I looked at my watch. Caroline and I were still sitting in the living room in the same places we were since Hayley left. She had flipped on the TV at some point, but I hadn’t really been paying attention.
“Wow,” I said. “It’s getting kind of late. Should I show you to your room?”
My sister didn’t even look at me, clearly not taking the hint. “I really like that Hayley,” Caroline said before I could concoct another cunning plan to orchestrate her removal from the equation.
That stunned me. I sat back a little and turned to face her.
“Oh?” I asked. “You do? Why?”
Caroline turned off the TV and looked at me. “Definitely. She’s not like the others. I can tell that after only knowing her for five minutes.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, feigning offense.
She laughed. “Let’s just say, the girls you usually date aren’t like her. The ones that I’ve met — not that there have been many — have been full of themselves. More interested in your money than anything else. It’s like you used to pick women who you knew it couldn’t work out with. You also had a habit of pushing away any woman who was good for you.”
“You’re still here,” I pointed out.
She laughed and punched me in the shoulder. “I’m your big sister. No way you’re getting rid of me. I mean, women that you might love in another way.”
“Love?” I snorted. “You can tell I love her? That’s impossible. You only saw one kiss.”
“Bullshit. I know you love her, and I’m not just saying that because of the showy kiss at the door, that didn’t fool me for a second.” Caroline rolled her eyes.
“What was the tip-off?” I asked, realizing she might actually be right.
“The face stroke. That was love. No doubt about it. You can bullshit yourself all you want. I can’t stop you, but I want you to listen to me now. I have a very good feeling about Hayley. She is sweet and kind. If you take my advice, you will do whatever you have to do to keep her around. Everyone will be happier that way in the end, especially you. Let your heart be open. ”
As usual, my big sister was absolutely right. I didn’t know how but I had to see Hayley and tell her that I loved her too. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I needed to get Hayley to talk to me, if for no other reason to let her know that I loved her.
Chapter Seventeen
Hayley
I recognized the Hummer immediately. It really did stand out like Boy George at a Klan rally, to paraphrase the late Bill Hicks. I thought about crossing the street but realized that Liam was parked outside my door, so that wouldn’t really work.
I barely got to the sidewalk before he jumped out. I tried to ignore him and continue on my way to work, but he followed walking as fast as I was.
I really did not want to see Liam. This whole experience had been a mistake. It had hurt me and would hurt other people. The best thing was just to forget about the whole experience.
“We have to talk,” he said, trying to reach out and grab the back of my jacket.
“About the fact that I have pepper-spray,” I asked, putting my hand into my purse.
“Do you really want to do that?” Liam stopped in his tracks and stared at me with his lips slightly open.
“No. Not really,” I admitted, taking my hand out of my purse and sighing.
Liam had his hands balled into fists. He seemed distraught. “Why don’t you want to talk to me? I called about a hundred times last night and this morning.”
“What does it matter? Why do you care? I’m just your fake fiancée, nothing more. You made that clear,” I countered, my voice rising with the heat of my anger.
“When was this?” he asked perplexed.
I felt like throwing my hands up and screaming. “In the kitchen after we… did what we did. You literally ran away from me.”
“Over to the stove!” he objected.
I fought the urge to stomp my foot. He was being so unreasonable.
“I said our relationship didn’t have to be fake, and you asked what I wanted for breakfast. That really hurt me,” I yelled, done with trying to be polite.
Liam didn’t answer for a few minutes. He just opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish. Finally, he dropped his shoulders and sighed. “I know, and I’m sorry,” he said, deflating slightly.
His apology threw me off. I had to take a breath and relax. Leaning against the exterior wall of my apartment building, I looked him over. Liam’s eyes were dark like he hadn’t slept at all.
“I’m sorry, too, but I can’t let things continue on this way. I’ve just been really down lately, with what is going on with Jacob and all. I was too vulnerable around you. I let things go too far,” I told him. Liam nodded. “On a brighter note, I talked to Ann, and we talked to Carl, who gave me the numbers for some therapists. Ann says she’ll help with the expenses when we find one.”