Page 81 of Every Little Kiss
“You can always cut the cake early and sugar-load them,” Ty suggested.
“That’s Parenting Party Rule Number One,” Harris said. “The Holy Grail of all rules. Never mix sugar, carbonated beverages, and a bounce house.”
“Well, that’s your problem, because while I owe you, I already have plans.”
“What? Practicing your outlaw moves?” Ty joked.
“My moves are just fine,” Ford said, giving Ty theShut itlook, but he was too busy trying to be funny to notice.
“Cooking for the first date?” Ty gave a low whistle. “Pretty smooth.”
Harris looked at Ford. “Date?”
Ford cut Ty a glare. “I invited her over for dinner tonight.”
Harris studied him for a long moment, and then his face went slack with understanding. “You really have to work hard to be this stupid. You know that, right?”
He did, but if this was what stupid felt like, then label him and stamp it on his forehead. He couldn’t seem to stop.
“Oh, and there’s the look,” Ty said, pointing to Ford’s face. He smacked his hand away.
“If I have any look, it’s because I came home to find a dozen little girls in makeup and plastic heels in my yard, my house destroyed, and two assholes drinking my beer.”
“No, the other look you get when you think about Liv. Yup. That one,” Ty said, going at him with the finger again. “Like she’s beer, bacon, and boobs all in one. You’ve got it bad, bro.”
“And the more time you guys spend together, the more likely it is for something to happen ...” Harris faded off when Ford paced to the window. “Something already happened.”
Ford’s silence was enough.
“Did you at least tell her about Sam?”
Ford felt the air in his lungs expand until they were too pissed to breathe. “No. And if she ever finds out, she’ll hate me.”
“What about Sam?” Ty asked, trying to follow the conversation. Which would lead to a deeper conversation Ford would rather avoid right then.
“None of your business,” Ford said.
But at the same time, Harris said, “Ford was the officer who was with Sam when he died.” And then because his friend seemed to forget he wasn’t a part of the recovery, he went on to tell the story as if he’d been right there in that cave with Ford.
Ty let out a long whistle. “Something like that is not ‘if’—it’s a ‘when.’ This is a small town, and Liv is a smart woman. She might not know what you’re hiding, but she knows you’re hiding something.”
“You didn’t know Avery was hiding something.”
Harris snorted. “He’s a man—he sees boobs and gets tunnel vision. Women aren’t like that. They don’t have the Y chromosome, so they think with the right head. Eventually she’ll sniff out your secret and ask you about it, most likely when you’re naked and snuggling, and you won’t have the state of mind to deal with it right, because it won’t just be boobs, it will be naked boobs. And you’ll only see two choices. Tell her the truth while she’s at her most vulnerable or lie.”
Liv deserved more than the disappointment either of those choices would bring. She deserved more than Ford could give her. She deserved more, period.
His intent had never been to bring up Sam. Then again, he’d never intended on getting this deep with Liv. Which left a third option.
“Or I just move on after my certification is over and no one gets hurt,” Ford said, turning around.
Ty set his beer on the table and leaned forward. “I don’t know where Liv is at, but I do get that when it comes to a woman like her, there is no moving on for guys like us. Believe me, I tried.”
Last year before Ty married Avery, he discovered that she’d been keeping a life-threatening secret from him. He broke things off and walked—until he realized he couldn’t live without her and asked her to marry him.
Ford didn’t see marriage for himself, but he also couldn’t see himself walking out of Liv’s life and never seeing her again.
“Did you forgive her?” Ford asked.
