Page 14 of Addicted

“Okay…O-Owen.” Liam swallowed, not used to the word on his lips; it felt sinful. Sure, he had used it before during every sexual scenario in his head but out in the real world? It was almost too much. “It’s fine. This place isn’t really...” Liam tried to find another word but his brain was still offline. “…professional?”

Mr. Par-Owen’s -chuckle made Liam’s palms tingle.

“Agreed. But it doesn’t matter, everyone I’ve met seems competent and wonderful. And, let me tell you, it’s nice to see a familiar face.”

“Um…” Liam didn’t know what to say or do. Despite how his body was reacting, this was unsettling, not serendipity. Why was Owenhere?Why did The Parkers move tothistown? The world was a big place. And didn’t he work in finance? Why would he take a job at The Pointe? Managing a reception hall was very different than dealing with people’s money.

Also, why was he so happy to see Liam? And whywasn’tLiam happy to see him? Instead of feeling lucky Liam had a pit of anxiety in his stomach and he needed to be on his guard because Owen most likely had questions of his own, questions that Liam didn’t want to answer, one of them beingwhy haven’t I heard from you?

And Liam wouldn’t be able to explain. He couldn’t put into words how he’d needed to get away, how painful it would have been to stay in his hometown and see his parents everywhere, see another family living in his house, have everyone he knew witness him slowly breaking apart. So he’d moved north, far enough to not be reminded of anything or run into anyone he knew, to a place where he could be invisible and alone. On the rare occasion that he was recognized - either by an old high school friend or someone who knew his parents - the first look they gave him was one of surprise, for he was now a ghost of himself and he knew that the depressed energy he constantly masked was leaking out.

Which led them to the second look. Pity.

Liam hated pity. It made him glad that he’d changed all his contact information, deleted his social media, and vanished. And it was why he didn’t tell anyone new what had happened. It would only make them feel sorry for him.

However, Owen wasn’t looking at him like that. He’d only hugged Liam when he saw him, and there was no ‘how are you’or ‘I’m sorry’said in a tone that made Liam want to curl up in a ball or kick things.

Which made Liam look closer. Strangely, Fantasy Owen was pretty close to reality. The last time he’d seen his old neighbor was three years ago, when he’d waved goodbye to Liam’s moving van as it had pulled away, and those years had been kind to him. He was still broad and well-built, with biceps that strained his dress shirt and forearms that Liam wanted to lick. His blond hair shone, showing no gray even though he was closer to thirty-five than thirty. He had a regal nose with a slight bump at the top, the imperfection only making him more alluring, and his eyebrows and lips were full, the latter plump and very kissable. The only thing that betrayed his age were the lines around his eyes but it was the look in them, the way he held himself, the stiffness in his shoulders and demeanor that was different. Owen Parker used to be a man who exuded joy while cracking the worst dad jokes in the world but, looking at him now? You’d never guess it.

“How are, um, Mrs. Parker and Mikey?” Liam asked, lining his curiosity with politeness.

“They’re…well…” Owen looked away. “I guess I might as well tell you. Sharon and I are in the middle of a divorce.”

Liam’s mouth dropped open. A divorce? He couldn’t have heard that right.What happened?Wait. There was something even more important here than the reasons behind Owen’s divorce.Owen was single.Oralmostsingle. That bit of information hit Liam’s brain in full neon and he blinked, closing his mouth as it went dry, his eyes flicking to Owen’s hand and confirming that he no longer wore a wedding ring.

“The whole thing has been rather contentious and we ended up selling the house.” Owen shrugged in a self-deprecating way. It was odd on him. “So, I moved here and decided to start over.”

“A-At The Pointe?” Liam stuttered. He was getting answers but each one was like a slap to the face.

“Well, the firm I worked for was run by Sharon’s best friend so I wasn’t welcome there after a while. John was one of my clients and when he heard about my unemployment and relocation, he offered me a job. Starting immediately.”

“Oh,” Liam said, the single word holding weight. No wonder Owen looked so sad under it all. Like Liam, he’d been moving in a sure, certain direction until life took the reins and made a bad turn for him. But he was clearly picking up the pieces better than Liam was and for some reason that made Liam feel even worse about himself.

“Do you remember my friend Finn?” Owen started to push some of the paperwork into a pile, obviously trying to change the subject.

Liam respected that, nodding emphatically. “He helped you with the pool.”

“Yes! He lives close by and I thought it’d be a good idea to be near a friend right now. Actually, I guess it’sfriendssince you live around here too.“ Owen tilted his head and Liam shifted, trying not to fall through the chair in shock.

Two hours ago, he never thought he’d see Owen Parker again and now he considered them to be friends?Real adult friends?Did Liam drive through some kind of portal on the way to work? As much as he’d fantasized about seeing Owen again, he didn’t want this.Thiswas complicated, dangerous, and Liam didn’t have any feelings to spare.

“I moved to Pheasant Run, the condo complex on Croton Street. It’s about ten minutes away,” Owen continued. Liam nodded again like he knew where that was. He was only familiar with the neighborhood around his apartment.

The room fell silent as Owen eyed the scattered paperwork taunting him from the desk. “Do you like it here?”

“What? Um, yeah.” Liam swallowed, trying to wet his throat. “Everyone is super nice…but…sometimes John-”

“Is the perfect definition of an ass?”

A small grin spread across Liam’s face and despite himself, he relaxed a little. “Yeah. But he’s not here a lot.”

“I heard that. Can’t say I’m bothered by it.”

Liam stifled a giggle, relaxing more even though he should be on his guard; he knew that the oncoming mental punch of having Owen be his new manager hadn’t quite hit him yet.

Owen gestured at his messy desk. “In my meeting with Dylan, we discovered a significant backlog of work.”

“Did he tell you about The Pile?” Liam asked automatically. It had been one of the hot topics among the staff during the past few weeks. They’d all wondered how bad it would get before the new venue manager showed up.

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