The Memory Keeper: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Romance(17)

“We’re closing in ten minutes,” the woman said with an apologetic look. “But the rooftop bar is open until eleven. They have a kitchen too. And room service is open until 2 a.m.”

“We could do room service,” Hannah suggested, glad to be able to correct her blunder.

“No, it’s fine,” Liam said, to her surprise. Now he was probably trying to smooth things over, when really he just wanted to retreat into a dark room, eat, and pass out for the night. “We’ll go to the upstairs bar.”

She glanced over at the promotional sign in the lobby for the bar’s special Valentine’s month-long soirée. Hannah wasn’t at all dressed for the rooftop bar. The image on the sign dripped with glamor, and Hannah was still in the jeans, sweater, and wedge heels she’d chosen for the plane. She hadn’t combed her hair all day, and she was nearly certain she didn’t have any makeup remaining on her face.

Liam also seemed to be considering the trendy sign. “I’m up for skyline views and confused looks if you are,” he said. “I’m famished.”

With no other real options, Hannah shrugged. “If you say so,” she said, grinning.

That was twice now that, in the oddest of circumstances, he’d made her smile in the midst of her awful day. He was so quiet and mysterious—nothing like the boy she’d once known. She wondered who Liam McGuire really was in his regular life. Perhaps he’d share a bit about himself and his family over dinner. As she considered this, the question occurred to her: Who was she in her regular life? With so much of herself wrapped up in her work and in Miles, she wasn’t really sure of the answer anymore. Her milestone birthday was tomorrow, so she needed to figure it out sooner rather than later.





Six





“I have to say,” Hannah said, from across the candlelit table that stood against a wall of glass overlooking the Northern Virginia skyline, “I can’t believe I ended up driving home with someone I know. What are the odds?” She eyed the candle with its ring of beaded hearts and the sushi appetizer they’d decided on clumsily, when they realized it was part of the Valentine’s light menu package, the only offering at this late hour. It was all a bit awkward to share with someone else’s husband, sitting in that atmosphere.

Liam pinched a piece of sushi with his chopsticks from the plate for two. “It was odd running into each other, after all these years.”

“I know. We haven’t seen each other since you dated Morgan Pete, right?”

Liam nodded, contemplative.

“Morgan was devastated when you two broke up, you know,” Hannah told him with a wink, remembering the long talks she’d had with Morgan, trying to help her friend through the breakup with Liam while Morgan sobbed and swore she’d never find anyone as great as him again.

“I felt terrible,” he said. “It was a misunderstanding that got out of hand.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“Nothing. It’s not important now.”

“You can still tell me,” she urged, her curiosity piqued.

His lips were set in a pout as he clearly decided what to say. “I had my eye on someone else, and I just didn’t have the heart to tell Morgan…”

“Oh,” Hannah said. “Why didn’t you stop it earlier? You dated for about six months, if I remember correctly.”

He cleared his throat, his chopsticks hovering in his hand. “I kept hoping to see her friend again.”

“Her friend?” Realization dawned. “Nooo. Me?”

“Yep.”

They both shared a little laugh. She felt embarrassed to have pressed him on the issue, but there were so many years between them, and he’d said himself that it wasn’t important now. However, a tiny piece of her wondered what might have come of it had he said something.

Hannah remembered how kind he’d been at the bonfire where she and Morgan had met him that night, offering her a beach towel to put around her shoulders once the sun had gone down. While Morgan and Liam had chatted the night away, he would smile when he caught Hannah’s eye…

“You didn’t talk to me. You talked to Morgan instead.”

“You made me nervous,” he told her.

Hannah took a sip of her drink, thinking back to those carefree days.

“So the guy at the airport…” Liam said, switching gears. “Was he your boyfriend for… very long?” His words were careful, coming off his lips softly as if he didn’t want to hurt her with his question, their common ground settling between them.

“‘Was’ is definitely the key word there,” Hannah said, shaking her head and taking a long swig from the rim of her cocktail glass, ignoring the swarming fear which felt like she’d just realized she’d left her handbag in a taxi. “Miles and I dated for two years. We were supposed to do something together for my birthday. That’s why I booked the trip…”

Liam’s head tilted in response. “When’s your birthday?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

She nodded.

Liam looked around, helpless, for a second. “I wish I’d have known. I would’ve grabbed another Valentine’s heart of chocolate at the airport at the very least… Last piece of sushi?” He scooted the appetizer plate toward her. “That’s the best I’ve got.”