Page 68 of This Heart
For the first time since he sat down, Liam looked at me. “That Kim is a lying bitch.”
My brows shot up.
“She took Perry the Moose from Winnie, purposely. He was in the hall closet behind all the winter blankets. She’s lucky she didn’t murder him like Declan said because I don’t know what I would have done.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
“She also put Hope’s picture in the side drawer while Winnie was sleeping. She wasn’t jumping on the bed, which I really couldn’t believe anyway. I’ve never seen Winnie jump on the bed, and I wouldn’t allow it for safety reasons.”
“Why would Kim do that?” I asked, confused.
His eyes searched my face, and a look of pain crossed it before he turned away and stared at the lake beyond. “Because she was the one who wanted to replace Hope—and you—in Winnie’s life, as well as my own.”
I glanced at my hands before gathering the strength to speak.
“I thought you still felt that way, and it about destroyed me, again.”
“Aurora, I never felt that way. I told you this.”
“Well,” I said with a laugh. “Imagine my surprise when yournannytells me otherwise. I thought you spoke to her about it. That to me said you still felt that way. And the fact that she was an ex-girlfriend, it didn’t seem strange that you would confide in her.”
“I know,” he said with a shake of his head. “I know how that must have made you feel, but she lied.”
Facing him, I asked, “Have you always kept a journal?”
His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I started journaling before I met Hope. Most of it was ideas about The Muddled Moose, what I wanted to do with it. Nothing like a real journal. I was always writing in notebooks, so when we got married, Hope gave me the journal.”
I smiled. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for the journaling type of person.”
He laughed. “Yeah, neither did I until my therapist recommended it.”
“You saw a therapist?”
He nodded, but when he didn’t say anything more, I didn’t pressure him. Therapy was a very private thing for people, and I wasn’t about to intrude on why he had seen a therapist.
“When she told me on the phone that I had told her about the whole Hope and you thing, because I drank too much, I panicked. I knew I had fallen asleep that night and woke up on the sofa, and I guess a part of me worried that maybe I had said something to her, even though I knew in the depths of my soul I hadn’t. I didn’t want to believe I would have done that to you. You’re my best friend, Aurora.”
It felt like a lead weight was dropped into my stomach. Liam was establishing the friend zone clear as day. I grinned and bumped his shoulder. “I thought Nathan was your best friend.”
He smiled. “I can have more than one best friend, you know. You’ve been there for me and my family, Aurora. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
I nodded and looked back out over the lake. The sun was starting to sink lower in the sky, causing shades of orange and pink to streak across the horizon. The reflection on the lake was breathtaking.
“You didn’t have to track me down today to tell me all this but thank you.”
“I did. I can’t stand the idea of you hurting because of me…again.”
I kept my gaze straight because if I turned to look at him, I knew he would be able to read my feelings. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t say anything to her. Thank you for that.”
“I fired her.”
That time, I did look at him. “I’m glad. I didn’t trust her, and she was…she wasn’t a good fit for Winnie.”
“No, she wasn’t, and I should have listened to my friends when they voiced their concerns. I was just grateful to have found someone to watch her who somewhat fit Hope’s request, which I shouldn’t have listened to in the first place. The worst part, she wasn’t even supposed to be one of the people we interviewed.”
Surprised, I asked, “How was she even a candidate, then?”
“She got into the system at work when she saw my name and added another interview and didn’t put the name. No one noticed because they had already sent me the list, but what they didn’t know was that Kim sent the additional email saying there had been a last-minute add-on.”
