Twenty-four
In the days leading up to the ball, Mackenzie’s speed grew like a hurricane. Liam knew he shouldn’t stare but, at the same time, he couldn’t look away.
By the Monday before the ball, she was in a state, arriving for their meeting at the tea shop a half hour late, her hair atop her head in a bun with pieces shooting out, a pair of thick glasses squared on her face.
“Morning,” she said, sitting down with a huff. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “I brought a coffee for you. I wasn’t sure if Eliza would kick me out for it, so I’ve been hiding it under the table.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re an angel. I won’t tell if you won’t.”
“It’s cold now,” he said, pulling the paper cup from under his chair. “But I think—”
She accepted it, her fingers brushing his hand. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
He sucked in a breath. The plan he’d set for himself was slipping away faster than the morning fog. He wanted to speak up, but how?
That was the one thing he should’ve planned – an opener. Something to direct the conversation.
We need to talk seemed too serious.
I have to tell you how much I adore and admire you sounded like someone out of a bad movie.
You make me feel like love is possible and there is still good in the world didn’t roll off the tongue like he thought it would when he’d come up with it at three AM.
He kept having this dream of Mackenzie running down the hill on the island, her shadow outlined with moonlight. She ran, always away from him, and when she reached the water, she was gone.
He woke half delirious, his muscles rigid. Liam made up his mind then and there that he had to tell her how he felt. He couldn’t go on like this.
But looking at her now…it seemed like the wrong time.
He pulled a stack of flyers from his bag and set them on the table. “I picked these up. If you’re happy with them, I can go to the post office and have the first batch mailed.”
She picked up one of the flyers, flipping it back to front. “This looks great. Did you get any help designing this?”
Liam shook his head. “Other than some inspiration I found online, no.”
“It looks awesome. I can pay you for your work. It’s technically part of the project at this point.”
He put up a hand. “Please, save it for Lottie. It was no trouble.”
She took a gulp of coffee and squinted at the sheet through her glasses. Shadows of makeup hung beneath her eyelashes, with bits of black dusting the freckles on her cheeks.
What if he reached across the table and brushed them away? That was one way to start a conversation.
“You added a QR code, too?”
Liam sat back. Enough wild thoughts. “With a link to Lottie’s website, yes.”
“This is so helpful. Thank you, Liam.” She set the sheet down. “I owe you something . Was there anyone you really wanted to meet at the ball? We don’t have Granny’s favorite coming, but if there’s someone else, I could introduce you. Maybe someone in film?”
“At the ball?” He cocked his head. “I didn’t think I was invited.”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. “Of course you’re invited! Why is everyone I like surprised to be invited while strangers make demands whenever they see me?”
“Do you need me to film something?”
“No, you’re not – I’m not going to make you work. You’re one of Lottie’s friends, even if she doesn’t know it yet. You have to come.”
He grinned. “I’d like that very much.”
“There will be some filmmakers there. I’m sure—”
“No.” He shook his head. “It would be a waste.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Why? You’re making a film right now. It’s what you went to school for. Isn’t this your thing?”
He sighed and picked at the corner of his paper coffee cup. “It was, once. Not anymore. I’ve got a folder full of films no one will ever see.”
For the first time, she smiled, her eyes wide. “You do? I want to watch them.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t.”
“I do.” She picked up her coffee, the smile still reaching her eyes. “Why are you being so dramatic? Is this your artistic side?”
“No.” Liam laughed. “I’m being dramatic because in film school, I used all of my savings to make a micro budget film with my friend and classmate.”
“Yes,” she said slowly, “you told me about that.”
“What I didn’t tell you was how that friend ran off with the film, took all the credit, and used it to launch his career.”
He looked down, studying the doilies on the table. Elegant curves and intricate stitching. Maybe he’d underestimated the décor.
Mackenzie cleared her throat. “What I’m hearing is that it was a really good film.”
Liam sighed. “Yeah, I suppose it was.”
“Which means you’re good at this!” She slammed her cup onto the table and he jumped. “Sorry,” she said. “You can’t give up so easily, Liam.”
He shrugged. “Actually, I can.”
“At least let me see the films you’ve made. Then I’ll leave you alone.”
“I’ll send you the link.”
She grinned. “Do you have something to wear? To the ball?”
He let out a breath. Finally out of that line of questioning. “Er, not really.”
“That’s okay.” She stood, stuffing a flyer into her back pocket. “Joey is flying out to get a tux fitting. He can take you with him.”
“Brilliant, thank you.”
“I have to run, but thank you again for handling the flyer!”
He watched her disappear through the door. “My pleasure.”
The next day, he and Joey flew to a tuxedo rental shop on the mainland.
“Even Eliza is feeling the pressure,” Joey said, stepping out from behind a blue velvet curtain in a white tuxedo jacket and black pants. “Once it got out Bailey Jo will be there, the frenzy started all over again. People are hanging around the tea shop to plead for invitations.”
Liam glanced over at him. “Did you get the OK to wear a white tuxedo? I didn’t know that was an option.”
A smile spread across his face. “I don’t know that it is. What’s Mackenzie going to do, turn me away?”
“Yeah, well,” Liam turned back to the mirror. “She might.”
“I look cool, though.”
“You look like a waiter.”
Joey laughed. “I kind of do, don’t I?”
The last time Liam had worn a tuxedo was for his sister’s wedding. It didn’t feel much different this time around. The electric excitement in the air. The furrowed eyebrows over details. Copious amounts of cake.
Though, last time, it had ended with his sister sobbing into his shoulder. The woman he’d rented the tuxedo from made him pay an extra cleaning fee.
Joey made a face. “I think these sleeves are too short. I feel like a penguin.” He flapped his arms up and down.
“If you do that all night, you should be able to hide that it doesn’t fit,” Liam said.
A sales associate stepped up to Joey. “Can I help you find a better size?”
Joey slammed his arms down to his sides. “Didn’t see you there. Yes, that’d be great.”
“Perhaps go for a bright orange this time?” Liam suggested.
Joey turned toward the sales floor. “Only if you do a complementing sky blue!”
Liam chuckled and shook his head. He wasn’t interested in making a statement, unless it was to Mackenzie specifically. After she’d skewered him about not pursuing his film career, he was even more unsure how to proceed.
The sales associate returned. “How does it fit?”
“Very well, I think.”
“I agree.” She smiled. “Do you want to try anything else?”
He shook his head. “No, thank you.”
How silly was he, standing here and looking at himself?
“I’ll take this one, please.”
She nodded. “Wonderful. I’ll meet you at the front whenever you’re ready.”
He pulled open the blue curtain to his dressing room and stepped inside. There was a small mirror there. He stared at himself.
Perhaps he was nothing more than a coward. It had been so long since he’d talked about the film school incident. No one cared to hear his sob story, and he didn’t care to tell it.
When he said it out loud, it didn’t sound as bad as it had been. Or maybe he hadn’t explained it well. It wasn’t just that it had ruined his faith in his friend or his own future career. It ruined his trust in himself. He had poor judgment. How could he do anything if the one person he’d trusted had run off with their work to enrich himself?
Liam unbuttoned the jacket and replaced it on its hanger. Was he really foolish enough to believe Mackenzie was any different? She’d had many opportunities to behave unethically, and yet she carried on, doing what needed to be done.
Was she real? And how had he found himself on this far-flung island with her?
How could he not tell her how unbelievably lucky he was to have met her?
Liam walked it to the front of the shop. Perhaps the tuxedo could serve a different purpose this time. It could allow him to be someone else for the night – someone with courage.