and poured the water. When she sat at the table again, Matt uncorked the bottle and poured a glug of amber liquid into the brewing tea.
And then again they sat. In silence. And again, even though she didn’t have much to say, Liv was glad he was there. For the moment. Soon she’d have to ask him to leave. Thank him and tell him she needed to be alone—even though she did not want to be alone.
She sipped the tea, the hot water and bourbon warming her in a way that the bourbon alone hadn’t.
When she was half-done, she reached back and pulled the elastic out of her hair, running her fingers through the strands before letting them fall over her shoulders. An evening ritual. Come home, let her hair down. Literally.
“I always wanted to touch your hair when we were studying.”
Liv met Matt’s eyes, startled at his out-of-the-blue revelation. “You did not.”
“Yeah, I did.” He turned the almost empty shot glass in his fingers. “It was so shiny and smooth and I liked the way it fell down your back.”
Okay. Liv took a minute to digest that bit of new information. He’d liked her hair. He’d dated Shae.
“But nice hair or not, you never really thought of me as a—” she shrugged “—possibility...did you?”
“I might have, had I gotten a hint,” he said. “You were really, really closed off.” He finished the shot, then set the empty glass on the table.
“Maybe I was waiting for you to scale my ivory tower.”
“‘Scale your ivory tower’?” Matt frowned slightly as he reached out and picked up the bourbon bottle, tilting it to check its level before he looked at her shot glass.
“No, honestly, I was waiting for you to make a move.”
“Uh...”
Liv put her palms on the table on either side of her tea mug and leaned forward. “Would a hint really have mattered? Would the hot cowboy jock have dated the geek?”
Matt’s mouth twisted sideways as he considered her question. “I thought you were pretty, but like I said, you were so contained...”
“As in afraid to put myself out there for fear of being rejected.”
“Really?”
Liv made a face. “Yes,” she said in a “duh” voice. Had Matt ever experienced the sting of rejection? Feared it as she had? “When you left after every session, I’d analyze everything we said and look for hints of how things were going...between us. I guess I never thought, until recently, just how subtle I probably was. I just expected you to know and to do something about it.”
Liv’s cell rang and she jerked at the sound, felt the blood drain out of her face, leaving her lips feeling number. Andie.
“Yes,” she said as soon as the phone was to her ear. “How is he?”
“He’s stable and the fever is going down. I’m calling to check on you,” she said. “I take it you got home okay?”
“Just one startling encounter with a big owl.”
“Well, get some rest so you are strong enough to help us handle Tim.”
“Is he okay?” Matt asked when Liv ended the call.
“Yes. Andie just wanted me to get some sleep. She knows how I am.”
“I should go,” he said. “Are you going to be okay here alone?”
No. Liv did not want to be alone tonight. She wanted a distraction—but not if that distraction led to more complications in her life. A little comfort would be most welcome. A man she couldn’t control would not. “I’ll be fine.”
“I could—” he shrugged one broad shoulder “—sleep in the truck.”
Liv smiled at that, the corners of her mouth lifting almost of their own accord. “Yeah. That’d help,” she said. “Go home to Craig. I’ll be fine.”
“All right. Maybe I can come back tomorrow and help out with the chores?”
“Tomorrow I’ll probably be more myself and yell at you about your knee.” Which still made her sick at heart. She hated that he was doing what he was doing to himself.
“I’ll take the chance.”
Liv smiled, then reached out to lightly smooth the shirt over his chest, before straightening the placket. Why? She didn’t have a clue, but it’d been a long time since she’d touched a man. Greg had been well-built, but Matt’s chest was harder, insanely well-muscled from throwing calves.
He watched the movement of her hands, his lips parting slightly as he inhaled, then met her eyes with an intense gaze. Liv stepped back, dropping her hands. Her breathing wasn’t exactly normal, either.
“I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow.” He also took a step back, putting