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She grimaced. “I’m afraid I’ll be gone in the morning. The rental agency has a car for me. Fordham said the road will be cleared before sunrise, and he arranged a ride to the airport.”
Someone should’ve clued Fordham in on the plan to delay Carly’s departure as long as possible.
“Let me accompany you back to your apartment, Carly.” Fordham’s chair legs scraped against the tile as he stood up. “You can tell me your idea for Bran’s PA, and we can discuss that other matter we talked about earlier.”
She paled at his cryptic statement but folded her napkin and followed him out, not once looking directly at Liam.
“Don’t forget we’re going to play cards this afternoon,” Liam called after her.
Her hand waved at him, the most interaction he’d gotten in the past hour.
Maybe she didn’t like that kiss after all...
* * *
“How are things going with Carly?”Bran finished the last of his soup. “She didn’t talk much during lunch.”
“It’s hard to say. I thought things were going well. She’d never gone sledding before, and she seemed to have a good time.” Liam left out the part about the kiss. “But now she won’t look at me.”
Bran drummed his fingers on the table. “What do you know about her? Other than the fact that she’s getting a PhD in Biomedical Engineering?”
“I know she’s from Houston. Aaaannnd...” Liam racked his brain. “I know she has a roommate... Oh! And she has a brother.”
“And that’s it?”
“She told me she doesn’t talk about her family,” Liam defended. “But that’s okay. I avoid talking about mine, too.”
Bran scrunched up his face. “I hate to be discouraging, but I think she’s keeping you at arm’s length on purpose.”
She may be trying, but we weren’t at arm’s length when we kissed.
“She did tell me she hasn’t dated anyone in a long time. Personally, I think someone hurt her, and now she’s afraid of opening up.”
Bran didn’t look convinced. “Tell me this. You haven’t known Carly for very long. Why are you putting this much effort into a relationship when it’s so one-sided?”
“It’s hard to explain.” Liam hitched his shoulders. “I think she’s the first woman who’s ever treated me the way you do. Like my disability is just a thing you deal with, not who I am.”
Bran released a long sigh. “That would be a first for me, too.”
“Before Elle, I went out with quite a few women.” Liam thought back to his earlier relationships. “But let’s face it… they were probably pity dates.”
Bran nodded. “The story of my life.”
Liam’s phone vibrated with a message. Again. He knew who it was from without even looking. “And then there are women like this flight attendant who’s been calling and messaging all morning. Women who are so desperate for love that they’ll take any man they can get. Those women think they have a better shot with me just because I have a handicap. This one’s the most persistent I’ve ever met.”
Bran took a long swallow of water, then set his glass down, fingering the moisture on the outside of the glass. “Well, I’m the last person to give you relationship advice. If Carly can really see past your paralysis, like you say, I hope you can work things out with her. But you seem to be falling for her, hard and fast. And I like her as a person, but I don’t like that she’s not being honest with you.”
“Because she didn’t tell me about her research?”
“You don’t really believe that’s the only thing she’s holding back, do you?” Bran’s eyebrows arched.
“What should I do?” Inside his stomach, Liam’s lunch churned. Bran was right. For whatever reason, Carly was hiding things. If she couldn’t be vulnerable with him, it was hopeless.
“I just want you to be careful, Liam. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
CHAPTER 13
CARLY
