Page 56 of All the Gossip from Paris
And yet as Sophie turned away, heading toward the cool room, she found herself blinking back tears. The faint hope that Liam might see their time together as more than just an affair quietly faded away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
He’d meant his words to sound casual so as not to put pressure on either of them. They’d clearly backfired. The look of disappointment on Sophie’s face was unmistakable. His ham-fisted mention of them ‘being casual’ had stung her. She’d flinched liked she’d been slapped.
I am such an asshole. I shouldn’t have said that. Not to Sophie.
Liam had become so use to no strings attached hook ups. The subtle nuances that real relationships required had been lost to him. And yet there hadn’t been anyone since that night with Sophie.
“I. I didn’t mean it that way … oh shit,” he muttered.
Sophie was in the cool room pulling boxes and containers down from a high shelf when Liam joined her a few minutes later. The walk in refrigerator was already chilly, but he couldn’t help feeling that it wasn’t just the low set thermostat at work.
“Here let me help you,” he said.
She kept her focus on the shelf. “No, it’s ok. I can do it. Thanks.”
Oh yes it was cold in here. Icy.
“Sophie. I didn’t mean what I said to come out the way it did.”
He was handed one large plastic container, and then a second one on top.
“It’s ok, Liam. You said what you said. At least I know where I stand. I’m very good at managing my expectations.”
Stepping past him, Sophie made her way back into the kitchen. A pensive Liam followed. She pointed to a nearby work bench, and he set the containers down on it.
One careless remark and he’d blown up their whole afternoon. Hands stuffed into his jeans pockets, Liam considered his next move.
Did he call off their midafternoon snack fest? Go back upstairs and hide out in his room? Or had he made such a mess of things that taking the train back into Paris was the only sensible option?
“If you’re having second thoughts about me staying here, I’ll understand,” he offered.
She lifted the lid of one of the containers. It was a divided storage box, with different types of cold meats in each section. Liam remembered the food at the wedding. This stuff wasn’t the sort of deli selection they offered for sale in his local supermarket. His belly gave a rumble of expectation at the sight.
Sophie picked up a piece of finely sliced meat. Rolled it up. Then handed it to him.
Liam took it. “Thanks.” He popped the food into his mouth and stood chewing.
“Can I ask you something?” she said.
He nodded.
“Have you been in a proper relationship since your engagement ended?”
Liam kept slowly chewing. If he didn’t, he might choke on it as it went down. Taking his time gave him a moment to ponder his reply. To come up with something that wasn’t as stupid or insensitive as his last remark had been.
She wasn’t offering him therapy or a shoulder to cry on—Sophie just wanted to know how Liam viewed relationships. Had he been so badly burned by his broken engagement that he’d sworn off romance forever?
There’d been times during the numerous breakups and breaks with Patrice that she’d promised herself she wouldn’t get back with him. That she was done with love. But she’d broken every one of those promises until the last one. She’d been the one to finally call things off.
Waiting patiently while Liam took his time finishing that one mouthful of food, Sophie could only hope his hesitation was a good sign. Perhaps he was forming a carefully curated answer.
It could also mean he was going to give her bad news—that he wasn’t ready for any sort of relationship. But she’d had plenty of experience with being let down by men. None of that would be new.
“No. I haven’t been in any real sort of relationship since Brooke. We broke up over two years ago. Everything else since then has been a physical encounter based on mutual satisfaction followed by a quick goodbye. I suppose I should include New York in that list.”
He didn’t sound proud of himself. Just sad.
