True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,53
planning on spending the rest of her life with had betrayed her. The house she bought was inhabited by a family who had deep roots there. And her search for her birth father had thus far netted absolutely nothing.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Liam said. “You look like all the wind just got sucked out of your sails.”
She didn’t want to look him in the face. She was sure that her eyes were filling with tears. Probably tears of self-pity. And that disgusted her. She needed to get her life under control. Or at least the parts of it where it was possible to do that.
Figuring out what to do about Ethan would have to wait. She couldn’t deal with him from thousands of miles away, and honestly, she didn’t even want to. Not today. And maybe not even tomorrow.
“Quinn?” Liam said.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Nothing’s wrong. I’d better be getting back to the house, though. I’d like to see what Auntie Wang found out, and we need to go over the task list for the house again. Maybe you can give me a more firm date of completion. I really need to make some plans.”
The drive home was quiet. Quinn had no words to make small talk, and Liam obviously felt the same. The vibe was off, and they both knew it. And it was her fault. A few times she wished he’d just talk. He could appease her curiosity about his family situation and why he was single. She’d never ask. That’d be too much.
But she’d love to know.
Not to mention if he filled the truck with his own story, it would help her forget hers. But that didn’t happen, and by the time they were pulling into Maria’s driveway an hour later, Quinn was in a state of despair about how wrecked her life was. How was she going to forgive Ethan for what he’d done? And what if this thing with Gina wasn’t a fling? What if he loved her?
She needed to get home before it was too late. Before all she’d worked so hard for was completely gone.
In the next second, she told herself she was a complete fool.
She didn’t know what she wanted. Or what to do.
Liam turned off the ignition, but his hands went straight back to the wheel.
“I hope I was an acceptable tour guide.” He said it slowly and solemnly.
She was gathering up her backpack and her empty water bottle, but she paused.
“Of course you were. I’ve had the best day. Really, it was so nice of you to take me to see everything,” she said, feeling as though her silence had hurt his feelings. “It was amazing.”
He nodded, but he didn’t look convinced.
His expression was heartbreaking. Like a disappointed little boy. But one with a strong jawline and handsome profile.
She stumbled over her words now.
“I—I’m sorry, Liam. I didn’t mean to slip into a mood. It’s just that I have a lot going on. Stuff that has nothing to do with the stress of the house. It’s just a—it’s a lot.”
He looked at her.
“I thought after our long day together, we were becoming friends. But maybe you need more time.”
“More time for what?”
This time a sigh accompanied his reply. “To trust me.”
With that, he climbed out of the truck and came around and opened her door. Quinn stepped out, feeling awkward. She wanted to tell Liam that she did trust him. She was the confusing one.
Before she could say anything else, the front door opened and Maria was there, waving at them to hurry.
“Quinn, haven’t you checked your phone?” she said. “We’ve been trying to call you!”
Her phone. Quinn had turned it on silent in case Ethan started sending her messages again, and she hadn’t even thought to check it on the way home. Now she pulled it out and touched the screen.
Six missed calls from Auntie Wang and three from Maria.
Her stomach dropped.
Such urgency could mean only one thing. There must’ve been a reply from the anonymous match. She bade them both goodbye and headed for the privacy of the cottage to call the woman back, taking deep breaths as she went in an attempt to still the sudden flapping of butterflies in her stomach.
This could mean everything.
Chapter Fifteen
A week in Maui had flown by, but finally something was happening. Quinn pressed the “End” button and put her phone down. She couldn’t believe it, but she had a meeting set up with the anonymous match. Auntie Wang said he wanted to