Chapter 21 Liam
LIAM
Bonnie and Katie were determined to introduce me to every person at the gala. As soon as I was finished talking to one person, I was whisked away to another. Before Sabrina, I wouldn’t have cared. I would have stood there and taken it because, really, where else did I have to be?
But not now. Not tonight.
Every introduction meant that it was going to be that much longer before I could whisk Sabrina away from this place and just be ourselves. I didn’t want to talk to Bonnie or Katie or Harold from Tincture Advertising.
I wanted it to be me, Sabrina, and Samuel.
That was where I felt happiest. That was where I felt free.
I took a sip from the champagne flute Katie had just handed me, while staring at Sabrina, who had found a spot along the wall to stand. She was playing with Samuel’s feet and bouncing him along with the beat of the music. I wanted to walk over to her. I wanted to keep her next to me.
I wanted her to want me like I wanted her.
“What do you say, Liam?”
I felt Katie’s hand on my forearm, drawing my attention down. She was staring up at me with wide eyes and an expectant expression on her face.
“Hmm?” I asked, not really caring if I was rude. I didn’t want to be here. She knew I didn’t want to be here. This wasn’t my scene.
I wanted to make music. I didn’t want all of the other stuff.
Katie’s lips pursed as she stared at me a moment longer and then turned to Harold. “Will you excuse us for a moment?” She gave him a fake smile as she dug her fingernails into my arm and then started to push me toward the outskirts of the ballroom.
I wiggled my arm loose as soon as we were tucked into a corner, away from listening ears.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Katie asked as she whipped her gaze up to meet mine. I could see the anger and fury in her eyes as she stared at me. “Do you not care about Ana anymore?”
My heart began to pound as anger coursed through my veins. I stared at her as I tried to process what she was saying. “Of course I care about Ana,” I sputtered. That was a stupid question.
Katie folded her arms. “Well, obviously not from the way you’ve been acting.”
I frowned. “The way I’ve been acting?” Was she serious?
“You said you would always take care of your daughter. And yet when you’re here, where you should be finding sponsors, all you can do is stare at your gold-digging assistant.”
I blinked. “Don’t talk about Sabrina like that.” A protective surge rose up in my chest. If Katie wasn’t the mother of my daughter, I would have kicked her out of my life a long time ago. “Sabrina has nothing to do with me and you, or me and Ana.”
Katie studied me before she scoffed and shook her head. “You’re dense if you think that Sabrina isn’t affecting everything.”
I stared at her. Was she serious? “You cut me out of your and Ana’s life a long time ago, Katie.
” I pushed my hand through my hair in an effort to dispel the pent-up frustration I had for this woman.
I wanted nothing more than to be a part of my daughter’s life, and this woman was actively preventing me from doing that.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she just studied me before she dropped her gaze to the floor. I watched as she brought her hands up to her cheeks like she was trying to wipe away tears.
“I made a mistake. Haven’t you made mistakes?” She shifted her attention back to me.
I was right, she was crying. At first, I hardened myself to her emotions.
I didn’t want to have sympathy for this woman.
She’d made my life a living nightmare these last few years.
But as I studied her gaze, I caught a glimpse of the person I’d fallen in love with.
The woman who was still the mother to my daughter.
I didn’t want to be angry with her. I didn’t want our relationship to sour. I’d seen enough children affected by separated parents who spent their lives trying to ruin each other, and I didn’t want that for Ana.
I wanted the world for her.
So despite the warning bells going off in my mind, I reached out and pulled Katie close.
I was going to find a way to pay off Frankie and make sure that Ana was taken care of.
I didn’t love that I had to pick up the pieces of the relationship Katie so obviously broke, but I would do it for Ana. I would do it to keep her safe.
“Of course, I’ve made mistakes,” I said as I held her head against my chest. “We’ve both made a lot of mistakes.”
She nodded against my shoulder.
“But we can’t keep making the same ones over and over and think we’re going to get a different outcome.” I pulled back so I could look down at her. “You need to stop shutting me out. We need to work together. We need to be a team for Ana.”
Katie smiled up at me through her tears as she nodded along with what I was saying. Even though the sentiments sounded good, there was still hesitation in my heart. I was never going to fully trust Katie—she’d burned me enough times. But I was going to attempt to work with her, for Ana’s sake.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Movement next to us drew my attention over.
