was still here.” I heard her intake of breath and put my hand on her arm, offering support I didn’t know if I could provide.
“I’m sorry,” she said after a moment. “Sometimes it runs over me. He was my boy. My son. And he loved big and he lived loud and it doesn’t seem fair that the world keeps spinning after losing someone with that kind of presence. And Liam—” she swallowed audibly “—he loved Will so much. I worry about him a lot. After his mom died…” she paused. “Sorry, I shouldn’t tell you things you don’t already know.”
“Oh, he told me about his mom. And Will.”
Deb looked me over, seemingly surprised by this information. “Did he? He’s usually such a quiet soul. Bob calls him a hard nut to crack. But I guess that says a lot about you, if he’s told you these things.” She nodded a moment. “Well, like I said. I worry about Liam. He and Will were two peas in a pod. Liam spent every weekday here during the summers while his mom worked. I went through a lot of snacks and a lot of glassware. A few windows too. For as much time as they played baseball, you’d think they’d have figured out to not face windows when they were up to bat.” Chuckling, she wrapped her arms around her middle. “Even if you two hardly know each other, like you claim, I’m glad he brought you. I think, when he’s alone, he has a hard time processing his emotions.” Suddenly, Deb stopped and vigorously shook her head. “Gosh, look at me just spilling my guts. I’m sorry.” She grasped my hands. “I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for coming.”
“There you are,” Liam said, stepping into the hallway. “We thought you’d gotten lost.”
Deb let go of my hands and turned to Liam. “Lost down memory lane, perhaps.”
“Nice skivvies,” I said, nodding at the photo of the boys in their underwear.
“You like that?” Liam grinned. “Someone really wanted a bunch of eighteen-year-old boys’ pants.”
“That’s what Deb was saying,” I said to her retreating back. She hollered out to Bob for something and Liam stepped beside me, in the spot she’d vacated. “Looks like you all had quite the adventures growing up.”
“We did.” His arm came around my shoulders, pulling me to him. I lifted my chin to look up at him, but his mouth was on mine before I could.
My hands slid up his chest, entangling around his neck as I went up on my tiptoes to kiss him more firmly. I wasn’t sure where the kiss came from, but I wouldn’t complain. Kissing Liam was one of the most delicious pleasures I’d had, and I decided right then, in a hallway of memories, that I wouldn’t question anything else about us. I’d just go with the flow—see where this led us. If it led to more kisses just like this one, well, all the better.
When he pulled away, he drew a ragged breath deep into his chest. “Thank you.”
“I thought I told you, you don’t have to thank me for kisses,” I whispered, my mouth a hair from his.
“I’m not thanking you for the kiss, though I should.” He brushed my hair behind my ear and slid his fingers along my jaw. “I’m thanking you for coming out here. I was nervous about it, and you settled my mind. You made this easier for me and I appreciate that. More than you probably could understand.” A wave of tenderness passed through me. If I wasn’t careful, I could be emotionally seduced by feelings like that.
My fingers played with his hair. “I’m enjoying myself. I guess I expected this to have a more funeral type feel. But it doesn’t.”
“I’m sure the actual funeral will be hell on all of us. But I think we mostly just wanted to get together, the way we used to.” Liam kissed my forehead. “I feel his absence, of course, but the ache isn’t so intense when I’m with you.”
Alarm bells went off in my head. It was one thing to enjoy each other’s company. But it was another to confuse whatever we were as something serious. I didn’t think Liam was a clingy kind of guy, but I also didn’t want him to get the wrong idea about us. At some point, I’d head home. Alone. And I didn’t want to be his flotation device when he was swimming in grief. I’d only end up being an anchor.