Page 44 of Harboring Secrets
“I’ll tell her. I promise. As soon as I figure out how. We might have to go for a short trip to see her in person.”
“Yeah? You’d take me to meet her?”
Liam nodded. “I think she’d like that. And you can meet my best friend, Oren, and his husband.”
“Were you ever interested in Oren?” I let my question trail off. It wouldn’t have been unheard of for two male best friends to have fooled around with each other. I can’t say I was a fan of the idea, and I had the sneaking suspicion that if my assumption proved true, I’d hate Oren without having met him.
“God, no. Besides, like me, Oren didn’t discover men until he met the one he fell in love with.”
“Fucking swoon.” I put my hand to my chest and rubbed at the swell of emotion that formed. Equal parts relief that he’d never had any man but me, and a bit of smugness that out of all the men in the world, I was the one to make him look twice.
His eyes darkened and he leaned in. “You’re the only one for me. I know it must hurt you that I haven’t told Carol about us yet—”
“You’ll get there in your own time,” I cut in. I didn’t want him to feel bad that he hadn’t come out yet. Yes, I wanted him to. More than anything, but those kinds of things couldn’t and shouldn’t be rushed. “You need to come out for you, not for me.”
“How did you come out?”
“I don’t know that I was ever in, to be honest. I think I was eight or nine when I announced to my family that I was going to marry Parker O’Donnell. My sexuality didn’t come as a huge surprise after that. I’m one of the lucky ones. My mom never bought into that shtick about tolerance. She says that tolerance is lip service. Acceptance is what matters. That, and love.”
“She sounds great.”
“She’s the best. Everyone thinks so.”
“How do you usually do the whole introduction thing? Should we invite her over? I can cook something, or would it be better to meet her on her own territory?”
I rubbed at the back of my neck with the hand that wasn’t entwined with Liam’s. “I’ve never brought anyone home before. You’re the first.”
Liam looked like the cat that ate the canary. “I like being your first.”
I did too, but I also wanted him to be my last. My forever.
“I’ll call her later and set something up. Maybe we could all meet at Shane’s bar for dinner and drinks. They probably think I’ve dropped off the face of the earth again.”
“We’ve been preoccupied.”
We had. But I needed that preoccupation. After being apart from him, thinking that he was lost to me forever, I’d needed to bask in his attention. To bathe in his scent and seek his touch at every possible moment.
But I also knew that it was time to come up for air. He was right to say that we needed to build a foundation for a life. Sex was great, and I loved living in a bubble with him, but bubbles tended to burst.
“I think I want to write a book,” I blurted out, changing the subject before I popped a boner in the diner.
“What kind?”
“Something about my travels, maybe. Or maybe something inspired by them.”
“What about your postcards? Maybe you could do something with them.”
“I’ll figure something out. What about you? Have you figured out what you’re going to do yet?”
Liam let out a tight, nervous laugh. “Other than being with you, I haven’t been able to decide. I’m sure the right opportunity or idea will present itself before long.”
“Promise me that when you do find something that interests you, that you’ll do it, no matter what your sister might think. Or what I might think. Or anyone else. I don’t want you to be a spectator in your own life.”
Liam lifted my hand and held my gaze while brushing a kiss across my knuckles. My heart flip-flopped in my chest.
“I promise.”
“I’m going to hold you to that. Come on.” I got to my feet and fished a couple of bills out of my wallet to cover breakfast and a tip.
