Chapter 7
Kendall
I’m so shocked to see him that the urge to cry disappears.
“Liam. Hey.”
For a second, I just stare at him. He’s infuriatingly handsome in the short-sleeve button-up, shorts, and sneakers he’s wearing.
He looks like a model mid-photoshoot. How did he pull that off?
I saw him leave to go on a bar crawl with Aidan and Micah last night after the engagement party.
I went straight to bed after going home, and I felt like a dehydrated slug this morning after the three cocktails I drank last night.
He walks up to us and flashes a shy smile. “Hey.” He glances around, then looks down at my aunt. “It’s nuts in here, right?”
A strange softness hits my chest. So many times people don’t even look at her and only talk to me when we’re out together. Liam didn’t do that though.
Auntie chuckles. “It really is. Goodness.”
“That’s Nashville for you. Anytime there’s a new restaurant in the Gulch, half the city needs to eat there the week it opens.” He chuckles. “I guess I’m guilty of it.”
Auntie smiles at him. “We are too. Well, we tried to eat here.”
“What happened?” he asks, looking between us.
“They lost our reservation,” I say. “They said we could eat at the bar, but that’s just not possible with my aunt’s wheelchair.”
He looks annoyed. “That’s messed up.”
I exhale. “Yeah. It is.”
“Why don’t you eat with me at my table?”
I blink at him and laugh out of sheer surprise. “Um, no. That’s okay.”
He flashes that lopsided grin that gives me tingles in my tummy. “Come on. I’ve got a whole table and no one to share it with.”
He looks at my aunt. “My brother and his fiancée were supposed to meet me, but they’re a little hungover from last night.”
Auntie’s head falls back as she laughs. “Oh, I remember those days.”
“My big brother just can’t hold his liquor like he used to.”
“You know what used to do me in? Gin.” She makes a grossed-out face. “I can’t stand even a sip of the stuff now. My twenties ruined gin for me forever.”
Liam laughs. “Same. Gin is disgusting. Also, Scotch.”
Auntie shivers. “I had it one time. Never, ever again. I’ll stick with rosé now that I’ve hit my mature years.”
“Hey now, rosé is for us younger folks too. I love a glass of rosé,” he says in a teasing tone. “That doesn’t make me weird, does it?”
She laughs. “Not at all. It makes me like you even more.”
Liam pumps his fist in the air, which makes her laugh even harder. I stand there and watch in awe as he charms my aunt. They’re chatting like old friends catching up.
What is happening?
My aunt holds out her hand. “I’m Christina, Kendall’s favorite auntie.”
Liam shakes her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Liam, a friend of Kendall’s.” His gaze cuts to me. There’s a hint of teasing in his sky-blue eyes. “At least I’m trying to be.”
My aunt’s brow lifts as she looks between us. “Is that so?”
He nods. “She’s better friends with my brother.”
“Ah.” Auntie flashes me a knowing smile.
I explain that Liam is the younger brother of Aidan and that we’re planning some of the wedding events together. I opt not to tell her that we fought about the engagement party. We don’t need to get into that drama right now.
Liam looks at Auntie. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me? It’ll be tough trying to find another place to eat brunch at this time on a Sunday.”
I glance down at my aunt. She quirks an eyebrow. “He has a point,” she says to me.
I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips as I look at Liam. Not even twenty-four hours ago, I was pissed at him. And now I’m touched by how sweet he’s being to my aunt and me.
“Okay. Thanks.”
He smiles like he’s genuinely happy that we’re crashing his solo brunch. He steps in front of us and uses his massive body to make a pathway in the crowded restaurant. We follow him and end up at a table on the far side of the space.
Liam quickly moves one of the chairs out of the way so my aunt has room to sit. He pours us water from the pitcher at the table and hands a glass to my aunt first, then me.
I look him in the eye. “Thank you for this.”
His gaze is soft and tender when he smiles at me. “My pleasure.”
