I'm Not Charlotte Lucas(36)

“Getting your shoes?” she asked, unaware of how horrible her best friend was. I needed to quit comparing myself to her immediately.

“No,” I said. “But we should be.”

“Hi,” Liam said, reaching over me to shake Beth’s hand. “I’m Liam.”

“Yes, I know,” she grinned, stepping past me to pull him into a hug.

My stomach constricted, and I turned away. “Should we grab shoes?”

Andy nodded, but he couldn’t seem to quit watching Liam and Beth either. This was going to be far more awkward than I’d imagined.

We rented shoes and chose a lane, Beth and I leaving the men behind while we selected our balls. “He is hot,” she said, leaning close. “If I didn’t have Rhett Myers on the brain, I might actually be tempted to redirect.”

“It’s not too late.” This is what I’d wanted from the moment Vera asked me to blind-date her grandson, wasn’t it? I wanted Beth to have the chance to be with him. Well, now it was happening, so I needed to be happy. They were both beautiful human beings, and they would fall madly in love and make beautiful babies, and I would be happy for them. I would.

She gave me a confused glance. “Nothing will distract me from Rhett now. Not even a super-hot guy who’s really into my best friend but she’s too blind to see what’s right in front of her face.”

“What?”

Beth sauntered away, holding her bowling ball in both hands. She placed it on the ball holder and sat on a seat beside Liam as Andy continued inputting our names into the system. I shook my head and grabbed a small pink ball before following. Beth didn’t know what she was talking about. Hot guys always went for her, always. She was just too good of a person to think it would be different this time.

Bowling went more smoothly than I’d anticipated. I ended up getting a turkey and winning the game by five measly points.

It turned out Liam was being honest when he said he was really good at this game, and somehow he knew I was hustling him.

“Rematch?” he asked, sitting next to me on the plastic seats and displaying a set of teeth that even Andy wouldn’t find any complaints with.

I glanced at my boyfriend, who was giving me some serious side-eye, and shook my head. He’d lost. Terribly. Like hadn’t-even-hit-a-hundred-points terribly, and it was probably in my best interest to get Andy out of the bowling alley pronto.

“Should we grab milkshakes?” Liam offered.

I grimaced.

“Bad idea?” Liam muttered. He flicked his gaze to Andy, who was now returning our bowling balls to their stands. “Is he lactose intolerant?”

“Sugar intolerant,” I explained.

Liam nodded, but he didn’t look pleased. He raised his voice as Andy returned, Beth plopping down beside Liam to put her shoes back on. “Have you guys eaten?”

“Yes,” Andy said, planting himself on my other side.

I bent down to untie my shoes and let the men talk over me. I wasn’t about to call Andy out for lying, and I hoped my rumbling stomach wouldn’t give me away. He must really not like Liam if he couldn’t even stomach extending the double date for dinner.

“I haven’t,” Beth offered. “I love milkshakes.”

Liam glanced up. “I know just the place.” He turned to Andy. “Carrow’s. My brother showed it to me last week. Want to join us?”

I knew the place. It was kind of a dive, but it had great milkshakes.

“Maybe another time,” Andy said in a way that clearly meant, not on your life.

I caught the look Beth and Liam exchanged, and I felt them slipping away. Not that I blamed them. Andy was being anything but friendly. We all hovered by the doors outside.

“Well, that was nice,” I said with far more enthusiasm than I felt. “Have fun at Carrow’s.”

Beth gave me a loaded, wide-eyed look, and I worried momentarily for Liam’s safety. For all I knew, she was planning to tie him up and force him to get Rhett Myers on the phone on penalty of death.

She reached for me and pulled me into a hug. “Don’t worry. I won’t be crazy.”

“How thoughtful of you.”

When she pulled away, she was grinning. Then she turned to give Andy an awkward, quick hug, and I could feel the tension seeping from them in waves. I glanced up and caught Liam’s gaze, and his dark eyebrows lifted as if they were saying, Our turn?

He started toward me, his long arms reaching, and I stepped into his embrace. What could I do? If I refused to hug him, it would be obvious that I was afraid.

But it turned out, I was afraid for good reason.

Liam’s arms closed around me, enveloping me in the most expensive and exquisite cologne I’d ever smelled—something Naomi picked up in France, no doubt. He pressed his hands into my back, and I had to fight to keep my eyes from drifting shut and enjoying the molten lava bleeding from his fingertips into my skin. Static energy buzzed between us, and it turned out that touching didn’t actually create a shock to dissipate that thick, heavy feeling—it only intensified the buzzing.

Then Andy cleared his throat, and I stepped back, almost shoving Liam to get away. Andy reached for my hand, clasping it firmly in his and all but dragging me toward his car.

He opened the door for me, but before I could get inside his hands were on my waist, and he kissed me hard. I didn’t even have time to react before he let me go and waited for me to get into the car. Stunned, I dropped into the seat, flinching when the door shut.