Page 45 of Love Under Review

Being humiliated in front of people he didn’t know just in Manhattan had been eye-opening for Liam. He’d only been part of the pilot episode when he found out they weren’t just doing it for some contest Tawnee had won. He couldn’t imagine being let go from his career and then having someone he cared about distancing herself after he’d been afraid of a similar criticism. And yet that’s exactly what he’d done.

Kara reached out, her fingers cold on his forearm. “Go talk to her. From everything I’ve heard, I think she’s the one for you.”

“Who have you heard things from?” Liam asked, crossing his arms and tipping his chin up in curiosity.

“My daughter sees all, dear brother.” She smiled and laughed a bit, which turned into a cough.

Shaking his head, Liam couldn’t help but laugh. “She takes after her mother.” He paused a moment and stood. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Now go! Don’t let her get away.” She made a slow sweeping motion with her arm, and it looked like she’d used all the energy she had to do it. “Just make sure to bring her here once you tell her how you feel.”

“Deal.” Liam leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Leave it to Kara to help him work through his problems when she was lying on a hospital bed.

* * *

Liam had ordereda half-dozen muffins from Mrs. Holloway on his way back, claiming he needed them for a bookstore event. He hoped he’d catch Danielle at home, and from there, at least ten scenarios went through his head.

The door opened, and Mrs. Holloway greeted him. “Liam, it’s so good to see you this afternoon. Come in, and I’ll get your muffins packaged up.”

Liam followed her into the kitchen and glanced around, seeing the rows and rows of muffins. “You made all of these?” From the looks of them, there were several different kinds, all waiting on the counter. Along with flavors, there were three varying sizes: mini, regular, and large.

Mrs. Holloway laughed. “Oh, well, I love to bake. The people of this town seem to like them as well.” She handed him a yellowish one with several small black dots, likely lemon poppyseed.

Liam took a bite and grinned. “That is the best muffin I’ve ever tasted. You should really open up your own business selling these.”

She frowned. “How can I do that when I’ve been giving them away for so long?”

“Believe me. People will pay for this.” Liam pointed to the muffin and stuffed the rest of it into his mouth. After he’d chewed and swallowed, he looked around, trying to hear any other sounds in the house. Finally, he asked, “Is Danielle here? I was hoping to talk to her.”

Mrs. Holloway grimaced and shook her head. “She left for California about thirty minutes ago with her suitcase packed. I guess the opposing news channel offered her a job after she’d let one of their staff know about the water dumpings.”

Liam felt like he’d been kicked in the gut several times, wanting to double over from the information. “Did she say anything about yesterday?”

She turned away, but Liam saw the disappointment on her face. “Just that maybe she wasn’t meant to stay in Sage Creek much longer.”

Something about that didn’t add up. “What do you mean, ‘Wasn’t meant to stay longer’?”

The woman turned around slowly, as if she was hiding something. “She’s running.”

“From what? From me?” Liam’s voice broke on the last word.

She nodded and swiped with her pointer finger underneath her eye. “I think she loves you, Liam, but she’s scared. Scared that you won’t think she’s enough. I’ve tried to help her over the loss of her father and explain that it wasn’t her fault he left, that he just needed something different. I think that’s been a driving factor in her life until now.”

Liam licked his lips, feeling the moisture in his mouth disappear. His anxiety was skyrocketing, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to catch her before it was too late. If she made it to California before he could speak to her, she might close her heart off completely. “Where can I find her?”

Mrs. Holloway grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something on it before handing it over to Liam. “That’s the address to her apartment. If she’s not there, she’ll be at Channel 5 News in LA.”

He wrapped his arms around the woman and hugged her. “Thank you.”

His insides feeling like he was going up and down on a rollercoaster, he jumped in his Jeep. This was going to be the longest drive of his life.

Chapter 29

“What are you doing in here so early, darlin’,” Velda asked, pushing a strawberry milkshake over to Danielle.

Taking a large scoop, Danielle let the ice cream melt in her mouth, savoring the flavors before answering. “Just trying to decide if I’m making a big mistake or not.”

The older woman leaned forward on the counter, her eyes open a bit wider, signaling she was willing to listen. It was just after noon, and there were several booths occupied, but the woman must have sensed Danielle needed someone to talk to.

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