Chapter 17
Liam Blackwood perpetually looked as though he had stepped off a runway, and today was no different.
His rich brown hair curled brightly over his forehead, his ivory skin lazily kissed by sun.
He’d attracted a small crowd of admirers, and he spoke to them softly, flashing a smile that almost warmed the crisp autumn day.
His hands were in his pockets as he leaned against the side of an indigo-colored car.
“Is that a fucking Rolls-Royce?” Tai asked, her eyes wide. Ellory, who had no idea what a Rolls-Royce looked like, shrugged. “It’s the latest Rolls-Royce!”
“Wow,” Ellory deadpanned.
“If you saw the price tag of that car, you’d be scared to even look at it, let alone put your ass on those seats.”
Ellory wasn’t thinking about cars or price tags.
She was thinking only about Liam, with the kind of fierce determination that Tai wouldn’t understand.
After all, Ellory hadn’t told Tai about her early-morning altercation.
She didn’t tell anyone but Hudson, and Hudson didn’t even bother to answer her text message.
After days of staring over her shoulder and calling the increasingly annoyed campus police to drive her home from her closing shifts, Ellory grew tired of being afraid.
She immersed herself in arcane histories and occult mysteries for far too long, treating it with the same importance that she treated her schoolwork.
For once, she wanted to try being a normal woman on a normal date with a normal man, one who actually enjoyed her company.
So, when Liam had invited her to go apple picking with Boone Priestley, Ellory had jumped at the chance.
The fact that it would get her off this haunted campus was a bonus.
Liam spotted Ellory over the head of the woman he was talking to, and he waved.
His fans turned to look at her, confused and then surprised and then annoyed, but Liam didn’t seem to notice as he slipped past them.
Ellory wasn’t used to this—being wanted and being envied for that want—and she didn’t know what to do with it.
Her body felt like a series of disconnected limbs rather than a functioning unit as Liam closed the distance between them, smile bright.
Her hands found her pockets, then straightened her hat, then tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
She was stuck between trying to seem nonchalant and feeling painfully awkward.
Beside her, Tai leaned against the doorpost. “Blackwood,” she said with a nod. “Nice car.”
“Thanks,” Liam replied without taking his eyes off Ellory. “It was a birthday present.” He stepped closer, his voice becoming feather soft, as if they were the only two people in the world. “Hey, you look amazing.”
They were going apple picking, so Ellory had dressed for apple picking: a loose-knit thermal top, a gold cotton parachute vest, black leggings, and waterproof lace-up boots.
Her beanie was gold, her peacoat was olive green, and her dangling earrings were a gold line of stars that almost touched her shoulders.
She didn’t think the outfit was anything special, except that the deep V-neck of her top showed more cleavage than usual.
His eyes hadn’t dropped below her face, though, so maybe it wasn’t enough cleavage.
“Thank you,” she said with a shy smile. “So do you.”
Ellory barely remembered to say goodbye to Tai as she floated to the car, Liam’s hand on her back. Yes, some normalcy to her school year was long overdue.
Tucker Farm was located forty-five minutes away from campus, passing through at least three towns along the way.
The scenery alternated between quaint colonial houses hidden by long stretches of greenery, shopping centers with banks that looked more like manors, and so many trees stretching over the guardrails to reach the road that they swallowed the sound of passing cars.
Liam admitted to being a fan of R & B, and after a brief moment of discomfort (“You didn’t ask me out because of some jungle fever bullshit, did you?
” “Some what?”), he gave Ellory control of the aux cord so she could test him with the intros of some of her favorites.
He’d just guessed Ashanti’s “Foolish” off nothing but six notes when they pulled into the farm’s half-empty parking lot.
Waking sunlight gilded the few cars they passed.
Liam backed into a space near the entrance, then helped Ellory out of the passenger seat.
A duo waited by the front gate, but Ellory’s gaze was first drawn by a single muscle car that stuck out among the sedans and SUVs.
Her smile inverted. Only Liam’s hand in hers kept her from stopping in her tracks.
“Isn’t that—”
“Hey, guys,” said Liam, as the pair turned to reveal Boone and Hudson. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”
“’Sup, Morgan,” said Boone, who wore a black hoodie beneath a black sherpa-lined trucker jacket. His ebony hair spilled from beneath the hood, bouncing when he nodded in greeting. “Thanks for letting me crash your date.”
