshman year of college, and since then I started focusing more on my father’s business than anything else.” I nodded, feeling bad for him. “You used up three of your questions, so I get to ask that many.”

“Fine, go ahead.”

“What happened with your mother?” I stared at him, knowing he was going to ask that question sooner or later. He deserved to know what happened when I was younger, especially after seeing me like that last night.

“I was five when she left me. She woke me up in the middle of the night, grabbed a few of my things, and dropped me off in front of an orphanage. Being five, I didn’t know what was going on, and it wasn’t until two days later I realized she wasn’t coming back, even after she promised she would. That morning, an older woman, Sam, found me at the doorstep and took me in. I still do not know why my mother decided to leave me. I used to think it was because she was part of the FBI or something and couldn’t come back until she was done with whatever it was, but now I know differently. She left to start a whole new life and didn’t bother to take me with her. I was too much baggage, apparently. I lived at the orphanage until I graduated high school at seventeen. Then I emancipated myself before moving out and to my old apartment,” I said, summarizing my life story as succinctly as possible. Liam didn’t need to know every little thing. He wouldn’t care, anyways.

“Jenna, that is—” he started, but I cut him off.

“It’s fine, Liam. I don’t really want to talk about it. I’ve moved on, and it is in the past,” I said simply. I lifted a hand up and rubbed my chest, hoping to get rid of the ache I was feeling in my heart. It was in the past, but it didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt. Being rejected by your own mother did something to you that marked you for life. “Tell me about your childhood.”

Without so much as a complaint, Liam started talking about his childhood with Blake and Lennon. I sat there listening to him, and I loved how he smiled at the memories of him and his friends. He talked about all the pranks he and Blake use to pull on his sister, Julie, and Lennon. He also mentioned all his family’s holiday traditions and how his parents used to embarrass him in front of his friends and crushes.

As he talked, I didn’t feel jealous, surprisingly. Instead, I felt the love he had for his family and friends. He talked about them so fondly, and when he told me about going to work with his father, I knew he had deep respect for his old man. I sat there listening to him talk and silently begging for him to never stop. I could not get enough of his voice, his smile, even his laugh. I took in every detail of Liam from the blue of his eyes to the little scar on the side of his chin I’d never noticed before. I watched as he gestured with his hands about some story, thinking about them wrapped around me.

Everything about Liam I liked. Even his sometimes cold demeanor I liked, as crazy as that sounded. I loved how his eyes shone brighter when he got excited or happy about something and how they turned dark when he was mad or what I think to be turned on. I loved that when he looked at me, I felt butterflies in my stomach, and my heart would start to race. Even when he got on my nerves I still liked him. I loved that he cared enough for me to leave the benefit party last night and cared for me afterwards. I loved that he took me out today to have fun so I wouldn’t think of my mother. And even now I loved that he was rambling about his childhood so I wouldn’t have to think about my sad past.

I suddenly froze, realizing something. I was starting to fall for Liam. I was starting to fall for the man I wasn’t supposed to. I was falling for someone who would never return the same feelings and who only thought of our relationship as a deal, a deal that would end in a year. As Liam sent me a genuine smile, I felt my heart warm up and a smile across my own face. Even though I did not know what being in love felt like, I knew for sure I was starting to fall for my fake fiancé.

---