Page 107 of Rejected Heart

I was terrified.

I still wasn’t a fan of most rides.

But I loved being with Liam.

Getting to hold his hand as we walked through the park or to hide my face in his shoulder when we hopped on a terrifying ride was magical. We’d had the best time together reliving that school field trip all those years ago.

It was perfect, exactly what we needed, especially after the heaviness of our conversation at lunch. If I allowed myself to think too much about that conversation, I knew I’d get emotional. I’d realized not long after I’d returned to Landing following my mom’s accident just how tremendous the mistake was that I’d made. But having lunch today with Liam had opened my eyes to things I hadn’t considered ever being a problem for us. I was merely grateful that Liam was willing to give me a chance to prove to him that I was all in; I wasn’t sure if I’dbe able to do the same for him if he’d hurt me the way I hurt him.

But that was just one of the many reasons why I loved Liam so much. He’d shown me his capacity for kindness and compassion that very first day he’d spoken to me at Westwood’s during the school trip. And today, he’d proven that he hadn’t let that part of him be damaged by what I’d done.

We were walking toward the exit, my stomach in stitches as my cheeks ached. “This was such a great idea, Liam. I had so much fun.”

His arm was draped over my shoulders possessively, his hand squeezing my shoulder as he let out a laugh. “You could have had me fooled with how much screaming you did.”

“The rides are just as terrifying now as they were back then,” I noted. “But that doesn’t mean that this visit here today didn’t feel just as special as that one did.”

He stopped walking, looked down at me, and smiled. “We needed this today. I feel so much better. I haven’t laughed like that in years.”

I returned the smile, my arm wrapped around his lower back and holding on tightly. “Yeah. Same here.”

“So, what now? We have some time before dinner, and I’d like to make the most of every minute I have with you.”

It took me almost no time to decide what I wanted to do. “Will you take me to your place? I’d love to see where you live now.”

Something changed in his expression, but I couldn’tquite read it. “That’s what you want to do after all this fun?”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

With that, Liam led me out of the amusement park, but we didn’t leave the Westwood’s campus immediately. The next thing I knew, we were walking through the front entrance of The Westwood Hotel.

“What are we doing here?” I asked, thinking he might have remembered something he needed to take care of related to work or that he wanted to stop and see Ivy for a minute.

He offered no explanation. “You’ll see.”

When I glanced over at the front desk, I didn’t see Ivy, so that theory flew out the window. The staff members who were there didn’t hesitate to wave at Liam. He waved back, and that reminder of just the kind of guy Liam was with everyone warmed my heart.

I was so caught up in that thought that before I even registered what was happening, I was on the elevator with him. Liam wasn’t looking at me, his eyes focused on the numbers lighting up as the elevator climbed from one floor to the next.

Then it stopped, and the doors opened.

And the moment he tugged me out of the elevator, I got the sense of what was happening.

My lips curved into a smile as we walked silently down the hall. I knew when to slow my steps, because I’d been here about a month ago. Liam unlocked the door and urged me inside ahead of him.

The moment the door closed behind him, I spun around, threw my arms over his shoulders, and brushed my lips against his. “Are you just looking to recreate old memories today?”

Seemingly still in a playful mood, he returned, “What are you talking about?”

I arched a brow. “I’ve been here before. In this room. With you. Tell me you forgot about it.”

“I did not forget.”

“Okay, so I thought since we were just at the park reliving an old memory that you decided to take a detour on the way to your place to relive another memory.”

Understanding dawned in his expression, giving me the sense that he truly hadn’t grasped what I was getting at from the start. “Well, I’m certainly not going to turn that down, but I was giving you what you wanted. You said you wanted to see where I live.”

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