was ready?
He knew he’d have to go back at some point, but he needed more time. He’d just started realizing how it felt to breathe easy, and he couldn’t go back to that life just yet. Besides, there was Viola, and the thought of walking away from her again was impossible. Something his mind couldn’t even compute.
“Thank you for a wonderful night,” Viola’s grandma said. She hopped out of the back seat and went to the house before Liam could reply.
“She’s fast,” he said. Viola smiled, but it was missing the light. She knew something had changed after his phone call. When she went to follow her grandma, he placed his hand on her arm. “Wait.”
She paused and turned to look at him. He caught his breath at how gorgeous she looked, the light of the moon making her skin and hair look almost silver.
“They’re honoring my father at a year’s-end banquet, and I’m speaking. Will you go with me?”
Her guarded eyes widened. “When?”
“This weekend. In New York City.”
She swallowed, her lips pressing together as she did. “Okay.”
He had been expecting her to turn him down, so it took him a moment to realize what she’d said.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Relief rolled through him so visceral, it almost made his bones turn into jelly.
“Thank you,” he said. Maybe with Viola—and Xander, Callie, and Fiona—by his side, he could make it through this.
Chapter 15
Viola had never been to New York City, never traveled much of anywhere, really, outside of college and going to Hawaii for Callie’s wedding.
The giant skyscrapers towered above her, making her feel dizzy. She wasn’t afraid of heights—she’d spent her fair share of hours up on scaffolding to do her restorations—but there was something about being so tiny among things so big that nearly took her breath away.
It was cold enough that Viola was glad she’d thought to pack her coat and boots, and even got to wear the scarf her grandma had crocheted for her.
“Fiona’s assistant is going to get our bags to the hotel and get us checked in to our rooms.” Liam strode beside her with long, purposeful steps, weaving in and out of the crowds of people walking here and there along the sidewalk. She reached out and snatched his hand to get him to slow down. He had on his standard disguise: t-shirt under a long, wool coat, jeans, baseball cap, and sunglasses. “Sorry,” he said, chagrined. “Nervous energy.”
“Are you ready for your speech?” she asked.
“As ready as I’m going to be.” He shook his head. “It’s not even the speech that’s making me nervous. Its just being back in that work setting.” He turned to her, his voice serious. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot to have someone here in my corner.”
“You’ve got Xander and Callie too.” They were arriving later that afternoon.
“It’s not the same as having you with me.”
She felt her cheeks turn pink. Although she’d tried to justify that her reason for coming was a paid vacation to New York City, she knew that wasn’t true. She couldn’t leave Liam out to dry, especially when he’d looked so vulnerable in the car, asking her to come with him.
Something had changed during the chocolate tour, and instead of wanting to avoid him, she found herself searching out any time she could be with him. He must have felt the same, because he’d come to the theater every day that week. Sometimes he read a novel—he said he’d read more books since coming to Eureka Springs than in the last ten years combined—and sometimes he’d climb up the scaffolding and sit beside her. They would talk about everything—embarrassing moments, their childhoods, what their favorite foods were, what they believed about life and death. It was the perfect blend of serious and lightheartedness that Viola had always craved in her conversations.
Now, in New York City, she felt as though she were seeing another side to him again. This one jittery and nervous, but also full of anticipation.
She squeezed his hand. “Show me your favorite place here.”
“Hmmm. Right in this spot with you.” He tugged her close to his side and kissed her temple, making shivers run through her.
She playfully shoved at his chest to cover how breathless her laugh sounded. “Where’s your second favorite place, then?”
He grinned, but it lacked the mischievousness that his grin always had in Eureka Springs. “It’s going to sound really cliche, but Central Park.”
“I am all about cliche things while in New York, Liam. I want to see the