I WALK OUT OF THE local bookstore with a spring in my step. Having more time on my hands since leaving Rosefield has allowed me to finally tackle my Pinterest boards. I’ve tackled all the DIY Pinterest projects I had collected over the years, read some amazing romance novels, and got to spend a ridiculous amount of time with my best friend and goddaughter. Sure, Ember and Nate are technically paying me to watch Quinnie while Ember works, but it’s hardly work. Sitting with my bestie while she gets lost in her creations and playing with an angel? Not a hardship.
Shane’s been busy at Dirty. It took a few more not so subtle hints about my thoughts for a Filthy night at Dirty, but he finally agreed it was a good idea. I could see it in his face when he agreed, though, that he’s still worried about me not being able to handle his job and the women who surround him there. A small part of me is worried he might always have those fears. Lacey did a number on him, but I’m stubborn enough that I won’t stop trying to prove to him that I don’t get jealous. It’s hot. He’s not humping them; he’s standing above them and dancing alone. Knowing that women want him but will never have him is delicious.
Speaking of Lacey, ever since that run-in on our first fake date, she’s been keeping a low profile. From what Shane says, he doesn’t think that’s the last we’ll hear of her, and I hate to say, I agree. Seth, on the other hand, moved back home to Iowa last I heard. I guess Shane’s just more intimidating, and Seth tucked his tail after their run-in. Even though I got what I wanted, knowing that Lacey is still in town doesn’t fill me with gumdrops and rainbows. However, she can keep her crap on the sidelines as long as she keeps her nose out of our relationship.
My phone rings, so I stuff my purchases from the bookstore into my large tote and pull my phone out, smiling when I see Liberty’s name on the display.
“Hey,” I greet, smiling while unlocking my car and tossing my tote in the passenger seat. “I’m on my way to the restaurant now. Are you already there?”
“Sure am. I got us a booth and ordered you a Coke.”
“I’ll be there in five, Tink.” I laugh, a snort escaping when I hear her feminine growl.
“I’m going to kill my brother.”
“Please don’t, babe. I’ll miss him a whole lot.”
She grumbles, and my smile grows. “Order me chicken fajitas with extra rice and sour cream, okay? I got a little zoned out in the bookstore and didn’t realize I was running late, but I’m literally five minutes away.”
“Sounds good. There’s plenty of eye candy having lunch outside, so I have a nice view while I wait.”
“What happened to Tommy?” I ask, referring to the guy she told me she had been dating for a few weeks earlier this week during one of our long phone calls.
“Ugh,” she gripes. “It seems that Tommy was more interested in Michelle, the girl who lives in the apartment next to mine. He needed an in, and I was the best thing. I’m single and ready to mingle.”
“I know some pretty good-looking single guys,” I confess, thinking about the younger Cage boys. They’re a little older than Liberty is, me as well, but I’ve known them long enough that—even if I hadn’t seen them through high school being great boyfriends—I’m positive they know how to treat a woman. You aren’t a son of Greg Cage’s without learning how to worship the women in your life. I’ll just have to deal with Shane if he has a problem with his sister dating someone who’s almost a decade older.
“You’ll have to fill me in at lunch,” she exclaims excitedly.
I don’t remember being that boy crazy at twenty-one, but Liberty has quickly become someone I care about, and I want nothing more than those I care about to be happy.
“Promise.”
We hang up, and I toss my phone in my bag and pull out of my parking spot thinking about Shane’s sister. We haven’t even known each other for a full week, and you would think we had known each other for years. She confessed during one of our chats that she had always hoped her brother would find someone she could form a relationship with. We both agreed that Lacey had not been that person. I was shocked to hear how nasty Lacey had been to Liberty, driving a wedge between the two Kingstons that caused Liberty to back away because she was unable to see her brother stuck with someone who made him miserable. Clearly, Liberty is wise for her age to be able to see that and not have the adult knowledge of a relationship’s many layers.
She was finishing her degree in graphic design, but her apartment was close to her campus, almost an hour outside Hope Town. It made it a lot easier for her to brush off Shane when he wanted to get together with her while Lacey had still been in the picture. Over the past year and a half of him being single, they had grown even closer. And now, I hope they continue to build that bridge back to what they had been before Lacey’s nasty filth got their relationship dirty. Even if I wasn’t tumbling head over heels quickly for her brother, I would still adore her.
When I pull into one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, I see Liberty through the window behind their outdoor dining area. She’s practically drooling at the men eating and laughing outside. I sneak a look and feel giddy with my luck. What are the freaking odds that the very young men I had been thinking about would be here?
I park, grab my bag, and skip across the parking lot. The guys don’t see me, and I don’t stop to say hello. I know them through my long friendship with Ember—her family’s connection to Cage’s going way back before she was born. To her, they’re like her cousins. I know it’s rude to ignore them, seeing as I’m basically an honorary Reid myself and I’ve known them forever. I hadn’t been to a huge extended family gathering with Ember in years, but the Cage twins look like they grew new muscles each year that had passed since I saw them last.
“Hey,” I breathe, scooting into the booth and stifling my laugh when Liberty startles, looking a little sheepish for being caught drooling over the guys outside. “Been a while since you saw a hunky man?” I ask, wagging my brows.
