I'm Not Charlotte Lucas(46)

“Water?”

“In the fridge.”

Settling myself back into my nest of blankets and pillows, I picked up my first taco and took a delectable bite. “Mmm. These carnitas really are the best.”

“I have to agree,” Liam said, plopping down on the sofa beside me, water bottle in hand. “Probably the best carnitas I’ve ever had. And I’ve spent most of my life in SoCal.”

“It’s the sauce. I don’t know what they put in it, but I’m pretty sure it’s made from nectar straight out of Mount Olympus. Zeus himself has blessed Fresco’s carnitas.”

Liam chuckled, rumbling the couch. I focused on my tacos, downing them with unladylike speed. Wow, I really was hungry. I had no idea how much so while my mind was full of anger and irritation at Andy.

“So what do you like about this?” Liam asked, waving his hand toward the screen.

“Honestly? It’s just romantic. I love watching Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy fall in love. They don’t follow the typical path most stories do, where the hero and heroine are both madly in love with each other from the beginning and have to overcome pitfalls to be together.”

“They don’t have to overcome anything?”

“No, they overcome a lot.” I took another bite. “But they hate each other in the beginning, and they fall in love despite that. Darcy actually proposes halfway through and gets rejected, but his love still continues to grow. He recognizes where he messed up, and he learns from it, and Elizabeth learns from her mistakes too. They’re both better people when they finally end up together.”

Liam chuckled. “Okay, it’s a lot more complicated than I thought.”

“Are you really not familiar with the story at all?”

He shook his head.

I leaned forward to place the empty plate on the coffee table and took a swig of my soda. I could forgive him for his ignorance. It was kind of him to seem interested now. “Is Vera disappointed? We didn’t have a lot of luck today.”

He searched my face. “She is. But not because she didn’t find a painting.”

“Because I won’t do one for her?”

Liam’s lack of surprise confirmed it, and I leaned my head against the back of the couch and closed my eyes. This was absolutely the last thing I needed right now. More guilt.

Liam scoffed. “I wish I could punch him in the face.”





Chapter Nineteen


“What?” I sat up, shaking my head to clear it. Either I misheard him, or Liam just whispered something about punching somebody. “Who?”

He looked at me like I was crazy. But I wasn’t the person who’d just declared a desire to hit someone. Who was crazy now?

“Nothing. Forget I said anything.” Liam offered me a faint smile, his eyes glinting from the light of the TV. “I’m just frustrated.”

“With me?” Should I be slowly backing away? Somehow I thought not. I really did feel safe with Liam.

His smile warmed my heart. “No. With your idiot boyfriend.”

“Ex.”

“Thank goodness.”

I laughed to dispel some of my discomfort. “Andy came over tonight,” I said.

Liam straightened, his broad shoulders leaning heavily against the back of the couch, and it creaked under his weight. “He did? What happened?”

“He wanted to talk. It’s really over now.” I shook my head, training my eyes carefully on the TV. I wasn’t really watching it though. It was hard to focus with Liam watching me so closely. “I’m fine, really. I wanted to end things before today.”

His hand came around my own, large, warm, and capable, and I trembled from the bolts of electricity shooting straight up my arm.

“You owe him nothing,” he said, his voice reaching the depths of my soul. “You never owe a man anything, and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.”

I felt so safe, sitting in my little attic apartment, snuggled up on the couch with Liam’s hand firmly wrapped around my own. My feelings had gone from little and schoolgirlish to full-on crushing hard, and it was not good. I shouldn’t feel this way about a man who wasn’t available.

Slipping my hand from his grasp, weight pressed on me, strong and cold, like a chill had swept the room. “I don’t think that’s really appropriate,” I said. I was so proud of my self-control.

Liam cleared his throat, swallowing hard. “Because you just broke up with the guy a few hours ago?”

“No.” I narrowed my eyes. Was he for real? “Because you have a girlfriend.”

If I jumped to my feet and started singing an ABBA song, Liam would look less surprised. What angle was he playing here?

“What are you talking about?”

“Your girlfriend,” I repeated. “The one you aren’t telling Vera about.”

His silence was not making me feel any easier. “I hate to sound repetitive here, but what girlfriend?”

Dread pooled in my stomach. There was no way I could have been so wrong for so long, right? “Are you trying to say you don’t have one?”

“I am definitely saying I don’t have one.”

I started searching the blankets for my phone, digging into the couch cushions and feeling for the heavy rectangle that ruled my life.