Page 13 of The Wing
I sit across from him, and a smile pulls at my lips. “Cave?”
“Mhm. The plotting cave where I pretend I know what I’m doing.” He opens his eyes and smiles at me tiredly.
“So you weren’t plotting world domination?”
“No. Not for this world at least.” Liam smirks evilly but can’t hold it long before he breaks into a grin and laughs.
My lips twitch, and a chuckle escapes me. We lock eyes, and his cheeks turn red, and I have to bite my lip to stop my smile from widening.
“Well, I hope you’re successful.”
“In world domination?” he asks, crossing his legs under him. When I nod, he says, “Not today. Maybe next week once the plan’s untangled itself in my head.”
I consider asking what he was working on, but he was so jumpy yesterday about his whiteboard I decide not to. I don’twant to make him uncomfortable, not when he looks so dazed and cosy.
Liam glances at the kitchen. “Did you find something for lunch?”
My stomach rumbles, and I cover it with a hand, wincing at the loud sound my hand does nothing to cover.
Liam frowns. “I’m sorry. I should have come out earlier and shown you everything. I keep snacks in the office, otherwise I forget to eat. And forget about other people too apparently,” he finishes in a mumble I strain to hear.
When I make out what he said, I shake my head and correct him. “No, it’s fine, really, Liam. I found stuff for breakfast but forgot about lunch. The book I’m reading distracted me.” He doesn’t need to know I stared at the words blankly most of the day. I don’t want to make him feel bad, not when he’s letting me stay here.
His eyes gleam with interest. “What are you reading?”
“Oh, I’m rereading something. One of my favourite fantasy books. I didn’t want something new with everything happening at the moment.” I wave my hand in the air, gesturing to the ‘everything.’ My leg starts bouncing at the reminder of why I’m here.
“Fair enough. I have a physical stash of my favourites and the ebook versions on my phone, so I’m never without.” Liam colours a rosy-red, as if he didn’t mean to reveal the information. I hurry to make him more comfortable.
“I’m the same. Didn’t bring the physicals with me here, though.”
Liam sits up straighter. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone in real life who has both. You’ll have to tell me your favourites.”
“Only if you will,” I respond with my voice huskier than usual. I clear my throat and look away from him, unsure whatmy reaction means. My throat’s dry, and I want to touch his cheeks to see how hot they are.
“Maybe after dinner.” Liam stands and pads to the darkening kitchen. He opens a cupboard and grabs a carton of something. “Now, I’m not much of a cook, but I do know how to boil pasta and put olive oil on it. Sound okay?”
“Sure.” Tomorrow I should go out and buy some food so I’m not eating all of his, and I could grab ingredients to make him dinner.
I glance at my phone when it vibrates. I roll my eyes when I see the text message. It’s like Charlie has some sort of sisterly intuition, knowing I haven’t spoken to Liam about going out tomorrow. To be fair, he’s been in his office all day and I didn’t want to disturb him, so I haven’t had an opportunity to ask. I move to sit at the table by the window and watch him fill a pot with water before eyeing my phone. Mum sent back a photo of her in Fiji, surrounded by other grinning women, and told me to make the most of my holiday. Maybe they’re both right.
“Want some help?”
“Nah. Sit and read. This won’t take long.”
I nod and check my phone again. More messages fill the screen, telling me to ask, to talk to him, to stop staring at my book. I breathe deeply and blurt out, “Do you have a favourite hike around here?” Hike? A hike, really? My cheeks heat. I couldn’t have asked for his favourite restaurant or café or walk. No, I asked abouthiking.I don’t even remember the last time I went hiking.
“Hikes?” Liam repeats slowly.
“There are lots of hikes around here, right? For the scenery and stuff?” Are there hikes in this area? ‘Scenery and stuff’? Is that even a real sentence? I rub a hand across my mouth, and my knee bounces. It’s not like I’m asking him on a date. I’m justtrying to get out of my head by leaving the house, but company would be nice. If he isn’t busy, which he clearly is.
“Yeah, sure. The famous one is Roy’s Peak. It’s a hard one, but you can see the lake for miles.”
“All right. I haven’t hiked in a while, so something easier might be better. I’m thinking about doing one tomorrow,” I say, hoping he’ll catch on to my leading question.
He nods quickly and puts pasta in boiling water before crossing the kitchen to join me at the table. “That’s good. Um, there’s a walk you can do around the lake, but it isn’t really a hike. Or there’s a glacier track.”
“A glacier track? That sounds cool. I’ve never done something like that before.” I nod to myself. I’ll do the glacier track tomorrow whether or not Liam comes with me…I will, I tell myself firmly, but I can’t help asking, “Do you hike often?”
