I'm Not Charlotte Lucas(64)

He laughed. “You’re joking, right?”

I didn’t respond.

He flicked his gaze toward me before securing it back on the road. We were weaving through back lanes of old neighborhoods, and I had no idea where we were going. “You’re like the most selfless person I know. You canceled our first date to stay home with your sister because of boy trouble—”

“That was not a date.”

He shot me a side-eye infused with a smirk. “I was hoping it would turn into one. But that’s irrelevant now.” Sliding his hand across the center console, he picked up mine and laced his large fingers through my own, making me feel dainty and protected. I could seriously get used to this. “Then you canceled our second date to go work a career fair on your night off—”

“I did get paid for sitting around and doing almost nothing.” And finding Spike in a compromising situation with Hannah . . . but I needed to wait until the right moment to tell him about that. It would be tonight—it had to be—but not right now.

“Okay, enough excuses. You could have said no to your coworker. Most people would have.”

I shook my head, enjoying the feel of Liam’s fingers playing casually, lightly with my own. It was insanely distracting.

“You drive your aunt to her hair appointments every week and wait the hour for her to get it done. You take dinner to your next-door neighbor when she broke her leg. You agreed to date said woman’s grandson when he had a function to attend and no one to ask—a blind date, no less. You’re selfless, Charlie. Admit it.”

He squeezed my fingers as he spoke, and I squeezed his fingers back. “I’m not that selfless. I got a free limo ride out of that date and had dinner with some movie stars. So, I’d say I lucked out on that one.”

He chuckled. “Nice try, but I could tell you didn’t want to be there. You were uncomfortable, but you stayed. You even tried to be a buffer between me and Naomi after showing me how intimidated you felt. That was pure kindness.” His gaze was fixed ahead, but his voice dropped, growing serious. “That was the moment I realized how incredible you were.”

I didn’t know how to respond. He’d stunned me. We turned onto a windy road that seemed to go straight up the back hills of Bellmead, Liam’s car twisting and turning as we climbed higher and higher.

“You know a lot about me.” I took his hand in between mine, my fingers running over his. “But I feel like all I know about you is that you take care of Spike, watch over your grandma, and run a charity that teaches children how to read in third-world countries.”

“That’s pretty much all there is to know.”

The car came to a stop, and I glanced up. We were on top of the world. Lights spread out for miles in all directions—houses, stores, streetlamps . . . we could see the outer reaches of Bellmead and the dim patches beyond the city lights where rows of grapes took residence.

It was breathtaking. “I’ve never been up here before,” I said, opening the door and letting myself out. The cold air hit me hard, and a chill shook my shoulders. “How did you know about this place?”

Liam retrieved something from the trunk and came to stand next to me beside the hood, a thick blanket draped over his arm. “My dad brought me up here once when we came to visit Vera. I was twelve, and he told me about his diagnosis.”

I blew a breath out through my teeth. That was heavy. I remembered when Liam told me of his dad dying from cancer, but nothing beyond that. I slipped my hand into his. “Is it hard coming back here?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve come back every time I visit. It was hard the first time, but now I just feel at peace.” He pulled me closer to the edge of the overlook, and I was surprised to see the hill sloping gently downward. It wasn’t the ledge I’d expected, but a gradual decline. This would make an incredible hill for rolling down if I was ten.

I wondered if Liam had that same thought initially when his dad brought him up here as a kid.

Liam released me and laid out the blanket before helping me sit on it. He pulled out a box of chocolate truffles and offered me one. I popped it in my mouth.

“I had plans to take you somewhere nice tonight, but we’ll just have to be satisfied with this instead.”

“I’m not mad. It’s my fault,” I said, taking another truffle. “I’m sorry for ruining your date plans.”

He shook his head. “I don’t really care what we do. I just want to spend time with you outside of my grandma’s house.”

I chuckled as another cold wind swept past us. “Well, we’re definitely outside.”

Liam tugged me closer on the blanket, moonlight glinting off his eyes. “I’m not going to complain about the last week though. All of that talking has helped me get to know you better.”

“Right,” I said as his gaze watched my lips. “All that talking.”

Liam grinned before kissing me, and I felt the smile on his lips as he made contact. He warmed me up from the inside out, and when I pulled away, I snuggled closer to his side.

“These stars are incredible.”

“I know,” he agreed. “There are so many of them.”

“Speaking of stars, has Beth reached out to you recently?”

Liam’s chuckle rumbled through his chest. Well, I couldn’t say I was surprised. Beth wasn’t going to give up easily.