Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
My stubble abrades my palm as I scrub my hand over my jaw. “What kind of asshole would be angry at a saint?” I mutter.
Charley, her face blotchy and streaked with tears, sniffles and wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I’m nowhere near a saint. Trust me.” Her voice is laced with a self-deprecating tremor that tugs at my heart.
“I have a hard time believing that.”
Charley wrings her hands. Her gaze is fixed on the blades of grass swaying gently in the breeze as silence stretches between us. Her shoulders slump as if the weight of the burdens she’s carried for so long presses down on her.
“I resent her. Penny,” she admits in a whisper. “What kind of horrible person resents a child?”
I chuckle, causing her to turn toward me with a frown. I press my finger against her soft lips before she can berate me. “All parents resent their children at one point or another. Raising little humans is the hardest job in the world. Once you have kids, your dreams are sidelined, your freedom limited. Even people who dream of parenthood occasionally hate the job. You were nineteen, and circumstances forced you to care for a toddler. From what I’ve seen of Penny, you’ve done an incredible job.”
She sniffles. “I feel lost most of the time and terrified all the time.”
“I think that’s how most parents feel, Charley. At least the good ones.”
CHAPTER 6
Charley
I’d forgotten how easy it was to be around Liam, how clearly he saw the world. How laid-back he was about strife, and how much his words comforted me.
Nothing about this is crazy. Liam’s presence stills the noise in my head. No anxiety chasing me. Not being overwhelmed, threatening my sanity. Liam is fresh air in a smoke-filled building. I can breathe freely for the first time in years.
I look at his handsome face and smile, my eyes crinkling with a warmth that mirrors the sensation in my chest. His profile is sharp, highlighted by the afternoon sun, which illuminates the fine stubble dusting his jaw. My gaze lingers for a moment, memorizing his beauty.
“You’ve always been good at that,” I murmur.
He raises an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement playing on his lips. “Good at what?”
“Compassion.” The word hangs between us like a delicate, unspoken promise. It’s a fundamental part of his being. It’s in the way he listens and in how he looks at the world. It’s one of the traits that made me fall hopelessly in love with him.
Liam laughs. “I’ve never been told that before.”
“Because you rarely let people see that side of you. Most people think you’re grumpy.” I raise my eyes to the blue sky and the vastness of the land beyond. If paradise is a reality, I imagine it looking just like this. Serene, lush, and tranquil. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Yes, breathtaking.”
I turn to see Liam’s gaze on me. Heat rises in my cheeks despite the cool breeze. I’m sure my face resembles a ripe tomato.
My vibrant blushes always betrayed my emotions when Liam looked at me like he is now. Back when the world was simpler, when we were young and thought our future was limitless. His eyes would soften and his jaw would tighten, sending a jolt of electricity through me.
I thought we were invincible. Perfect. Transcendent. That nothing could touch us.
I didn’t realize how much I’d missed all that until this very moment.
Liam cocks his eyebrow and grins. “Still have that pretty pink blush, I see. I missed this.”
“Me too.” I look into the eyes I’ve seen every night as I close mine. God, I’ve missed them. Missed him. “It’s funny how life works out. I pictured you off somewhere on a beach, sipping a beer with a beautiful model draped across your lap. It’s how I got through it—pretending you were like your brother and convincing myself that our year together was a mirage.”
“Ouch. That hurts.” Liam places his hand over his heart and grimaces. “How dare you say I would have a beer? Whiskey is in my blood. Besides, no woman has been able to hold a candle to you. You can’t improve on perfection. Being without you was hell. I felt like a shell going through the motions of life. Never really living.”
His fingers trace a raised scar on his wrist. Is it a reminder of the darkness of his past? A darkness I placed there? I want to ask him what happened, to hear the story, but I know this isn’t the right moment.
“My father sure fucked up, didn’t he?”
I swallow the lump in my throat, unsure of what to say. My discomfort doesn’t last long as Liam wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me toward him, placing a kiss on the top of my head.
“I couldn’t forget you,” I say, breaking the silence. “Everywhere I went, I saw you. I wanted to run to you so many times.”