Page 52 of Harboring Secrets
“I’m fine. It was a long day.”
Liam narrowed his gaze at me, like he also wished he could read my thoughts. Earlier I’d wished for it, but now I was glad he couldn’t. I didn’t want him to know how pathetic I felt at the idea of him planning a life without me. He had things back home to take care of. I knew that. But the idea of him going and leaving me behind, of maybe not coming back, made what little lunch I ate lurch in my stomach.
“Brodie.” Liam took his hands out of his pockets and crossed the distance between us. Before I could think of pulling away, he was there, tugging me into his arms. “Talk to me, love.”
My body wasn’t mine. I told it to run, but it wasn’t listening. Instead, it did the opposite. It leaned into him. My arms slid around his waist and I gripped handfuls of his shirt like I could keep him if he tried to bolt. Liam nuzzled my hair, his voice barely a whisper.
“Brodie, please.”
My eyes scrunched closed and I tried to get my heart rate under control. It slammed against my ribs like it was trying to break free and climb inside Liam for safekeeping. He couldn’t leave if he had my actual heart.
“You’re coming back, right?” In my head a million different scenarios had played out all day long. Liam and I had met and fallen in love on a whim. Maybe it was the thing I’d gone looking for when I told Shane I wanted to travel. Because once I found him, seeing the world didn’t matter at all if he wasn’t with me.
“What do you mean am I coming back?” Liam sounded genuinely confused as though he hadn’t spent half the day planning to leave. Anger erupted like a volcano and I managed to put some distance between us, even if I still clung to him like I was drowning and he was the only one who could save me. There was at least air and light between our bodies now.
“What do you mean, what do I mean? You talked to John and were all ‘I’m planning to come back to deal with things and I’ll send you Piper’s stuff.’ And then you said you’d buy something to drive when you got back.”
Liam took a breath and then his hands were cradling my face. My eyes closed. I couldn’t stand to see him see me like this. I wanted to disappear.
“Where do you get the idea that I wouldn’t take you with me? Where I go, you go.” Lips ghosted against mine, soft like an apology. “You’re coming with me.”
Relief nearly took me off my feet, but I steadied myself by gripping on to Liam even tighter. “I am?” I opened my eyes and looked into his, trying to search for deception and finding none. “But you never—you said you had to go back. You didn’t mention me.”
Liam combed his fingers into my hair. “There is no me without you.”
He sounded so earnest, so sincere that tears pricked at my eyes and I blinked them away.
“That’s quite the line,” I said, breathless with relief.
“It’s the truth. Until I found you, I was a ghost. I was a round peg in a square hole, wondering if I was going to feel out of place for the rest of my days. And then you came into my life like a sunbeam.”
“A rain cloud would be more accurate.” A smile tugged its way onto my face without my permission, but I didn’t fight it.
“I wasn’t trying make you feel excluded. I’ve been on my own for a while now, and referring to our plans as my plans is a habit I’m going to need to break. For the first time in my life, I feel like I fit somewhere.”
“What about when you were with Piper? You clearly loved her. Didn’t you feel like that with her?”
“Being with Piper came with a lot of expectations. Be the socialite her parents wanted. Start the family they wanted. Do the job my sister gave me. Fill all these shoes that other people picked out. I loved Piper and I don’t want to sound like I didn’t, but I feel like myself with you. I feel like I can finally get to know myself.” Liam kissed me again. His lips lingered on mine, like he was trying to get my body to understand the truth of his words. When he paused, the world stood still.
“Brodie.” He breathed my name like it was the answer to all his questions. “I will never stop being sorry for letting you walk away. I will never stop loving you. Putting you first. Needing you.” His grip on me tightened, pulling my hair a little, making my scalp sing.
“I need you to ask me, Liam. I need to hear it.” I worried he might not understand what I meant, but then his lips brushed against mine.
“Come with me? Please? I want you to come meet my sister, and Oren. I want to show you my condo before I sell it. I want you to see that I’m leaving behind an empty shell of a life. I need you with me. Say you’ll come.”
Playing hard to get had never been my style, but especially now that I’d heard the words I’d imagined hearing, my heart couldn’t have stood to pretend that I didn’t want to go with him. Not even for a second.
I’d follow him anywhere.
“When do we leave?”
“We can go right after.”
“After what?”
Liam grinned at me and before I knew what was happening, he’d bent over and hoisted me up onto his shoulder in a fireman carry.
“What are you doing?” I asked, half laughing. The sudden change of position had completely disoriented me, but I still managed to pinch Liam’s ass in retaliation. Plus, it was right there, all hot and tempting.
