Chapter 11
Liam
Ishould’ve gone after her.
The Liam I was before moving to LA would have.
He would’ve stopped Emma, held her in his arms, and listened until the tears I saw her holding back were gone, and her voice was raspy from all the words she didn’t want to say. That’s just how our relationship was—err, used to be.
But Emma was right. We weren’t the same people anymore.
And I couldn’t bring my feet to move, to chase after her.
It’s crazy how much two people could change in just a couple years.
I knew she was upset that I had left Meridel, but I hadn’t realized just how upset she was until she had said those words.
It’s your fault.
As much as my pride didn’t want to admit it, she was right.
I was the one to leave. I was the one who couldn’t handle the pressure and the stress and the schedule. I couldn’t handle the disappointment in her voice when I’d have to cut our conversations short or had to cancel our video chats. I couldn’t stomach the look on her face.
And then when the tabloids started spreading crazy rumors about me, I couldn’t bear the thought of Emma seeing me as that type of guy.
So…I just stopped talking to her.
But not for a moment did I stop missing her.
Not a single day went by that I didn’t think about her, that I didn’t wish she had come with me to LA. Not that she ever would have. Meridel was home for her. She had her own dreams to chase—literally.
I’d never met anyone who loved severe weather like she did, and living in Tornado Alley allowed her to go after those dreams—even if they terrified me. I couldn’t live with myself if I let her get caught up in mine instead of her own. It wasn’t like we were together anyway. We were best friends. That was all.
Which was why I couldn’t let her do this.
I couldn’t marry Emma.
As soon as the tabloids got wind of our marriage, they would devour her.
It wasn’t that I didn’t think she could handle it. She was one of the strongest people I knew, and I was certain that if anyone could put up with fame and all that came along with it, it was her.
But that didn’t mean I wanted her to have to deal with it.
She deserved better.
Emma deserved so much more than what this marriage would be.
She deserved real love—not a sham that would end in a divorce in a year.
Which was exactly why I threw some cash on the table, stalked out of Dina’s, and drove all the way to the motel that Bridget was staying in. A few seconds of smiling at the pretty receptionist rewarded me with Bridget’s room number before I stalked down the hallway and banged my fist on her door.
The pleasant smile on her face as she opened it made my vision turn red.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I snapped at her. “Why would you bring Emma into this mess?”
Bridget rolled her eyes and waved me inside. The room was small, with that typical sterile hotel smell, a queen bed on the left and a dresser with a TV across from it. Her suitcase was nestled against the wall, still zipped up tight. She was either not planning on staying, or she was already on her way out.
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is a brilliant solution, Liam. I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. It will solve your problem. You should be happy you have such a good manager who’s willing to go to these lengths to help you.” She crossed her arms, scowling at me.
“Emma is not a solution. She’s a person, and I’m not dragging her into this.”
“Why?”
It was a simple question—only one word—and yet I couldn’t put my reasons into spoken words. They were all jumbled in my mind, running over each other, not making any sense.
“Because.”
That was enough of a reason, right?
Bridget arched a brow. “Wow, you really convinced me.”
I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging at the strands. “I can’t marry Emma. She’s my best friend.” Then I muttered beneath my breath, “Or at least she was.”
There was a beat of silence before Bridget chuckled.
“A girl like that and you’ve never thought of her in a more than friends way?” she asked, her eyes wide.
I looked her dead in the eye. “No.”
No, I’d never let myself think such thoughts.
Sure, I’d always thought Emma was pretty and smart and funny—she was my best friend after all—but I never let myself feel more than friendly feelings for her. I didn’t want to risk our relationship. It was too important to me. Maybe it was a conscious choice, or maybe it was subconscious to turn my eyes away from her and focus on all the other girls because I couldn’t handle the thought of losing the one person who meant everything to me. I would rather be Emma’s friend for the rest of my life than go down a road with her that meant I might lose her entirely.
“Why on earth not? Have you seen her?”
Heat rushed to my face as I stuttered out, “O-of course, I have.”
She blinked at me. “Liam, are you blushing?” Bridget said, her mouth dropping open. “The bad boy of country music, Liam Walker, is blushing?”
I let out a growl in irritation and started pacing the small room, Bridget watching with an amused expression from the edge of the bed.
“So, you do have feelings for Emma.”
“No,” I said quickly, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat and tried again. “No, of course not.”
Bridget just laughed at whatever expression was on my face. “That was very convincing. Just admit it. You have a thing for your best friend. What’s so wrong with that? This is great. Maybe—”
I put my hands on my hips. “I do not have a thing for Emma. She just means a lot to me. I don’t want to risk ruining our relationship.”
“I hate to break it to you, but it kind of seemed like you’ve already ruined it with the way she was acting toward you at the restaurant.”
I winced, knowing she was right.
“Now’s your chance to mend the relationship,” she continued.
“Or destroy it completely,” I snapped back. “I can’t marry her.”
Bridget’s lips pressed together into a tight line—the first sign that she was beginning to get angry with me.
“Sorry, Liam, but you don’t have a choice. It’s this or risk the label dropping you, and I’ll be darned if I let that happen. You’re marrying the girl and that’s that.” Bridget shoved past me and grabbed her suitcase, rolling it to the door. “I’ll have the contract drawn up and sent to both of you tonight.”
She opened the door, pausing as she entered the hallway. “And Liam? Don’t look at this as a bad thing. You guys were best friends. Maybe this is the nudge you two need to finally be something more. Don’t waste such an opportunity. Some of us can only dream of marrying someone that means so much to us.”
Without another word, Bridget left the room, leaving me with my spinning thoughts over saying “I do” to my best friend in just a few short days.