Just a Taste (22 page)

Liam took another long swallow of beer. No way would a conversation like this work out well for him.

“It's just . . . I thought we had something going. We've been hanging out together a lot over the past year, and I thought you were just a cautious guy. Taking your time, planning when to make a move.”

That was him in most aspects of his life. But he'd never planned to make a move on Lily. How could he tell her without hurting her more?

“I like you, Lily, but I always saw you as a friend. Part of that was me being caught up in work stuff, trying to figure out my career. I wasn't looking for a relationship at all. I'm not even sure how it happened with Carmen.”

She nodded slowly and sipped her pop.

Yeah, he felt like shit. The alcohol wasn't helping, but he ordered another shot anyway because it couldn't get much worse. He slugged back the shot and thought more about Carmen.

Carmen's phone rang. She'd been hoping Liam would call and now he finally was. “Hello.”

“Hi, Carmen. It's Lily.”

“What happened? Is Liam's mom okay?”

“She had a heart attack, but she's okay. Umm . . . I'm with Liam at a bar.”

Carmen's chest tightened.
They're friends. Friends go to bars together.
“Why are you calling me?”

“He's really drunk. I don't want to call his family. I was hoping you'd come get him.”

So she wasn't good enough to drink with, but she was supposed to clean up after? “Why don't you just take him home?” The words hurt to say.

“I could. It wouldn't be an easy task, but I would. The thing is, he's been talking about you since we got here. I think he wants to see you, but he's too stupid to make the call himself. So I took his phone while he went to the bathroom.”

Carmen didn't know what to think.

“Will you come?”

“Yes.” She grabbed a piece of paper to write down the address.

When she got to the bar, she immediately saw Liam and Lily sitting on stools, not in a cozy corner booth. “Hi.”

Liam spun in his stool. His head tilted, and he looked at her through narrowed eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Taking you home.”

Lily stood behind him. “I'll help you get him to your car.”

“I'm not goin' anywhere.” He raised his hand. “I need another beer.”

“No, you don't.” Carmen shook her head at the bartender. “Let me take you home.”

“Can't go home. Moira wants me at Mom's house. Maggie's comin' home.”

“I'm sure they don't want to see you like this.” She tugged his jacket off the back of the chair. “How about you take a nap and then I'll take you to your family?”

He shook his head like he was considering it, but said nothing.

She pulled his arm. “Come on.”

He stood and wobbled. She opened his jacket for him, and he held on to the bar for balance as he slid his arms in the sleeves. “How'd you know where to find me?”

“Lily called me.”

He turned to look at Lily and almost lost his balance. “Why?”

Lily went up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Because you want to be with her, not me.”

“Aww . . . Lily, it's not like that.” He reached for her hand.

“Yeah, it is.” She leaned over and spoke to Carmen. “Are you going to be okay getting him into the house?”

Carmen lifted her shoulders. “We'll find out.”

“I don't need help. I'm fine.”

Both women looked at him.

“I can't drive, but I can walk.” He stumbled past both of them and said over his shoulder, “See?”

Carmen looked at Lily. “Thanks for calling me.”

Lily bit her lip before responding. “I care about him a lot. I wanted him to like me, but he's all about you. Take care of him.”

“I will.” Carmen squeezed Lily's shoulder and went to follow Liam.

He was weaving down the block in the opposite direction of where she'd parked.

“Hey, this way.” He turned and rocked on his heels. Man, she hoped he didn't fall over. She was strong, but she wouldn't be able to pick him up. The thought had her questioning why Lily called. Maybe Lily just didn't want to deal with this.

Carmen walked over to Liam and wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him.

“I missed you today,” he said.

She didn't say anything.

“Are you mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“'Cause I kind of forgot about you. I didn't, but I wasn't thinking right.” He sighed. “I wish you were at the hospital with me.”

“It looked like you had that covered.” Even though she knew better, she couldn't keep the resentment from her voice.

“I know I fucked up. Just yell at me or something.”

“I'm not going to yell at you.”

“Wish you would. Then we could have makeup sex.”

She laughed and leaned him against her car while she dug out her keys.

“Makeup sex is good,” he added. He pulled her hips to bring her closer. “We've never had makeup sex.”

“We haven't really fought.”

He blew out a heavy breath. “I'm sorry.”

“You don't have anything to be sorry for. Your family needed you.” She stepped away and pressed the button to unlock the door. “Do you need help getting in?”

He ran his palm across her jaw. The skin on his fingers was rough, but his touch gentle. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the contact.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Her eyes shot open and her lungs froze. Before she could even think about forming a response, he fumbled with the door handle and swung the door open. He bumped her as he moved to climb in.

