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“I beg to differ.”
He laughed, enjoying the moment so much he almost forgot he had a disability of any kind. Then he remembered that even though she’d said he was attractive, something had made her turn down his lunch offer. And in his gut, he knew the most likely reason was his paraplegia.
What else is new?
CHAPTER 3
CARLY
After hiding out as long as reasonably possible in the restroom, Carly returned to her seat. One glance from Liam’s twinkling eyes and she was blushing again.
“I wondered if you were ever coming out.” He stretched his arms over his head in a mock-casual manner.
“Your display of muscles isn’t going to work on me,” she said. “I refuse to look.”
“Drat!” His eyebrows danced. “That was my only weapon.”
It wasn’t true. His charming dimples were also wreaking havoc on her defenses. But she’d had her foot in her mouth enough times for one four-hour flight. No use mentioning his dimples and jamming it in there again.
“Those muscles are lethal,” she said. “Do you have a license to carry?”
She loved the way his eyes crinkled in the corners when he laughed.
The truth was now that they were both joking about their mutual attraction, it felt relatively safe and harmless. Nothing bad could come of it, as long as he never discovered her true identity.
Liam had made no more comments to indicate he was still pondering her familiarity, which meant she’d be home free once they departed the plane. Avoiding him at the conference ought to be easy since he’d be busy demonstrating his company’s latest prosthetics in the exhibition center. If he found time to attend any lectures, he was unlikely to be interested in her obscure nanotechnology presentation.
She knew he’d been offended by her refusal to accept a simple lunch date. But it would hurt him more if he realized who she was and was forced to relive all those painful events. And he’d been quite candid about harboring some ill feelings toward some of the people who’d injured him at the time of the accident. Since his family had sued hers for damages, it wasn’t hard to guess where his grudges lay.
Over the years, Carly had matured enough to recognize she didn’t bear all the responsibility for what had happened that night. But in one respect she alone was culpable... in her choice to tell a lie rather than the truth, a decision that had haunted her the past sixteen years.
Maybe that’s why I can’t tell a decent-sounding lie to save my life.
The night of the accident, she’d overheard Ben and Liam discussing a party and the alcohol that would be involved. She’d confronted them in hopes they would be forced to take her along, and Liam would finally see her as more than his friend’s kid sister. Instead, Liam had blinked those gorgeous green eyes at her and begged her not to tell anyone. And at that moment, there was nothing she wouldn’t have done for Liam Bennett, the hunkiest guy in high school, the love of her life.
So when it was past curfew and her father questioned her about Ben’s whereabouts, she’d kept her promise to Liam and denied any knowledge. If only she’d told the truth, her father would’ve found the boys at the party before Benjamin got behind the wheel drunk to drive them home. Both the guys would’ve hated her the rest of her life, of that much she was certain. But her brother would still be alive, and Liam would still be able to walk.
She supposed she could simply tell him who she was and accept the consequences. But the attraction she saw in Liam’s eyes was the fulfillment of a dream. She couldn’t bear to watch that admiration turn to disgust and hatred.
And he’d been through so much pain that she didn’t begrudge him the right to harbor anger toward her... at least as much as she aimed at herself.
Layla returned with her cell phone to get a selfie. Though she claimed she wanted one with “Faye,” every shot included Liam in the frame.
When the ordeal was over, Carly couldn’t help being snarky. “I’m surprised she didn’t ask you to flex your muscles.”
“No need to be selfish.” He goaded her with a smug smile. “There’s enough of my muscles for both of you to feast your eyes.”
“I’ve created a monster.” She rolled her eyes and pointed a finger into her mouth in the universal gag-me sign.
The plane gave a lurch, just as the pilot made an announcement. “Our flight is on time, set to arrive at Chicago O’Hare in twenty-eight minutes. However, the weather in Chicago has deteriorated, with wind gusts and heavy snowfall. We are currently waiting to hear if we will be cleared for landing or diverted to another airport.”
Groans and protests came from all over the airplane.
“I don’t want to get diverted somewhere else,” Carly muttered, her palms suddenly clammy. “But it’s better than a plane crash, right? Maybe they shouldn’t take a chance.”
Liam wore a serene expression. Did he not care whether he lived or died?
“We’ll be fine. They won’t let us land if it’s not safe.”