He hands my aunt a menu. A server stops by and asks for our drink order.
Liam gives Auntie a playful conspiratorial look. “Rosé?”
She chuckles. “Not this early in the day.” She looks at the server. “Just an herbal tea, please.”
I order a coffee and Liam orders a mimosa. I look at him.
“What?” A smug grin plays on his lips.
I shake my head, trying not to smile. “Nothing.”
He gently elbows me. “Come on. I know you’re dying to say something.”
“I didn’t know you were a mimosa kind of guy.”
He frowns like he’s offended. “Of course I am. It’s not a proper brunch without a mimosa. You should get one too.”
A smile breaks free. Auntie looks at me. “You should, anak. Live a little.”
“Yeah. Live a little,” Liam says, grinning.
I laugh. “Okay, I’ll do a mimosa too.”
Minutes later, the server drops off our drinks and takes our food order. Liam takes a sip and makes a satisfied noise. I laugh into my glass.
“What? I can’t enjoy my drink?” he teases.
I shake my head, still chuckling. “You’re right. Enjoy your mimosa.”
He turns to my aunt and offers his glass. “You sure you don’t want to have some? I’m happy to share.”
“You’re so sweet, but I’d better not. Drinking alcohol often isn’t good for me since I have MS.”
“Oh…” Liam’s cheeks turn red. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pressure you.”
Auntie waves her hand like it’s no big deal.
“Oh goodness, no need to apologize. Honestly, it’s been nice talking to you.
You’re not treating me with kid gloves like some people do when they see me.
” She gestures to her wheelchair. “It feels nice to chat about normal, silly things. Sometimes people try to be so careful with their words around me that conversation can be a bit stilted.”
Liam flashes an easy smile and shrugs. “I’m kind of an idiot, so I don’t even know how to think that far ahead when I talk.”
Auntie laughs so hard, she hunches over. She pats his hand. “You’re perfect. Don’t even worry.”
Auntie asks him what he does for a living. When he says he plays for Nashville’s professional hockey team, her eyes go wide.
“Oh wow! How impressive!”
Liam blushes and tells her thanks.
“That explains why you’re so tall and in such good shape.”
He laughs. She asks how long we’ve known each other, and I tell her we’ve known each other since freshman year of college.
When our food arrives, I look at Auntie when she takes the first bite of her biscuit. “How is it? Best biscuit you’ve ever had?”
She frowns like she’s deep in thought. When she finishes her bite, she leans forward and whispers, “I’ve had better.”
Both Liam and I burst out laughing.
“Remember the biscuits we had at that drag queen brunch in Charleston over spring break during your senior year of high school?” she says. “Those were better.”
I catch Liam looking between us.
“Drag queen brunch, huh? That sounds fun,” he says with a smile.
“It was a blast. Kendall was too young to attend, but I lied to the doorman and said that she was eighteen so he’d let her in. I even let her have a few sips of my cocktail during brunch,” Auntie says. I chuckle and shake my head.
“Wow. Look at you two rule breakers,” Liam teases.
“I had a few too many cocktails and ended up dancing on the bar.” Auntie chuckles and shakes her head. “Remember that?”
I laugh. “How could I forget? I broke your fall when you lost your balance and fell off the bartop.”
“Damn. You two get wild on spring break,” Liam says.
Auntie waves a hand. “That was so long ago. You’ll never catch me dancing on a bar again.”
“How about for another one of those brunch biscuits?” Liam teases.
Auntie chuckles. “Well, maybe,” she says, as we continue to eat and chat.
When we’re finished, the server sets the bill on the table. I reach for it, but Liam swipes it up before I can.
“Liam, let me pay. You let us sit with you.”
He shakes his head, even before I finish what I’m saying. He hands his credit card to the server and looks at me. “I always pay for brunch. It’s a rule I have.”
I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling.
Auntie nods at me. “It’s a good rule.”