She waves me off, dipping a chip in the salsa. “You might be happily taken, but you can’t deny they’re worth drooling over.”
I hum my agreement, not letting the cat out of the bag that I know them just yet.
“So what’s new?”
She leans back and huffs. “I gave some serious thought to murdering my roommate yesterday but decided I was too pretty for prison. Other than that, just studying more than I sleep and eating more than I study.”
“Sounds like my college years.” I laugh.
“Not too much longer and I can get the hell outta dodge and move back to Hope Town. The day I can move out of that apartment, I’m going to buy myself a gift for putting up with Samantha for the past two years.”
“She can’t be that bad,” I challenge. I loved my roommates. The only time we got into arguments was when they stole my string cheese.
“Last night, I sat down to pee. My eyes were all tired and blurry because I had spent almost ten hours studying for a big test. When I sat down, there was something …” she trails off, looking on the verge of throwing up. “Her asshole boyfriend missed the trash with his used condom, and I sat on it. Lubrication wasn’t what was gooey, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, my God. Libs, that’s disgusting.”
“Tell me about it. I stormed into her room after grabbing the gloves we wash dishes with and threw it right in her face. I was too grossed out to enjoy the fact it stuck to her forehead, the open end dangling right over her mouth.”
I make a gagging sound then we both start giggling.
“Enough about my disgusting roommate and sad, single life. How are things with my big brother?”
“Pretty amazing, to be honest. He’s got a lot going on at Dirty, but we pretty much spend every chance we get outside of that together. We’re going on a little vacation in a few weeks to the mountains. I can’t wait to get away, just the two of us, and spend some time together.”
“Don’t make me gag again,” Liberty jokes.
“Did you know he hasn’t taken a vacation in over ten years?”
Pain slashes across her face, and I shiver. I knew he wasn’t telling me everything when I asked him why he had waited so long.
“Sounds about right. We took a big trip with Mom before she got too sick right after he graduated college. I was still a little bratty teenager, but that was one of the best two weeks of my life.”
She gets quiet, and I reach over the table, taking her hand. “I’m not close with my parents. When I was born, they were both in their late forties. Accident of the century, I was. They didn’t know what to do with me, never have. When I turned seventeen, they moved to Florida, and I finished high school with no parents. I call them a few times a year, you know all the important dates, but we’re basically strangers who share DNA. I won’t pretend to know what it feels like to lose a parent who cares, but I have a feeling she’s with you every day, Libs, and the memories she left with you will never be able to pack up and leave for Florida.”
“Damn, Nik, that’s some shit.”
I laugh. “Old news, but I don’t want you to think that I’m not sensitive to what you and Shane have lost.” I lean back when the waiter comes over and places our food down. When he walks away, I look back up at Liberty. “Shane told me you haven’t spoken any French since she passed.” I keep my voice low, holding her gaze and making sure I don’t push her into something upsetting.
She’s quiet, moving her food around with the fork. Just like her brother, I can tell when she’s deep in thought. They both nibble on their bottom lip and frown with their eyebrows. When she looks back in my direction, I was relieved to see her eyes dry. I had been worried all week about bringing this up in order to ask her for a favor.
“At first, I refused because I was angry she left us. How shitty is that? She was the one who died of cancer, not like she had a choice. Then, over time, I just got used to not speaking in any language other than English. None of my friends know French, so it wasn’t unnatural that I didn’t continue. Every now and then, Shane tries to force my hand and only speaks to me in French. I can see it hurts him when I refuse to reply in kind. I think now it’s more that I’m afraid it will hurt him to actually hear me speak our mother’s language again than not.”
I shake my head, placing my fork and the tortilla down. I take her hand in mine, holding her gaze across the table. “Sweetheart, he loves you so much, and all he cares about is you being happy. You two and the relationship you have … it’s something incredible. I think the day you give him that gift, you’ll be healing something in both of you.”
“Maybe,” she whispers, her voice thick.
“Maybe,” I parrot. “How about … baby steps?” I offer, giving her a sympathetic smile.
“Baby steps?”
“Yeah. I need some help,” I tell her, letting go of her hand and reaching over to my purse to pull out the French for Dummies book I picked up before coming here.
Liberty, sadness forgotten, tosses her head back and laughs. “Oh, this is hilarious.”
I hold it up to my face, give her my best puppy dog eyes. “Baby steps?” I say again.
She nods, her shoulders still shaking with laughter. “Yeah, Nik. Baby steps sound really good.”
The rest of our lunch is full of hilarious banter while my friendship grows even stronger with Shane’s sister. By the time we finished our lunch and paid, the Cage boys had already slipped out without us noticing. I make a note to ask Ember when the next big gathering is with all her parents’ friends and their kids, vowing to drag Shane and Liberty with me to the next one so I can introduce her to a real man. Without any plans, we leave and head to the local Starbucks and crack the spine in my new book. Then we take baby steps, and I do my best to soak everything in.
Even if I never remember a word that Liberty taught me, hearing her lyrical voice softly teaching me how to speak the words I was looking for and speaking the beautiful language her mother had wanted her to know so badly was worth every painful second that I butchered it.