Only a Millionaire (The Sinclairs #6.5)(8)

“Thanks,” I replied as I grabbed my bag from the clerk. “I think I’m doing okay. I just needed some time to myself. Being here gave me that.”

Part of me wanted to blurt out everything to Tessa. She was just one of those kind people who made me want to be her friend. But knowing she’d tell Liam kept my lips closed.

“The offer is always there,” she confirmed.

I took a piece of the almond bark from the bag and popped it into my mouth. I swallowed before I answered, “Thanks. I appreciate that nobody pushed me very hard. I wasn’t ready to talk about what happened in California.”

We left the shop together, both us now feeding from our bags of chocolate.

“Can I give you a lift?” she offered.

“No. I’m good. I only live a few blocks from here.” I had a tiny one-bedroom apartment close to downtown. It was furnished, and my view was the back of the stores on Main Street, but I’d been grateful that Evan had been able to find it for me. I’d never needed a car since I was close to everything in town.

“I’ll see you soon, I hope,” Tessa said.

I waved as she scurried to her vehicle, wishing I could have gotten to know her better. Tessa had been through so many of her own challenges in life. She probably would have been a great person to have as a friend.

I started walking toward my apartment. It might be spring, but it was still cold in Maine. I was wearing a light jacket with my jeans and long-sleeved shirt, but it wasn’t really warm enough for spring in Maine. I’d gotten used to the frigidly cold weather during the winter, but I was more than ready for things to warm up.

My apartment was already in sight when an arm shot out of the darkness. I startled as I was forced to halt by the hold of a strong hand on my upper arm.

“What in the hell are you doing out here so late?”

I recognized the voice before I saw his body step into the dim illumination of the streetlights.

“Liam?”

“It’s almost eleven,” he grumbled.

I wanted to tell him that teenagers get a later curfew, but I took one look at his face and closed my mouth.

His expression was grim, but I could see that he was worried.

Even as I thought about how irrational he was being, my heart melted just a little.

“It’s not exactly the dead of night,” I said calmly.

“It’s dark,” he rumbled. “Too late to be roaming around in the cold.”

“I’m on my way home,” I explained. “I was just having coffee with Evan at Brew Magic.”

“Why?”

I was perplexed. Liam was acting so strange that I wasn’t sure how to reply. It took me a moment to answer, “I wanted to thank him for helping me.”

“Because you’re leaving,” he said unhappily.

“Yes. Because I’m leaving.”

Silence stretched out for what seemed like a very long time before Liam replied, “You’re cold. I’ll walk you back to your apartment.”

I was nearly there. I could already see the entrance to my building. “No worries. I’ll be okay. I can see my apartment.”

He nodded toward the entrance. “I’ll go with you.”

I started walking, and Liam fell into step beside me. It was senseless to argue with him. We were standing out in the cold when we could both be warm in a few minutes. “Did you just leave the restaurant?”

The eatery closed at nine o’clock this time of year, so I assumed he’d just closed up and saw me walking in the dark.

“Just a few minutes ago,” he confirmed.

Even though his words explained why he was in the area, I still didn’t get why he’d come after me when I was only steps from my apartment.

It wasn’t unusual for Liam to see that I got to my place safely. In the warmer months, he’d walked me home. In the winter, he’d driven me the short distance from the restaurant to my building. He’d always watched out for me that way. But there had been no reason for him to walk me to a door I could actually see from my position on the sidewalk.

“Thanks,” I muttered as I arrived at the entrance of my building.

“Call me next time,” he demanded. “Amesport is relatively safe, but I’ve seen some strange people here in the summer.”

“It’s not summer,” I said.

Compared to California, the small Maine coastal town looked like the safest place in the world.

“Just call me,” he repeated. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

I nodded. “Do you want to come up?” Inviting him to come in seemed like the right thing to do. I’d asked him before, and he’d always refused. But I went through the motions anyway.

“Yeah. I think I do,” he said awkwardly, like he was used to giving a different answer—which he was.

“I can make some coffee,” I offered, fumbling to find the key to the main door.

“I think I need a drink,” he answered.

I found the right key and put it into the lock before I turned to look at him. Liam didn’t drink. He’d told me that he had partied so much in California that he rarely touched alcohol anymore. In the months that I’d known him, I’d never seen him drink a single alcoholic beverage.

“I have beer and wine.” The beer had been left at my place by my brother. And the wine was mine. God knew I needed a drink every once in a while, especially after spending the entire evening with Liam at the restaurant.