Page 35 of The Temptation
I blinked. That was definitely not what I was expecting him to say. “What do you mean?”
“Are you happy? With Pierce, I mean.”
“Yes. Of course. He drives me crazy and frustrates me, but he also makes me very happy.”
“No, I…” He broke off. His arms rested on the table in front of him, and his hands curled briefly into fists in his obvious frustration. “I mean, are you happy with who he is right now? Not the fantasy you have in your mind of him.”
I jerked backward. It was like he’d hit me in the chest with his question.
“Wait! Don’t block me out. Trust me, of anyone, I’m most likely to understand. You told me you had a crush on Pierce when you were a tween, and you’ve been chasing Pierce forever. But are you chasing the person Pierce was in college or are you chasing the adult he’s become? You’ve admitted to me you haven’t seen or spoken to him much over the years. He’s changed. So have you.”
Now I got it. Rome and Liam knew each other as kids, but they’d had a huge falling out. Liam didn’t see Rome for nearly twenty years. It had to have been a wake-up call the first time they met in Cincinnati. “Is that what happened with you and Rome?”
“Sort of. I didn’t have a crush on Rome during childhood, but after we began hanging out in Cincinnati, there was this crazy disconnect in my brain between the person I remembered and the person he’d become. As kids, he was a restless ball of chaoticenergy and devilry. Now, he’s some chaos but a lot of hot, sexy, responsible adult. There are days I miss the ball of chaos, but I love hot, sexy, responsible Rome so much.”
“Ah. That makes sense,” I murmured.
“So?” he prodded.
“As a kid, I think what struck me was his kindness. Let’s be serious; the man has always been devastatingly handsome. I had a hell of a lot of lust as a teenager, but he was always so kind and patient with me, even though I was Sawyer’s annoying, dorky little brother. Anyone his age would have been frustrated and irritated with me, but he was never cold toward me, never said a single mean word.”
Some of the worry slipped from Liam’s features, and he appeared to relax. “And now?”
“He’s still stupid hot. That didn’t change. Yes, he’s become a lot less patient with me and he’s said some not-so-nice things, but I’m also an adult and I’ve pushed him into some uncomfortable corners. However, that core of kindness is still there, even when he’s incredibly frustrated with me. And while we’ve spent some time together, I’ve discovered that he’s got this irrepressible caretaker side. He’s always checking to make sure I’m warm enough and worrying about whether I’m taking care of myself. I love it. That’s proof that he cares about me! It makes me want to spend more time with him. He’s smiling more with me now. Cracking jokes. It’s addicting.”
“You want to see if you can make him smile all the time now,” Liam finished for me. There was the softest look on his face, and I was sure his brain had slipped away to think of him and Rome.
“Definitely.”
“Okay. I’ll back off. I apologize for being skeptical.”
“No, don’t. You’re being a good friend, and I do appreciate your concern. It would be horrible for Pierce and me if you wereright, and I was still chasing someone who technically didn’t exist any longer.”
We finished our coffee and tea, chatting about silly things for a while. Mostly Rome’s strange antics. I looked at the time on my phone.
“You know, it’s not too late. Do you want to grab something to eat? I’ve still got several hours before I have to get ready for tonight’s performance.”
Liam glanced at his phone and swore softly. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to run. Rome is flying in from Providence today. He popped up to visit his parents and deal with some random business stuff. I promised I’d go pick him up at the airport, and I wanted to grab some flowers on the way.” He flashed me a crooked grin, his pale face flushing.
I got it. Liam wanted to do the classic “meet the significant other at the airport with flowers.” They were a new couple, and who didn’t want to have that feeling of having someone who missed them so much that they had to be there the second they touched down?
“Besides, I wanted to surprise him with the T-Rex costume.”
That made even more sense. An inflatable T-Rex holding flowers. That was so Rome and Liam.
“Go!” I laughed, waving him away from me.
Liam slid to his feet and pointed at me even as he tugged on his winter coat and grabbed the bottle of wine I’d gifted him. “Promise to call me if you need anything at all.”
“Deal. Now go. Surprise the crap out of Rome!”
I watched as Liam jogged out of the coffeehouse. It felt like my happiness followed him, draining out of me bit by bit so that I was alone with my empty mug. Nowhere to be and no one to be with until it was time to perform. Yet again.
11
PIERCE SUTTON
As I escortedmy parents to our seats in Music Hall, I found that the butterflies in my stomach had doubled in both number and size. My palms grew sweaty as I clutched the slender program in my fist. It wasn’t so much that I worried about the quality of Simon’s performance. He was going to be perfect. Simon was always perfect when he played. I was more worried about the pressure he might put on himself. This wasn’t one of his competitions where he was being graded and critiqued. My parents enjoyed the symphony, but they wouldn’t dare style themselves as experts in classical music.
