Always Then and Now

Chapter 46

HANNAH

Anger coursed through me as I watched Nate drive off. The nerve of that prick! I should've realized he didn't actually want me for anything other than pity sex. The fact that he hadn't bothered asking me out, despite asking for my number weeks ago, until the one time Liam hadn't come with me to the market, until I the time I showed up, clearly miserable, should have been my first clue. Liam had been right all along. He was a dick. And honestly, I was pretty sure that, deep down, I'd known it too. But I'd excused the flirting every week at the market, knowing it wasn't ever going to go anywhere, and then, when he'd actually asked me out, I'd wanted so badly to believe he was interested because I'd felt like I'd needed it. I'd needed to know, after everything that had happened with Liam, that someone could want me. Anyone, really, and Nate had made me feel beautiful, for a brief moment. I should've known it was all an act just to get me into bed.

And the part that really sucked was that it wasn't that I was special. If the woman next to me had been in the same position, he'd have asked her out too. That was just who he was.

Gross.

Well, it was over now, and I was glad. This date had made me realize something else as well: I wasn't going to settle. I was in love with Liam, and no getting under someone else was going to change that. Kate had insisted that he loved me too, and I owed it to myself to try one more time. Even if it ripped me to pieces.

But I couldn't lose this momentum. I had to do it now, while I was still fired up.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then opened the front door, stepping through.

And found myself face to face with Liam.

He stood in the archway between the living room and the foyer, his eyes a deep, stormy blue as they took me in. We both stood there for a long moment, just staring at each other, and then my eyes fell to his phone, held in his hand at his side. On the screen was an image of our front porch. No. Not an image. A video feed.

I glanced up at him again in surprise. "Did you see what happened out there?" I asked, feeling my face flush, though I didn't know why. I couldn't decide whether I was glad he'd been there to witness it or upset because of the invasion of privacy.

He nodded and slipped his phone into his pocket. "I heard it all too." His voice was low, rough, as if he was trying to control his own anger. Maybe he was. Whether or not he loved me, I knew he cared about me, despite his comment last week about me being just his employee. That encounter with Nate had definitely been anger-inducing.

"The number of times I almost burst through that door to kick his ass for the things he said and did to you..." He shook his head, clenching his jaw and his fists, and then his expression turned to one of fierce pride. "The way you handled him though, Hannah...you were like a warrior out there. You didn't need my help."

I felt a small smile spread across my lips, felt my cheeks flush, felt my heart do a flip-flop in my chest, touched by his words. "You were here though, ready to save me if I needed it." It wasn't a question.

He nodded and reached out toward me for a moment, then thought better of it and dropped his hand to his side. I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. "Of course. I'll always be here to support you. Even if you don't need me anymore..." A look of profound sadness crossed his face, and he looked away from me, making my heart clench.

"I still need you. I'll always need you," I assured him on a whisper, and he met my eyes again, his own flashing with something. Hope?

I took a deep breath and then a hesitant step toward him, biting my lip. He stayed where he was, his eyes never leaving me. "Kate told me everything," I said quietly. I didn't want to throw her under the bus, but I figured, if it worked out, she wouldn't mind. I prayed that it would work out. It had to work out. I took another slow step forward. "About your parents. About your resolve not to repeat your dad's mistakes."