70

NORA

The news Carl had shared shook me to the very core. And I suspected Liam felt the same way. Although he seemed more bothered than anything else.

He held open the passenger side door for me, giving me a tight-lipped smile as I slipped in. When he was all seated, he turned to me with a sigh. “I’m sorry,”

Lines marred my forehead as my brows drew together. “Whatever about?”

“This is all my fault. "The whole Gemma situation, the guy at the bar,” he ran a frustrated hand over his hair, his displeasure with our current situation more evident than anything else.

But I still didn't get why he was apologizing. It wasn't his fault he had a stalker, and it definitely wasn't his fault. I was manhandled. If anything, he saved me.

I reached out a hand to touch his, hesitantly rubbing small circles on the back of his palm. “Don't blame yourself for someone else’s fuck up,”

“It feels very much like I fucked up,”

“Trust me, if it was your thing, I wouldn’t be telling you otherwise,”

His laughter was short, but it was enough to make me smile. The thing with Liam was, no matter how small his happiness was, it mattered a lot to me.

Did I care that I had a stalker on my ass thanks to him? Yes, I definitely did. But if having Gemma stalk me was what I got for loving Liam, I’d gladly accept it.

When his smile faded, I raised a questioning brow. “What’s on your mind?”

He sighed. “We need to talk about Saturday,”

His intense eyes bore into mine, reaching deep into the crevices of my being as though he was trying to figure me out. My breath hitched in my throat, my fingers trembled from nervousness.

I pulled my hand away from Liam’s, but he must’ve anticipated it because he grabbed onto it, sending electricity sizzling through my veins.

I swallowed audibly. I’d been dreading this conversation since the kiss in the bathroom happened. And now that we knew Gemma was back in the picture, it made sense to dread it.

I wasn’t with Liam, but she’d already made up her mind to make my life a living hell. What happened when I finally made the big move? Was Liam even ready to make the big move?

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t—”

“It’s fine,” I cut him off. My fingers felt perfect in his. Even though his completely enveloped mine, it felt like we were puzzle pieces made to fit. I craved his touch, I craved him. I wanted Liam and I could barely hide it.

But we couldn’t be together. Not when so much was riding on it.

“It was just a kiss,” I said, trying to come off as nonchalant.

“Bullshit,” he said, voice firm and leaving no room for arguments. “I think we’ve gone way past that phase, don’t you?”

“It’s not a phase,” I protested, but I just couldn’t think straight with his fingers massaging soft circles into my skin.

“Nora, all of my waking thoughts are filled with you,” he looked hesitant, almost as though he was reaching into a part of him he’d never explored before. Nonetheless, he powered on. “You're the first person I want to text when I get up in the morning. You're the only one I want to see when I show up at the office,”

I felt tears prick the backs of my eyes. Felt my chest constrict like my heart was swelling bigger than its confines. “Liam…” my voice was hoarse and heavy, an indication of the emotions bubbling within me.

“I'm not done, Nora.” He took a deep breath, fingers still holding onto my hand like a lifeline. I suspected it was for him. Holding onto me was the one way he could feel that I was his. It helped him concentrate. Helped him get through his emotions.

A part of me was happy I could be that person for Liam. He was mine just as I was his.

“When you left Chicago, it felt like my world had been upended. You’d given me a taste of the life that is so desperately craved and, I’d been stupid enough to let it slip through my fingers.”

I felt a tear slip down my cheek and linger on my bottom lip. Before I could wipe it away, however, Liam leaned into me, the noise of our clothes rustling filling the small space as he rested his forehead against mine. My breath shuddered, excitement and trepidation building within me at the thought of what this moment meant for us.

“I don’t want to make that mistake again,” he confessed, leaving a small kiss on the edge of my lips. He swallowed my tear, hot breath fanning against my face as his fingers gently massaged the sides of my face.

I knew what I wanted to say to Liam. I wanted to throw myself into his arms and pretend like the last few months didn’t exist. But I couldn’t. Not when I found out he had a girlfriend. And definitely not with Gemma hot on our heels.

“Liam,” I called in a voice that broke the spell between us. We pulled away from each other, and he went back to holding my hand, rubbing soothing circles into the back of my palm. “We can’t do this." Not right now,”

“I know,” the tension in his face was evident. “We have to figure out what to do with Gemma and that bastard that dared to touch you.”

“No, not that,” I shook my head, trying to figure out the best way to tell him Emily was still in the picture. My relationship with Mark wasn't a problem. After all, it was fake. And this was the end goal of it anyway. To get Liam to admit his feelings for me.

But his relationship with Emily was a constant reminder that our lives were always going to be marred by some sort of turbulence.

I saw the moment it clicked for him. The moment he remembered he had a girlfriend. Jealousy reared its head within me, taunting me. Liam said he wanted me, but I wasn’t the one. He paraded on his arm in public. Did he really?

I pushed back the voices. Emily was familiar, that was most likely why he’d fallen into her arms.

“Emily’s not a problem,”

“Liam, I don’t want to be the reason you broke up with Emily. I'm not that kind of woman,”

“Trust me, it’s not a big deal. You just have to figure out what’s going on between you and Mark.”

A small smile threatened to break my lips, but I reigned it in. I couldn’t blow Mark and I’s cover. Not yet.

“I’ll figure it out,”

A small silence enveloped us, broken only when Liam kicked the vehicle. My voice was shaky when I asked, “So, are we really doing this?”

His nod wasn’t hesitant, and the message was clear: we were doing this.