Page 66 of This Heart
A small laugh escaped. “Ready.”
“You need to talk to Liam. Let him explain his side. He might not have told her anything.”
“But—”
She held up her finger and shook her head. “I’m not finished. Let him tell you his side. He has no reason to lie and that witch Kim…sounds like she had a lot of reasons to deceive anyone she felt threatened by. After you talk to him, whatever happens from there, you must be honest with him about your feelings. Even if he doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Which he won’t.”
Mom narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Even if he doesn’t feel the same, honesty is the key to any relationship. Whether it is friendship or more.”
I closed my eyes and felt a wave of anxiety sweep through my body. The easiest thing to do would be to avoid Liam at all costs. When I opened my eyes, I caught my mother frowning at the lemonade and pursing her lips.
“It’s sour,” I said.
“Lord, it is so bad! Why didn’t you say anything?”
With a giggle, I replied, “I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
My mother stood, walked over to the planter filled with plants, and dumped the lemonade out.
“That was shit!”
Laughing, I said, “Mom!”
She glanced back at me. “Well, it was.”
A voice cleared from behind me, and when I turned around, I nearly dropped the glass of lemonade I had picked up to give to my mother to toss as well.
Liam stood there with a massive smile on his face. How had he known I was at my parents’ house, and more importantly, why was he here? How much had he heard? My heart did a funny little kick, while at the same time, a wave of nausea hit me.
“Is Winnie okay?” I asked.
He nodded. “Winnie is fine. She’s spending the day with her Papa and Opal.”
My hand went to my stomach in a silent attempt to calm the sudden nerves I felt. I looked back up at Liam, and everything suddenly became so clear. It had never been lost on me how handsome Liam was. I had noticed in the past, but he wasn’t the only handsome guy I was friends with. Yet, in this moment of looking at him,reallylooking, I saw more. The dimple in his right chin. Had I ever seen that dimple before? His deep brown eyes had a light golden ring around them that seemed to catch the sunlight and sparkle. He had cut his hair shorter and buzzed the sides, giving him a boyish look. Hope would have hated it cut that way. When we had first become friends, she had made it clear she liked Liam’s hair longer, rather than shorter. She had told me once, with a laugh, that it had been a constant argument between them. I quickly turned away and drew in a slow, deep breath. My eyes caught my mother’s, and she winked.
Oh no. She’s going to leave me alone with him.
“I’ll leave the two of you alone to talk.”
Dammit, I knew it.
Reaching for her as she walked by, I said in a panicked voice, “No! That’s okay, Mom. You don’t have to leave.”
Liam cleared his throat once again. “Actually, Mrs. Banks, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to speak to Aurora alone.”
My head whipped to look at Liam. “Why?”
His face crossed with confusion before it relaxed. “We have a lot to clear up.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. This was where he was going to tell me he didn’t want me to visit with Winnie anymore, that we couldn’t be friends any longer. So why was I panicking because I expected this?
Drawing in a deep breath, I slowly exhaled.
The soft click of the door my mother had gone through sounded like a gunshot in my ears. I was surprised I hadn’t flinched.
Turning away from Liam, I sat back down and looked out over my parents’ backyard. They had a view of Moose Lake, and when I was little, I would lay in the hammock and dream of owning my own home and living on the lake. As I grew older, the dream of owning a bookstore replaced the dream of having a house on the lake. I envied Harper and Declan and the beautiful home they had on the lake. That would have been my dream home when I was sixteen.
