I tore my eyes away from them, and finally looked down at the mess I’d made. Forcing myself to look up again, I glanced over at my customer instead. “I’m—I’m so sorry. Let me start again.”
He looked over at Liam and Kristi, then looked at me again. “Not a problem. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah!” I said a little too brightly. “Of course I am. Let me get right on that.” No, no, I am not okay. He—Liam is here and I have no idea why he’s here. But I’m pretty sure I slept with my boss’s daughter’s boyfriend.
This time I took my time making the drink—afraid that Liam would still be standing there with Kristi when I was finished, and even more afraid that he wouldn’t be. Once I finished, I grabbed a few wet towels and crouched down to clean up the mess I had made. Seconds after, Liam was crouching down directly beside me . . . close enough that my knee touched his.
“Why did you leave that morning?” he asked softly, his tone eager, but with a hint of worry.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to be back here,” I responded with a weak voice, and hated that his presence was enough to make me sound like a lost little girl. I wasn’t this girl. I was stubborn, independent, and loved control. But Liam had had me giving up all of my control to him within minutes in Vegas—he’d been one of only two men to ever make me feel like I needed to be protected by them.
He released a short laugh. “I’m pretty sure no one will care.” After a few moments of silence, with me just staring at the floor and Liam staring at my profile, he reached forward and grabbed my chin, turning my head so I was looking directly into his eyes again. “Why did you leave?”
I shook my head as much as I could with his fingers keeping my head still. “Why are you here?”
His lips tilted up before spreading into a full smile. “I’ve wondered the same thing about you for days.”
My brow creased in confusion, but before I could ask what he meant by that, Kristi was next to us.
“God, Liam, the least you could do is help her. You’re probably scaring her more than Dad has. Kir—wait, which one are you?”
Liam released my chin and I looked up to see Kristi watching me again and tilting her head to try to read my name tag that was currently hidden from her view. “I—I’m Kennedy.”
“Right! Sorry. Kennedy, this is my big brother, Liam. Liam, this is Kennedy. She and her sister just started here on Monday.”
Brother . . . brother. God, that word had never sounded more beautiful than it did in that moment.
“Right, so anyway . . . Liam, Mom wants to know if you want lunch.”
Liam shook his head, but his eyes remained on my face. “No, I came to talk to Dad. Tell him I’ll be in there soon.” When seconds passed and Kristi didn’t leave, he looked up at her. “I said to tell him I’d be in there soon.”
Kristi’s eyes darted back and forth between us, and just behind her, Kira was staring at Liam with wide eyes and an amused expression on her face.
When Kristi left, Kira stared at us for a while longer before shaking herself and looking around her. “I’m just . . . going to act like I’m making something.”
“Tell me why you left,” Liam prompted again, and my head shook slowly as I hesitantly looked back into his eyes.
“I can’t.”
His face fell. “But you know who I am,” he stated; it wasn’t a question. I don’t know how it could have been after the way I’d reacted when I first saw him.
“Of course I do,” I said on a hushed laugh. “You . . . your dad owns this gym?” When he nodded, I asked, “How did you know I was here? Your dad wouldn’t know me.”
Liam sighed heavily, and broke eye contact for a moment. “I need to talk to you about that. Kennedy, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be here when you get off. Please let me take you to dinner so I can explain some things to you.”
I moved away from him. “I don’t know about—”
“Kennedy,” he pleaded softly.
“She has no plans, she can go to dinner with you. And we’re off at six,” Kira added, and Liam smiled again.
“I’ll be here,” he said, and stood, bringing me with him. For long seconds, we stood there staring at each other, neither of us saying a word. With a step closer to me, he lowered his head so his lips were near my ear. “You’ll always be Moon to me.”
I exhaled audibly, and continued to stand there staring at where he had been after he left until Kira rushed up to me. “Can you believe he’s here? Did you know he lived here? Is that why you were so okay with moving? Whoa, wait, is that why we applied at the gym? Oh my God, I just can’t—”
“Kira,” I hissed, interrupting her. “No to everything. And for the love of God, shut up about him before you send me into a panic attack.”
“I’m sorry, but this is too crazy, you have to admit that.”
I nodded and turned my head to look behind my shoulder, in the direction of the offices. “It is. Way too crazy. I’m pretty sure I’m still dreaming.”
June 3
Liam
I PULLED BACK up to my dad’s gym with five minutes to spare. I’d been sure that I wouldn’t make it because of the traffic, and had no doubt Moon—Kennedy—would have taken the opportunity to leave. Not that I couldn’t get her address from Eli, but that would freak her out more than I already had that afternoon. I’d had days to get used to the fact that she was here, within reaching distance. I’d only given her a few hours. But once I’d gotten to a point where all I could do was think about seeing her again, I hadn’t been able to wait any longer. I almost hadn’t been able to stop myself from talking to her again as I left Dad’s office, but I’d known she needed time. I was just hoping the past few hours were enough.
Stepping out of my car, I loosened my tie and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt to my forearms as I walked into the gym. The girls were walking toward the entrance with Dad, and even though my eyes immediately went to the girl on the end, I had to bite back a relieved smile when she looked up and her eyes widened as her smiling expression faltered. It was going to be hard telling the two of them apart, but at least for the first time looking at them both straight on, I’d guessed correctly.
Dad shot me a look when they reached me, and said good-bye to the girls before turning around and leaving. I’d told him everything earlier in his office, so he knew the backstory . . . but explaining the need to be near Kennedy was going to be a little more difficult with Kristi and Mom. Mom because I refused to tell her about my sex life anyway, and Kristi because I didn’t want her looking at Kennedy any differently than she already did since she had her own theories about one-night stands.
“So, can I take you girls to dinner?”
Kira smiled widely and spoke while Kennedy just stood there staring at me. “You can take her to dinner. I’d rather not get in the way of whatever’s going to go down between the two of you.”
“Kira, please,” Kennedy whispered frantically, but Kira kept her eyes trained on me.
“But you make sure you actually bring her home tonight. At a normal time. We’re not having a repeat of last year, you get me?”