He smiles at her. “Thank you, Christina. I think so too.”
We thank him. After he signs the bill, we stand up and head out of the restaurant. Just like he did before, he walks in front of us so he can make a clear path for my auntie.
Once outside, we walk to the side of the restaurant so we’re not in the way.
Liam takes the receipt from brunch and walks over to a nearby trash bin to toss it.
Some guy with his phone out runs up to him.
At first, I think he’s a hockey fan and is going to ask for a selfie, but he just stands in front of Liam, aiming his phone at him.
“Liam Scott, my man! Looking cool and casual in the off-season,” the guy says.
“Thanks.” Liam’s tone is curt, and he barely looks at the guy.
“Wanna say something to your fans? This is gonna end up on all the sports news sites, so make it good.”
Liam purses his lips and looks at the guy. “Nope.”
That’s when I realize that this guy must be paparazzi. I remember Liam complaining to Aidan a couple times about getting filmed around the city and how irritating it is.
I glare at the guy as he lowers his phone and catches eyes with me. His smile drops and he walks off.
Liam walks back over to us. “Sorry about that,” he says softly. “Annoying side of playing pro sports. You get hounded by sports paparazzi from time to time.”
Auntie shakes her head. “Goodness, what a low life that man is.”
Liam smiles. “Low life. I like that.”
“Sorry you have to deal with that stuff,” I tell him.
He flashes a soft smile. “It’s alright. It doesn’t happen all the time. They don’t hound me like they would if I were Tom Cruise or JLo.”
Auntie beams up at him. “Liam, that was so kind of you to let us join you for brunch. You’re such a sweet young man.”
He flashes that handsome smile. “It was my pleasure. And thank you. It was fun chatting with you.” He turns to me. “Where are you parked?”
I nod toward the car. “Just at the end of the block.”
He walks with us to my car. I lock it, turn on the ignition, and blast the AC since it’s already so hot and humid out.
Liam opens the front passenger door for me while I help my aunt into the seat.
I collapse her wheelchair and open the back to load it in.
When I turn around, he’s holding the chair.
“I got it.” He carefully places it inside and shuts the door. For a second, I look at him, heartened at how he’s helping me.
I tell Auntie that I’ll just be a minute. Then I step onto the curb and look up at Liam.
“Thank you for everything,” I say in a soft voice. “You didn’t need to do all that.”
His soft blue gaze pins me. “I wanted to.”
His voice is low and rough but also gentle. A hard swallow moves through my throat as I look at him.
He blinks and his eyebrows furrow. “About last night. You were right. I should have tried harder to explain to Aidan and Micah that you were responsible for the engagement party. I was a jerk to stand there and take the credit like I did.” He huffs out a breath.
“I explained everything to them after the party.”
I blink, surprised at the sincerity in his voice. I can tell he’s sorry. I can tell he means it.
I gaze up at him. “It’s okay. We’re good.”
His broad shoulders fall as he exhales, his pained expression easing. Like he couldn’t take the thought of me being mad at him.
And something about that sends tingles through my body.
His jaw works as he looks at me. “I know you said you didn’t want to work together anymore. And I don’t blame you for not wanting to be around me. But can we give this another try? I promise I won’t screw it up.”
The look in his eyes is shy as he gazes at me. I can tell just how much he wants to do this together. And the strangest thing? I do too.
“Okay. Let’s do it,” I say.
He grins wide, and it makes my tummy flip again. “Are you free Wednesday? We could meet at my place after you get done with work and start hashing everything out.”
“Sounds perfect.”
He walks around to the driver’s side of my car and opens the door for me while I slide in.
He leans down. “Don’t forget the seatbelts, ladies.”
Auntie laughs. We say goodbye and he shuts the door. As I pull into traffic, he waves at us. We wave back.
“Well. He’s an impressive young man,” Auntie says as I drive home.
I bite back a smile. “Maybe he is.”