Chapter 26
POV: Liam?
I didn’t sleep that last night.
Her laugh kept me awake and so did her eyes.
When I rolled over that morning, she was nowhere to be found, but her laugh and eyes lingered within my mind—as memories.
Just that.
Memories.
And memories faded.
I groaned, rolling over to my side and grabbing for my phone.
I thought about calling her—about apologizing—about telling her that I loved her.
Because it was true after all.
I did love her.
I was just too fucking scared to admit it to her face.
Because I’ve learned that love can break and love can fail.
I stared down at the last text message I sent her, a flirty text— telling her that I couldn’t wait to kiss her, and she responded as she usually did, with sass.
Maeve: “I guess I sort of like being kissed by you.”
I smirked at the message.
I always liked her sass and her spunk. That was one of the first things that drew me to her, besides for how utterly beautiful she was.
And now because of my fear—I risked never arguing with her again—never hearing her laugh again—never hearing her moan again. But instead losing her for good.
I knew Maeve’s pride was strong. She had inherited that stubborn pride of hers from the Irish. Just like I had.
I knew she’d leave, I knew she’d pack her bags, I knew she’d go back to America, if I didn’t do something.
But my fear crippled me—fear of the unknown.
How could I ask her to move here for me? How could I let her risk the life she’d built for the mere possibility of something new with me?
What if I couldn’t truly commit? I knew I’d never betray her, but I wasn’t sure when—or if—I’d ever be ready for children or for a family.
And if that day never came, would I only end up hurting her more by keeping her waiting?
I let out a heavy sigh and ran my fingers over my eyes trying to make it all stop.
My turning mind. The constant memories. The fear that lived within my soul.
When I told her to go home before I ruined her life—I meant it, sadly enough, I did. Because that was a legitimate fear of mine.
And it wrecked me to tell her that—-but I had to, because it was my way of warning her what she’d be left with if she didn’t.
It broke me to see her heart crack like that—to see the tears bubbling in her eyes—to hear the pain in her voice—to see her leave and stand there frozen and just let her. But I did. For her.
Eventually, I forced myself to get out of bed and went to the pub.
I couldn’t sulk around all day. Besides it was almost 11:30 am and Caitlin did me a favor and opened for the day.
As I made my way into the pub, I half hoped, delusionally, that Maeve would be there, waiting for me—waiting for me to apologize—waiting to give me a second chance—to make things right.
But as I opened the door, she was nowhere to be found.
“A wee late. Aren’t we?” Caitlin snarkily asked.
I grunted, making my way behind the bar and busying myself with polishing glasses.
Caitilin was staring at me silently.
I glanced over and let out a sigh. “What now?”
She didn’t smile, instead she just glared at me. “I think you know, Liam.”
“I don’t, Caitlin, so you might as well tell me.”
She tossed her rag down and walked towards the backroom, pointing for me to follow.
The door closed behind us, and she began yelling, “You really had to go and hurt someone else again, didn’t you?”
Maeve.
Goddamnit.
“What are you talking about?” I tried to remain calm.
But Caitlin already knew everything.
“Why couldn’t you just leave her alone if you weren’t serious? It’s not right, Liam!”
“I tried but…”
“You didn’t try hard enough!” she yelled.
“No, I didn’t! Is that what you want to hear, Caitlin? That I fucked this one up again? That I’m close to losing the one woman who I care about—who actually gives a shit about me for once? Is that what you want to hear?” I slammed down my fist against the metal storage shelf and it almost toppled over from the impact.
“Close?” she laughed angrily. “You already lost her, you idiot!”
My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
She scoffed, shaking her head.
“What do you mean, Caitlin?” I almost shook her by her shoulders.
“She’s already left, Liam. She stopped before she left and left your key.”
“What?” I screamed, my voice echoing through the small room. “She couldn’t. She didn’t.” I shook my head in denial.
“But she did, Liam,” she said quietly.
“She can’t leave. I can’t lose her.” I whispered in disbelief, closing my eyes and seeing the memories of her—the memories we made—together.
“Then you have to go.”
“Go?” I asked. “To the airport?”
“Yes, to the airport to dimwit!” Caitlin yelled. “Go now! Catch her before she leaves!”
I didn’t wait for her to say it again.
I ran out the door, got into my car and started driving to the Shannon Airport to stop Maeve—the love of my life from leaving.