Chapter 28
Kendall
“What are you doing here?”
He scans my face with watchful eyes. “Flight got canceled. Figured it would be better to stay here a few more nights than wait in line at the airport.”
“Same,” I say softly.
I’m quiet for a moment, the muscles in my neck and shoulder tense as I wait to see if he’s going to bring up what happened last night. But he doesn’t say anything.
The woman at the front desk beckons us forward.
“Could I please get the name on your reservation?” she asks the two of us.
“We don’t actually have one,” Liam says. We explain the issue with our canceled flights and the storm.
“Do you have two rooms available?” I ask.
She smiles. “No problem. We should be able to accommodate you both.”
She’s quiet for a long moment as she types furiously on her keyboard. A second later, her smile fades.
She aims an apologetic smile at us. “I’m so sorry, but it looks like we only have one room left in the whole resort.”
“What?” I blurt.
“I’m very sorry. But on the bright side, it’s a king bed with a beautiful ocean view.
I swallow back a groan. I have to spend the next who knows how many nights in a hotel room with Liam while we wait out this storm? I have to share a bed with him?
Liam picks up on my irritation like a hound dog picking up a scent. The corner of his mouth quirks up. “Come on, firecracker. We can share a room for a few nights, can’t we?”
I make a disgusted noise. “Speak for yourself,” I mutter.
“It’s either this or spending the night at the airport.”
I tug a hand through my hair. “Fine.”
I start to dig out my credit card from my purse, but Liam hands his over first.
“Liam, I can pay for myself.”
“I know,” he says without even looking at me.
The receptionist runs his credit card.
“I’ll Venmo you,” I say.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says as he puts his card back in his wallet.
She hands us our room keys. “Enjoy your stay.”
Together we head down to the elevators. We ride in silence to the fourth floor of the resort. When we walk inside our room, I take one look at the king-sized bed. This is gonna be so awkward.
Liam plops down on the foot of the bed and reaches up his arms, groaning as he stretches.
“A little nicer than the airport floor, right?” he jokes.
I roll my eyes.
“Come on, Kendall. Will you lighten up? I’m just trying to make the best of this situation.”
Irritation zooms through me. “That’s nice that you can just let upsetting things roll off your back like they’re nothing. I’m not like that though.”
He frowns like he’s confused. “What is that supposed to mean?”
I crouch down on the floor and unzip my suitcase. “Nothing,” I mutter.
I grab my toiletry bag and head for the bathroom. Behind me, I hear Liam’s heavy footsteps.
“Hold on.”
I turn around to face him. “Can this wait? I wanna take a shower.”
“No. You’re clearly still pissed at me, Kendall.
But every time I try to explain myself, you won’t let me get a word in.
” The frustration in his tone is clear as crystal.
His blue eyes are wild and fiery as he looks at me.
“If we’re going to spend the next few days sharing this hotel room, the least you could do is tell me what I did wrong to make you hate me so much. ”
The last of my resolve melts away. He’s right. I’m tired of holding this against him. And not just what he said the night we kissed in the alley. I’m sick of bottling up my anger and hurt feelings from that night in college all those years ago.
I feel like I’m going to explode.
I let out a shaky breath. “Do you even remember what you said about me that night in undergrad? At that house party you and your teammates had after you won that game against North Dakota?”
He frowns like he’s never been more confused in his life.
He shakes his head. “No. What did I say?”
Tears prick my eyes as the memory resurfaces. I swallow back the lump in my throat. I shouldn’t care so much. It shouldn’t hurt this much. But it does. Because I had a huge crush on Liam, but to him I was nothing.
I swallow back the lump in my throat.
“You were in the garage with your teammate. I was going to say hi, but I overheard you guys talking about me. He asked you if you and I were together. And you said, verbatim, ‘Not in a million years would I ever hook up with Kendall. Are you kidding? I go for hot girls. Not mousy little bookworms like her.’”
All the color drains from Liam’s face. “You heard that?”
“Yeah.” I sniffle and wipe my nose with the back of my wrist.
Liam shoves both hands in his hair. “Shit…” He closes his eyes as he leans his head back. And then he looks at me and drops his arms at his sides. He walks up to me.
“It’s not what you think.”