Page 108 of Bake You Mine
Before she could reply, he held up his hand. “I know you don’t want to talk about it. As much as I’d like to help, I know you have to figure this out on your own. I’ll get Daphne, then I’ll help you get dinner on the table.”
Liam drove around town and back again, finding his mind no clearer than when he’d left Elevation. He stopped by Minelli’s florist to pick up a bouquet and headed to Calvary Cemetery on the edge of town.
He arrived as the sun started its slow descent. His dad’s grave had a lovely river view, and a little stone bench was in front of his headstone. He had one of those double headstones with a heart on it, waiting for Liam’s mother to be buried next to him.
Judging by the fresh-swept appearance of the grave, his mother had been by recently.
He’d broken the news of him and Aubrey taking space over the phone, which was probably for the best. She hadn’t said much, for once. He still wanted her opinion on business matters, but that could wait.
Liam removed the plastic around the flowers and arranged them in the vase next to the ones his mother had brought. He touched the marble and said hello to his father.
“It’s been a while, Pops. But you know how it goes. You always said you were busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, and I feel that now.”
Liam sighed as he lowered himself onto the bench. He ran a hand over his face. His dad had always told him nobody was too tough to cry, advice he’d stuck by all these years.
“I think I might’ve lost the girl, Pops.Thegirl. The one Ma’s been praying for every week at church since my days in diapers.” Liam paused as if his father would respond. All he got was the rustling of the wind through the trees. “I can’t force her to see what we have, but I haven’t hurt like this, ever.”
“Maybe because you never make yourself vulnerable.”
He whirled around at the voice, finding Sasha. “Jesus Christ.” He leaned out to give her a swat on the arm.
“Move over, you big lug.”
He did, and she plopped on the bench next to him. “I had a feeling you might be here.”
“Aubrey told me she needed some space.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised.”
He bumped his shoulder against hers harder than he meant to. “Like it’s my fault?”
She bumped him back just as hard. The wind picked up again, scattering leaves over their father’s grave.
Sasha leaned down to brush them off. “It’s one of those things where it’s no one’s fault, Liam. Maybe your timing is wrong. Or maybe both of you are too chickenshit to do something about it. But all this other stuff is happening so quickly in your relationship. The contest, renovations, and the space in DC. Maybe you could try again next year.”
His laugh came out bitter, hollow. “It sounds like the title ofsome rom-com. That doesn’t work in real life. In a year, who knows what could happen.”
Sasha put her arm around him. “A year ago, I was dating a fuckboy with a record. Now, I’m a woman on the verge of getting my nursing degree, with no man to slow me down.”
Liam snorted. “Uh, that was way more recently than a year ago. Besides, I thought you were supposed to encourage me to get in a relationship, lil sis.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s not the right time for me. Maybe it’s not the right time for you and Aubrey. I don’t think it’s too late, either way. There’s a solution. You need to find it.”
Liam’s phone rang, and he reached into his pocket. Jason’s name popped up on the screen, so he answered it without thinking.
“Hey, I decided to come to Port Fortune for dinner. Can we have a talk when I get there? It’ll be a hot minute with traffic being its usual awful self, but maybe in a couple of hours?”
“Definitely,” Liam said. He hung up, feeling nervous and excited all at once.
“Maybe that’s the sign you’re after, big bro.”
“I doubt it. Knowing my luck, Jason changed his mind and wanted to call it off in person. But I heard what you said.”
“Don’t give up. It’s not what Linleys do.”
“As long as Aubrey gives me a reason to fight, I will.”
thirty-six
