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“Oh, I don’t,” he said, shaking his head. A warmth unfurled deep in my belly at the low rumble of his voice.
Maybe this could work. The thought caught me off guard and I immediately silenced it, breaking eye contact and looking down at the menu.
Mercifully, the waiter appeared to take our orders—steak frites for Liam, chicken with mustard cream sauce for me, plus a bottle of Chardonnay.
A few minutes later, the wine arrived, and the waiter made a big production of uncorking, swirling, tasting. Liam handled it, then the waiter scurried off, leaving us alone.
“Cheers,” Liam said, raising his glass to mine.
“Cheers.” I tapped his glass, then we both sipped our wine.
“So, tell me about L.A. Do you like it out there?” I asked, running my finger along the stem of my wine glass.
He took a second to ponder the question. “Yes and no. The weather is great, my work is interesting. But there’s a lack of community; I miss being around family.”
“I could see that,” I said, nodding. Even though my “family” left a lot to be desired outside of Everly.
“Have you ever been to L.A.?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. I haven’t been north of the Mason-Dixon.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not.”
“Well, we’ll have to change that. If you want to...” he said.
“I’d like to see California, sure. I love the beach.”
“Great. You should come out. I can show you around, take you to the Pier. We could go to my buddy’s winery...”
I held up a hand. “Stop. You have a friend with awinery? Like, a real working vineyard?”
Liam nodded. “Yes.”
“Bougee.”
He laughed. “The funny thing is, Benji is one of the least bougee people I’ve met in my life. Mainly, he’s a surfer on the quest for his next big wave. His parents own the winery, which passed down from the grandparents. It’s a generational thing and he doesn't even really want it. Kind of like the McCauliffes and the general store. The winery’s a hot potato, but if someone doesn’t take over, it will die and no one wants to see that.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Family responsibility. I get that.”
Liam paused, waiting for me to explain.
Might as well get this out of the way.
“My mom left back when I was in high school. She ran off with the lead singer in a cover band playing one town over. Everly was only twelve, so I ended up sticking around to take care of her.”
“Oh. That was...brave of you,” Liam said, his voice full of awe.
My face flushed, my stomach churning.
I shrugged. “I couldn’t let her go to foster care. It’s no big deal—it’s not like I had colleges knocking down my door.”
Liam reached for my hand across the table, taking it in his, stroking my skin with his thumb. “That was a huge sacrifice, Macy. I’m sure your sister knows that.”
“Eh. I don’t know about all that. But it’s fine—I’m fine,” I said, brushing it off.
Liam swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing at his neck. “Not to sound corny, but you’re amazing.”
