Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
brIAR
I wake up in the middle of the night, my heart pounding.
In my dreams, my father destroyed my Felicity doll, tearing the limbs off as he repeated over and over again, “It’s for your own good.”
This time Liam doesn’t wake up, but he pulls me closer reflexively, his arm wrapped possessively around me, and rests his chin on top of my head. My breathing evens out, and I relax into his warmth and protection.
I wish Hannah weren’t coming back this week—a thought that floods me with guilt.
I promised her I would never date her brother. I’d made that promise easily, as if it meant nothing. Because at the time it did mean nothing. I only wanted Liam because he was the best at what he did. Not because he was funny and loyal and…well…Liam. But then I got to know him.
I tried to stay away, but we were always together, always within a few feet of each other, it seemed. And he’s been supporting my dream in a way I never thought possible.
He taught me to throw a punch.
He let me assist him in making the New Year’s beer.
And he’s made me feel like my knowledge is valuable. No other man has ever shown any interest in my jewelry wrapping. Certainly no one else has asked to learn it.
Making jewelry with him last night restored some of the simple joy it used to bring me.
No one else has ever made me feel like Liam does. Valued and seen. Understood. Wanted.
Is it possible Hannah will understand?
Or will she look at me the way my father has so many times—
Oh, Briar, you sweet little fool. You didn’t listen to reason, and this is what happens.
Hannah loves Liam to death, but she warned me to stay away from him. She told me he wasn’t serious with women and always kept them at a distance.
I know for a fact that he broke things off with Margaret because she wanted to move a toothbrush into his apartment.
What would he do if he knew that I want to weave him into even more of my life, not just for a stolen weekend, but permanently?
All day, I’ve been imagining what it would be like for us to live together and work together, and maybe even go on double dates with Hannah and Travis.
Oh, he’d probably hate that.
And yet…
I could see him enjoying it. He’d give me one of his here we fucking go smiles, and then he’d lean into the experience—just like he did with making jewelry.
He’s right. The situation we’re in is complicated, but it has never felt that way when we’re together. It feels right.
I fall back into a fretful sleep, until I’m awoken by the buzzing of Liam’s phone on the side table. It’s early, before six, so I glance at the screen, worried something might be wrong.
Seconds later, the phone clatters down from my shaking fingers.
I squeeze my eyes shut. If only I could unsee what I just saw.
It feels like the floor has fallen out from underneath me, again.
I’m that na?ve girl who believed in Jonah.
The fool who kept looking the other way when the numbers weren’t adding up.
I’m the girl who was born with an overly soft heart, tailor-made to be broken.