“No but needed. Now, let me handle this,” she said sternly, and he didn’t say anything else as she turned to look at Liam. Like she knew he would be, his face was full of dismay, his cheeks bright red, his eyes wild, and his shoulders back and tight. “Let’s go outside.”

The room was silent as she went around the group that had gathered and out the front door with Liam on her heels. When she heard him say, “It was nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. King,” she was surprised. After all that, she had fully expected him to run, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t intrigued. When she reached his Prius, she turned just as he reached her.

“Well,” he said, tucking his hands in his pockets. “That didn’t go as planned.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at him. “What the hell, Liam? You asked my dad to marry me?” she asked, her words coming out sharper than she’d intended. “We just met. It hasn’t even been two months.”

He nodded, looking down as he shrugged. “When you know, you know,” he finally said, meeting her gaze. “I wanted you to come by tomorrow, and I had a dinner planned. And then I wanted to get intimate with you, and if it went as well as I’m sure it will, I wanted to ask you.” He was rambling, but all she heard was that he wanted to get intimate.

Get. Intimate.

Not what she wanted to hear her future husband say. She wanted him to want her. To yearn, tear her apart, fuck her stupid, not plan to “get intimate.” Ugh, why had she let this happen? Why did she think it would work? He was her polar and utter opposite. Man, she really fucked up here, and now she was going to hurt him because he was obviously in deeper than she was. Something she’d never intended but ultimately would do because she was too much of a coward to let him go when she knew he wasn’t it.

Looking up at him, guilt slammed into her as she shook her head. “Liam, I’m sorry, but I don’t love you.”

“Yet,” he said softly, reaching out and taking her hands with his. “But you will, I just know it.”

“Liam—”

“No, listen,” he said, interrupting her. “We don’t have to get married tomorrow or even next month. It’s just that I found out from my agent that my contract with the Assassins isn’t being renewed, and I’m more than likely going to go to New York or Florida. I want you to go with me, Kacey.” He paused, taking a deep breath as his eyes begged hers. Her heart pounded in her chest as he went on, “Maybe I jumped the gun, maybe marriage wasn’t the way to go. But please, come with me. We can start a new journey together. You always say you want to travel. This is the best way.”

“But I don’t want to leave my family,” she said softly.

“I know, but we can visit, all the time. I like them,” he said with a grimace. “When they’re not yelling at me,” he added with a laugh.

“They don’t like you,” she admitted and he shrugged.

“They will.”

“But I don’t love you,” she said again. “And that wouldn’t be fair for you, Liam.”

He was only derailed for a moment, his grin flattening for a split second before he squeezed her hands. “But you like me and that can turn to love. I feel something here, Kacey. I do, and I would never hurt you. I’d give you the world.”

She knew this, but could she do it? Did she want to? She did want a change, but did she want it with him? Could she love him?

Looking deep into his eyes, she found herself wishing they were brown, and she knew the answer right then.

Before she could tell him that though, he was talking. “Listen, sleep on it and think it over. I’ll know tomorrow where I am going, and we can discuss it over dinner. I really think this would be best for you, for us.”

It wasn’t. She needed change, she did, but he wasn’t the one to give it to her.

“Liam, I just—”

“Please, I love you, Kacey, and if you care about me at all, you’ll at least think it over.”

His eyes held so much hope, and soon she was drowning in the guilt as she looked away, shrugging her shoulders. She knew that she just needed to tell him no, but maybe… No, she didn’t want to be with him. It was that simple, but she had brought this on herself and she did care for him as a friend. Only a friend. He didn’t do anything for her. Nothing, but because she cared, she’d think it over, really weigh the options and then let him down easy. She owed him that.

“Okay,” she said softly. “But—”

“No, no buts. I just want you to truly think it over. Really examine us. See how good I am to you, how I care about you and your needs. I think you’ll see I’m a sure bet.”

He was like a used car salesman and she wanted to laugh. She was never good at telling them no, always had to have her dad do it, but that wasn’t an option right now. She had to do this herself. She made this mess; she had to clean it up.

Tomorrow.

She’d clean it up tomorrow.

Going up on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick kiss, but before she could pull away, he wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up off the ground and deepening the kiss. Surprised, she opened her mouth in a gasp, which gave him full access, his tongue diving into her mouth. She wanted to say it was the greatest kiss of her life. She wanted to say that it wasn’t awkward, feeling his tongue against hers. But she’d be struck dead by lightning if she didn’t say it felt like kissing Karson.