come out and say it. I know it sounds completely ludicrous, and maybe it is, but I’ve thought about it for days. I heard what you said about your ex. You want to get away from him, and I need you to keep me from sinking back into the slump.”
“What are you saying?”
“Reckless Alibi is heading to Florida on Friday. We’re touring there for six weeks. I’d like you to come with me.”
My eyes narrow and my mouth falls open as I replay his words in my head, then reach a conclusion. “Are you crazy?”
“I know it seems like I am, but I’m dead serious.”
I shake my head vehemently.
“Before you say no, I’m not asking you to sleep with me. I know it’s off the table. You’ll have your own hotel room and everything. You can take mine, and I’ll bunk with Garrett or Brad. You can bring your work with you. You can run. I hear the beaches are great for that. You’ll get a killer tan. You don’t even have to come to all our shows. I just want you to be there. We can talk, hang out. Nothing more, I promise.”
I start laughing. I can’t stop. This whole thing is so far out of left field, I don’t even know what to do with it. I calm down and take a breath. “Liam, you don’t even know me.”
“I don’t, but I can’t deny what I’ve been able to do since meeting you. I’m asking you to come and be my friend. I swear I won’t touch you. It will be strictly platonic. I’ve even cleared it with my bandmates. You have no idea how stoked they are that I’m writing music again.”
I get up and pace. This is crazy. It’s ludicrous. But why, in the back of my mind, is a voice telling me to do it? Six weeks without any possibility of seeing Corey. Surely that would be long enough to get over him.
I stop. “You swear there’s no ulterior motive? Because if this is all some ruse to get in my pants—”
“Ella, from what I can tell, you might be one of the nicest women I’ve ever met, aside from Bria. There is no way a girl like you would want to be with a guy like me, so believe me when I tell you I’m not even going to try. You’re normal, and I don’t mean that in a boring, unexciting way. You’re normal in ways I envy.”
“Why do you think I’m so normal? You can’t possibly know that.”
“You’re a children’s book illustrator. Your friends fangirl over my band. You run in Central Park. You’re the very definition of normal. Am I wrong?”
I snort. “Well, no, but—”
“Come with me. Please.”
“Tell me why you think you’re not normal.”
He laughs bitterly. “It’s not something I discuss with anyone. Not even my muse. Let’s just say I’m fucked up in ways a girl like you could never imagine.”
The distance I see in his eyes makes me feel sorry for him, and I’m more than a little curious about who Liam Campbell really is. I sigh deeply.
“You’re thinking about it, I can tell,” he says with a sly grin. “Say yes, El.”
I glance around the park where I used to run with Corey every day. There are so many memories. Memories I want to forget. “On one condition.”
“Anything.”
“You run with me when we’re down there. Running alone sucks. I need a partner.”
“But I don’t run.”
“I’ll teach you. At the end of the six weeks, I’ll have you ready for a 10K.”
“What’s that?”
“Just over six miles.”
He rubs his jaw. “I don’t know if I can do it. I drink a lot.”
“Do you smoke?”
“No.”
“Then you can do it. That’s the only way I’ll say yes.”
He gets off the bench, slings his guitar over his shoulder, and smiles.
Me—I’m standing here wondering if I just made a deal with the devil.
Chapter Seven
Liam
Eighteen years ago
Luke tosses me the football. I run around Mom and Donny all the way to the orange cone. I jump up and down, pleased with myself for scoring a touchdown. Large arms pick me up. “Way to go, sport.”
I smile at Donny. “I won!”
“You sure did,” he says, putting me down and giving me a tickle.
Luke joins us, and we’re both pulled into a great big hug. We end up on the ground, wrestling. It seems like we’re always wrestling. It’s fun. We never used to wrestle. Not until Mom started going on dates with Donny.