Page 43 of Harboring Secrets
I stirred a couple spoons of sugar into my coffee and took a sip. I hummed in appreciation. “Restaurant coffee is always such a risk,” I said.
“Oh?” Liam arched an eyebrow at me. “Are you going to elaborate?”
I stretched my legs out and bumped my feet against his under the table. “Coffee is a personal thing. Everyone likes it different and no two restaurants make it the same. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it’s easy to fuck up. Too bitter. Too strong. Too weak. Too old. Too cold. Ethan makes it just right. Strong, without stripping the lining out of your stomach, and it’s always fresh.”
“What else do you have opinions on?”
“Everything.” I took a sip of my coffee. “But it’s your turn to share with me.”
Liam’s brow furrowed the way it did when he was thinking about something. “I’m not sure where to start.”
He looked genuinely troubled by this so I reached for him and took his hand in mine.
“It was just a silly game, love. Don’t worry about it.”
Liam looked at me and sadness flashed in his eyes. “I’m not sure anyone ever cared much about my opinions before. My parents told me where to be and what to do and I did it. And then Carol took over when they died. And Piper cared, but we were together so briefly that everything was quickly consumed by her illness.”
I cleared my throat around a ball of melancholy. I might not have had much growing up, but I had people who cared about me and what I wanted. My brothers might be pains in the ass, but the first thing Shane did when he won that money was share it with the family. Debts were paid; houses were bought. He made sure we did fun things too. Things we never would have done otherwise.
“What’s the best kind of cookie? And the worst.” I asked him.
Liam looked at me and the sadness melted out of his expression.
“The worst is easy. Any cookie that looks like chocolate chip, but actually has raisins. That’s a crime and offenders should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Okay, now what’s the best?”
“I don’t know what they’re called. But Piper’s mom makes these lemon ones. They’re small and round and kind of crackly on top. They look like little drops of sunshine. They’re sweet without overdoing it and they’re soft like clouds.”
“I’ll see if Mom knows what kind of cookies those are. She probably does.”
“You said she bakes a lot.”
“I want you to meet her. I’m due for another visit soon and I’ll bring you with me.” What I didn’t tell him was that I was pretty sure Mom knew every cookie recipe in existence and that a batch of his favorites would likely be waiting for him.
Our food arrived and we both ate like a couple of starving dogs. With better manners, of course. But only barely. When I finished my food, I leaned back and let out a breath.
“Holy shit, I needed that.”
Liam flicked a look at me that screamedI told you so.
“So, when are we going to see her?” Liam stacked our plates neatly and put them at the end of the table.
“I’ll call her later and work out a good time. She runs a shelter so sometimes she has other things going on. Do I get to meet your sister?”
Liam’s face paled and I watched several emotions flit across his features. Fear. Regret. Hope. Sadness. It made me sorry I asked.
“She still doesn’t know about us,” I whispered. I knew everyone came out in their own time, and I knew Liam loved me. I felt it every time he looked at me, touched me, spoke my name.
“I’ll tell her soon. I promise. I just… I wanted to enjoy this a bit longer first.” Liam held my hand tighter. “I want to tell her, but I don’t know how. I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you and that scares me, because if for some reason it goes badly and she tells me to choose, I’m choosing you. Now and always.”
“What if it goes good?”
Liam scoffed. “Nothing goes good for me, Brodie. Except maybe you.”
I didn’t know what to do with that information and the matter-of-fact way he delivered it. Part of me loved that he would choose me, but the bigger part of me hated that he feared he might have to. Family was supposed to love you no matter what, and I hated that it simply wasn’t true for a lot of people.
“Sometimes you break my heart,” I told him. Liam smiled wanly and smoothed his thumb over the back of my hand.
