Liam.

“I think you should be honest,” Lacey said, stealing her attention back. “Tell him the truth, that you’ve been screwed over left and right before, and that you don’t love him, but maybe one day you would.”

“Good idea,” she decided, pushing off the counter.

“But then you only give him one more month. If, in that month, you don’t feel that soul-deep connection, then please let him go. Don’t grasp for something that isn’t there because it’s easy. You have to remember, if it isn’t worth fighting for, then it isn’t worth your time.”

“You’re right. Okay, I’ll be home sometime, I guess.”

As she reached for the door, Lacey said, “Okay, but please don’t sleep with him tonight just to see if something is there.”

Kacey laughed. “I’m gonna take it slow, let it happen when it does. But really, why hasn’t he tried anything?”

“Because he is a nice guy and he respects you.”

She thought that through. It felt very foreign to her, but hey, there was always a first time for everything. “Oh. Okay, call you later.”

Lacey laughed. “Bye, Kace.”

Hanging her phone up, she left the bathroom and made her way through the crowded pub toward the corner table where Liam sat. He was sitting there, cool as a cucumber, not even playing on his phone. That was one thing that drove her insane about Jordie. He was constantly on his phone, and she was always sure it was so that he could hook up with girl after girl. She wanted to say he hadn’t slept with anyone else but her when he was with her, but she didn’t believe that for a second. Jordie was a wanderer and she didn’t need that.

When Liam spotted her, he smiled and stood up, pulling her chair out for her.

Smiling up at her, he said, “I thought you fell in. I was about to send in a rescue party.”

She smiled. “I had to call Lacey.”

“Everything okay?” he asked, his grin falling.

“Yeah, just you kinda freaked me out,” she said and his brow rose. “The whole ‘I love you’ thing.”

He nodded and then looked away, the tops of his ears turning red. “I meant every word, Kacey. I do love you. It’s fast, I know, but I’m not gonna hide my feelings from you. I want to be honest.”

She nodded as she held his gaze. “That’s what I want, but it caught me off guard is all. It’s only been a month, and I really do think you’re great—”

“But you don’t feel the same,” he supplied for her, leaning back in his chair, one arm resting on the back of her chair.

“Yeah, I don’t. But I’m not saying that I won’t, one day,” she added and he nodded. “It’s just I’ve been continually hurt by guys in the past. I guess I always choose the shitty ones. And I always fall first because I want to be in a relationship with someone who’s gonna love me and cherish me, but none of those guys ever did. The shitty thing is, most of the time I knew they were just in it for the sex, but I still hoped and dove in with them.”

“Because you thought you could change ’em,” he supplied and she nodded.

“Yeah, I really did. I thought I was enough to do that.”

“You are,” he said, taking her hand in his.

She smiled, moving her thumb with his. Staring down at his hand, she admitted, “The last guy I was with still weighs heavy on my heart. I wanted so much for him to love me, but he never did, and then he just cut off all communication with me. That hurt, and I still wonder why I wasn’t enough. It sucks,” she said, looking up at him. “But it’s in the past. I’m over him and I’m ready to move on,” she said, waving her hand nonchalantly, even though she knew her statement was a complete lie. There was no way she could ever get over Jordie. He did something to her. Branded her without her even knowing it and she felt bad for lying to Liam, but then she was pretty sure she was trying to tell herself the same thing. The right thing. That she was over Jordie and he was a thing of the past.

But she could still see his crooked grin and his dark brown eyes clear as day. As if he were standing in front of her, beckoning her in for a kiss.

Come here, sugar thighs, let me get a kiss.

Ugh, she could still feel his voice against her throat, the feel of his hands on her thighs as he kissed her senseless. As much as she wanted to be rid of him, she held tightly to those memories as a little girl did her favorite doll. Or, in her case, the way she held her stick when she hit the ice. She couldn’t let it go because that’s how she scored. That’s how she won.

But she lost with Jordie.

And she still hadn’t recovered.

“But you loved him?”

“Oh yes. More so than anyone else.”

His brow came up as he slowly nodded. “When did you two break up?”

“We were never together.”

“Huh?”

She shrugged. “He made it very clear that we were only fucking, but I caught feelings hard. But I guess, to answer your question, we stopped talking about eight months ago.”

“Oh, okay,” he said, still holding her gaze. “Are you sure you want to move on?”

Chewing her lip, she didn’t allow her gaze to avert. She didn’t want to move on, but she had to. Or she would lose it. She stayed locked with Liam’s sweet gaze and slowly nodded. “I am. I want to be with someone who wants what I want.”