As soon as my gaze found Sabrina’s, I dropped my arms and took a step back from Katie as the realization of how that must have looked washed over me.
I offered Sabrina an apologetic smile, but she didn’t acknowledge it.
She shifted her attention from me to Katie and then back to me.
“I think I’m going to head back to the hotel room. Samuel’s ready for bed…” Sabrina sighed. She looked pale and her cheeks were red. “And I am, too.” Her smile was soft.
“Oh, okay.” I glanced over at Katie. There was no way I was going to stay at the gala. Especially without Sabrina. “I should go with her.”
“Oh, no,” Sabrina said at the same time Katie frowned and asked “What?”
I didn’t acknowledge Katie as I turned my attention to Sabrina with my eyebrows knitted.
She waved away my reaction. “Don’t let me spoil your night. You stay.” She patted my arm like a grandma patting her grandson’s arm. “Samuel and I will be just fine.” Her smile felt forced as she looked at me and then over to Katie.
“I’ll make sure that he gets home safely,” Katie said as she wrapped her arm around mine for the umpteenth time tonight.
Sabrina’s smile didn’t falter. Instead she just nodded. “Perfect.” She wrapped her arms around Samuel. His eyes were slits, and his head was tipped forward like it was just too much work to keep it upright.
“I’ll see you when you get back.” Sabrina’s voice was soft. She glanced up at me for only a moment and then turned and started to make her way through the crowd.
I wanted to go after her. I wanted to stop her. Hell, I wanted to join her. But she was adamant that I stay. And with the way Katie was holding on to me, I would have to make a scene to get her to let me go.
So I just stood there, watching Sabina leave until the crowd that had parted to let her through filled in the space and I could no longer see her. I thought, once she was gone, I’d be able to distract myself enough to not feel her absence.
I was wrong.
A half hour had passed since she left, and I was still glancing through the crowd, expecting to see her face. I probably looked so rude as yet another sponsor tried to talk to me, but I didn’t care. I missed Sabrina. I wanted to leave.
I just didn’t know how to walk away without disappointing Katie, Bonnie, and especially Sabrina. She wanted me to stay. She wanted me to do my job. And yet, that was the last thing I wanted to do.
I slipped out my phone during a lull in the conversation and sent her a quick text.
Just checking in that you got to the hotel safe.
I returned my phone to my pocket and rejoined the conversation.
Ten minutes passed with no response.
I excused myself, claiming I was parched and needed a refill. On my way over to the bar, I pulled out my phone once more and sent another text.
George taking care of you? You can tell me if he’s slacking.
I smiled at myself, hoping that she would have the same reaction when she read it. I kept my phone in hand while the bartender filled up my glass of water, waiting to read her response, but none came.
I finished my water and still no reaction.
I frowned as I left my empty glass on the bar and headed over to where Katie was standing. I had felt her gaze on me the entire time I was drinking my water, but I chose to ignore it. I could see her relief when I walked up to her.
“Everything okay?” she asked under her breath.
I nodded. I didn’t want to go down the Sabrina road with her again. I slipped my phone in my pocket, silently vowing that if she didn’t respond in the next few minutes, I was going to head to the bathroom to call her.
It was hard to pay attention to a conversation I really didn’t care about when I was waiting for her text.
Every time I shifted my weight, my phone shifted against my leg and my adrenaline started pumping.
I would shove my hand into my pocket to see if it was vibrating, but I would just be met with disappointment.
So when it actually did vibrate against my leg, I almost brushed it off. That was, until I felt it vibrate again.
Thank god.
I excused myself from the conversation and headed in the direction of the bathroom. As soon as I was inside, I shut the door behind me and flipped the lock. I didn’t hesitate as I pulled out my phone and swiped it on.
It took me a moment to process what I was looking at.
It wasn’t a message from Sabrina.
It was a picture of Sabrina and Samuel while we sat at lunch yesterday. Just below it was a second text.
Happy? Frankie expects the money soon or people you care about will get hurt.
My entire body went numb as I stared at the picture from an unknown number. Sabrina looked exhausted but content with Samuel smiling his big, gummy smile on her lap. I couldn’t believe that Frankie had threatened my daughter and now Sabrina.