Putting faith in anyone other than the people closest to me isn’t easy, but I trust Liam. I shake off the envy and think about how he looked at me when he kissed me goodbye this morning.
“I’m going to stay right where I am and enjoy this tea with you.”
Tapping the side of her cup against mine, she smiles. “Cheers to that! Let’s get to work.”
***
Even though he didn’t mention it this morning, I was hoping that Liam would appear for my drop-in flower arranging class.
He was a no show.
I wasn’t the only person disappointed by that.
At least half of the women in the shop asked where he was. I shrugged and told them that I had no idea since that’s the truth.
I was able to keep their focus on the bouquets in front of them.
Everyone left with a pretty bunch of flowers and a smile. I can’t complain about that.
I gaze out th
e window of the shop as I ready to lock up for the night.
People file past on their way down the sidewalk. Cars whiz by on the street.
Manhattan is never quiet, but at a moment like this, when I’m separated from its frenetic energy by two panes of glass, I feel as though I’m somewhere else.
As a little girl, I always imagined I’d live in a place with lots of green grass and apple trees.
I saw myself as a mom to a son and a daughter and married to a man who would cherish me always.
I wanted what my mother never had.
Stability.
Focus.
Hope.
I twist around to look at my shop. I take in the leaves scattered on the floor under the table and the empty vases that my students used to hold their bouquets before they wrapped them in lilac paper and took them home.
Tears well in the corners of my eyes.
This is better than any dream I ever had when I was a kid, and Liam Wolf is better than the prince charming I imagined I’d marry one day.
I want this to be my life, always. I want Liam to be part of my life forever.
I hope he feels the same way about me.
Chapter 43
Liam
This wasn’t how I imagined I’d be spending my night.
I had a master plan that included taking one of my sisters-in-law to meet the woman I’m falling in love with.
Tilly, Sebastian’s wife, sent me a text early this morning to see if I was around to have coffee with her.