The sound of his door closing snapped her attention. Love? He loved her? Did he know what he was saying or was it the alcohol taking charge of an emotional situation? She took her time walking around her car. No man had ever said he loved her. Liam was giving her lots of firsts, but she was trying hard not to read too much into this.

As soon as she started the engine, he leaned against the passenger side window and dozed off. Carmen drove him to his apartment and shook him awake. “We're at your place.”

He fumbled for the handle to get out of the car. Carmen rushed around to meet him. Instead of pushing her away, he slung an arm over her shoulder and leaned into her. She liked the feeling of him leaning on her.

She patted the pockets of his jacket to find his keys. Once inside, she helped him to the bedroom.

He flopped back on the mattress and slapped his palm next to him. “Come here.”

“Go to sleep, Liam.”

“We're supposed to have makeup sex.”

“First, we didn't fight. Second, you're in no shape for sex.”

He pushed up on his elbows. “Are you saying I can't get it up? Trust me, I can.”

She smiled. “I'm sure you can, but what you need is sleep. Your family is expecting you.”

He lay back again. “I meant what I said. Drunk or not. I love you.”

She pressed her lips together, still unsure of how to respond. Within seconds, his breathing settled into the deep rumble of sleep, allowing her to escape without answering.

She went to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. Liam couldn't sleep all night because he did need to get back to his family. If she didn't wake him in a couple of hours, he'd probably be pissed. That gave her a couple of hours to sort through her feelings.

Did she love Liam?

Her immediate response was yes, but that made her nervous. They hadn't known each other all that long. She had no idea how long it was supposed to take to fall in love.

Her mother had rarely talked about her early life in Mexico, but the one story she loved to tell was about meeting Gus.

Inez's face had softened and she drifted into a dream when she shared the story. She'd been walking down the street with friends, and Gus had bumped into her. Later, she found out it had been intentional. Her mother had described that first meeting with such clarity, even when she'd been very ill. She said that when she'd looked into Gus's eyes something inside her swelled and changed. She knew she was in love.

Carmen adored hearing the story, but always thought her mother embellished a little to make it sound more like a fairy tale. But now, she believed her mother's words.

Carmen had never believed in love at first sight, but she understood that elusive feeling of looking into someone's eyes and feeling different. Liam did that to her every time their eyes met.

Her greatest concern was that maybe it wasn't love. Maybe it was a huge case of lust. How would she know the difference? She had no experience with either.

She didn't want to push anything, especially now, with everything happening with his mom. His focus needed to be on his family. Things between them could wait.

She puttered around his house while he slept. She sat in his living room for a bit, but felt uncomfortable. The fluffy pillows and blanket seemed out of place for the room and for Liam. He never struck her as a fluffy blanket type of guy. Nothing about this room fit him.

At least her house felt lived in. Even without the clutter of things from her parents, her house still felt like a home; Liam's didn't. For some reason, it really bothered her.

Liam heard something above the thundering of his head, but he didn't know what it was. He lifted one eyelid a fraction. Fuck, that hurt.

Something clinked near his head, and he turned toward the sound. The pounding turned to piercing pain, and he winced.

“Sorry,” Carmen whispered. “You've been asleep for a couple of hours, and I thought you'd want to get back to your family. I made you coffee and toast.”

He forced his eyes open again. The room was dark except for the light coming from the hall. Her cool fingers touched his forehead. She'd stayed to take care of him. He grabbed her wrist and pressed a kiss to the palm of her hand.

“I feel like shit.” He struggled to sit up. The smell of coffee made his stomach turn. He blew out a breath and then realized how badly he needed to brush his teeth.

Carmen sat on the edge of the bed. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I need to take a shower. God, why did I do this to myself?” Thoughts of his mother immediately invaded his brain and grief struck him.

“We all do stupid things when we're scared and worried about people we love. You want to talk about it?”

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled his shirt off. He didn't want to talk about it, but then Carmen held his hand and kissed his shoulder. Tears built up in his eyes again.

“I don't know if I can handle my mom dying. I'm not ready for it.” The words croaked out from his tight throat.

“You'll never be ready.”

Of course, she knew better than anyone.

“It was hard when my dad died. He was the foundation of our family. But my mom . . .” He swallowed and searched for the words. “She's the heart and soul. She keeps us together and going strong.”

“Lily said your mom was okay.”

“She is, but who knows really?”

Carmen leaned closer and hugged him. He held her tightly. He envied her strength. She'd faced both of her parents dying, and she was still one of the happiest, most friendly people he knew. He was grateful to be on the receiving end of all that love.

“Will you come with me to my mom's house? We're all supposed to meet there tonight to come up with a plan.” He didn't want to let go of her again. Not ever.

She pulled her body away, but went back to holding his hand. “Whatever you need. But . . . are you sure? It seems like making plans about your mom is a family thing. I don't want to intrude.”