Hudson’s lips thinned as he stared at their joined hands, but he didn’t comment.
“I thought you had plans today,” Liam said to him.
At this, Hudson finally looked up. Not to meet their gazes, because that would have been the polite thing to do, and he certainly wouldn’t be caught dead being polite in Ellory’s presence. Instead, he looked off into the parking lot, his black peacoat adorned by a light-gray wool scarf.
“He canceled,” Hudson said tightly. “I hope it’s okay if I come.”
Ellory, who minded a great deal, let Liam assure Hudson that they were happy to have him.
She had been excited to get to know these people with the saintlike patience to not only know but also live with someone like Hudson Graves.
But Hudson himself being here, this man who acknowledged and discarded her at a whim despite all they’d been through… Her body was hot with embarrassment.
Liam’s arm circled her shoulders. She flinched as he tugged her against him, and the concern in his fawn-brown eyes made her feel like an ass for it. “Everything all right?”
Ellory briefly entertained the idea of being honest with him, making them watch as Hudson climbed back in his stupid Plymouth Barracuda and drove home alone, but smiled instead. Her arm slid around Liam’s waist. “Everything’s perfect.”
They ambled behind Boone and Hudson into the fields bisected by a dirt path that was still slick with yesterday’s rain.
The undeniable smell of manure was tempered by the scent of fresh grass pearled with dew, butter-yellow dandelions, and baby-pink peach blossoms. A ginger cat stretched out in front of the barn, tail curling back and forth as it watched their approach.
Inside, there was a shop that offered jams and cider, apples and pears, wreaths and pies.
Fridges in the back carried milk, cheeses, cream, and alcohol.
The entire space smelled like hot chocolate, freshly mixed and up for sale in stainless steel beverage dispensers.
“Professor?”
Ellory turned at Liam’s surprised greeting to find Preston Colt standing there with a basket full of Brie, Parmesan, and cheddar cheeses.
He was wearing a powder-blue cable-knit sweater and beige slacks, and he looked larger divorced from his salon suits, Clark Kent glasses thrown off to reveal Superman underneath.
His smile was still warm, the crinkles by his eyes deepening despite his confusion.
“Mister Blackwood, Miss Morgan, what brings you to Tucker Farm?” They were still pressed against each other like magnets. Colt’s smile widened. “Ah, perhaps that’s a stupid question.”
“What are you doing here?” Boone asked, though not unkindly. He fiddled with the ring on his middle finger, turning it over and over.
Colt lifted his basket. “I may be biased, but this is some of the best cheese in the state. I’ll accept nothing less on my sandwiches, Mister Priestley.”
Behind them all, Hudson remained silent.
His desire to speak to a professor outside of class must have been limited to salon nights only.
Colt didn’t even bother to look his way, as though used to this treatment, and that infuriated Ellory, because it was one thing to ignore her, but it was an entirely different thing to ignore the man who held her future in his hands.
Ellory wanted to shake Hudson, afraid his rudeness would reflect poorly on her, barring her from any more gatherings.
Instead, she remained a tense line at Liam’s side, hoping her polite smile would keep Colt from noticing Hudson at all.
“Well, don’t let me keep you,” said Colt, winding his way past them. “The weather’s supposed to be quite good today.”
Ellory dropped her arm from Liam’s waist and watched Colt leave, feeling like she should say something, anything, to capture his attention.
What if she’d been too quiet? What if he thought her frivolous for going on a date when she could have been studying?
What if he mistook her insecurity for Hudson’s insolence?
But he was gone before she could cobble a sentence together, disappearing into the too-bright morning with his brimming basket of cheese.
“He’s such a weird old fuck,” Boone commented. “But he’s got the right idea. We should clear out before the rest of that crowd comes lining up for fresh produce.”
“He’s not weird,” Ellory finally managed. “He’s brilliant.”
“Do you want to stop by the hospital on our way back? You might need emergency surgery to remove your lips from his ass.”
“Boone,” Liam sighed. “You promised you’d behave.”
“This is me behaving.”
“Well, behave over by the refreshments, would you? Ellory, I’ll be right back.”
Before she could make a single sound of protest, Liam went to get baskets, and Boone wandered toward the drinks. She and Hudson were left hovering by the entrance like awkward children whose parents were late to pick them up from kindergarten.