I stood, sending my rocking chair flying back. “Fuck!”
Taylor rose. “Liam, tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me.”
Those words were like being dunked in ice water. After everything that Taylor had been through in the past year, the last thing she needed was me being an asshole and freaking her out. I pulled her into a quick hug and kissed the top of her head before releasing her. “Remember that fan I told you about?”
Taylor paled. “Is everything okay?”
“With the fan?” I shook my head. “As far as I know, she’s fine. But the press just found out last night, and now they know I’m in Sutter Lake. There are probably paparazzi already here or at least on their way.”
Confusion filled Taylor’s expression. “That sucks that your hideout’s been revealed, but just stay put, and they’ll lose interest eventually.”
She didn’t get it. My stomach roiled with how careless I’d been. “Taylor, you can’t tell anyone.”
“Okay…”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose. “Tessa’s hiding from an abusive ex. If one townsperson tells a member of the media that they’ve seen the two of us, it doesn’t matter if I stay hidden. They’ll take photos of Tessa, and her ex will know exactly where she is.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. “Tessa knows why you’re hiding out here, right? That there was a chance the press could descend in a feeding frenzy?”
I grimaced. “Not exactly.”
“Liam. She deserves to know that. You need to warn her right now.”
I tapped the screen on my phone again and hit Tessa’s contact. It rang and rang before going to voicemail. “No answer.”
Taylor grabbed her purse. “Come on, I’ll drive. With any luck, the paps won’t have made it here yet.”
We jogged to Taylor’s SUV and hopped in. Gravel spun as Taylor reversed. I stared out the windshield, willing the vehicle to go faster. “Please hurry.”
Taylor gripped the wheel tighter. “I’m going as fast as is safe.”
I caught her gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to Tessa because of me.”
31
Tessa
Ihummed along to the tune on the radio as I rolled out dough for a new sugar cookie recipe I was trying today. I didn’t usually hum. My singing voice was more likely to call dogs than match the notes of whatever song was playing, but I didn’t care. Because I was happy.
For the first time in a long time, I had hope for my future. Hope that I would eventually be able to extricate myself from the shadows of my past and that on the other side, there would be a beautiful life. I grinned down at the dough, thinking about how much fun I’d had at dinner last night. How I’d gossiped with the girls and laughed when the guys gave Liam a hard time.
It was so simple. But the gift of belonging was everything.
“Someone has that falling in love glow.”
I turned at the sound of Jensen’s voice. “I don’t know about that.” I did know, and I was pretty sure I’d already fallen.
Jensen grinned. “Whatever you say. I think the breakfast rush is finally over.” She glanced out the kitchen door to the front windows. “But I’ve seen a lot more cars drive by than normal. There must be something going on I don’t know about. You might want to double the recipe for whatever you’re making next.”
“Will do—”
My words were cut off by a voice on the radio saying a familiar name. “Liam Fairchild is in the news again today. Rumors are circulating that a woman he was involved with attempted suicide in the singer’s hotel room after he broke things off with her. Others are saying it was a fan who was stalking Liam. What we know for sure is that he was the one who found her.”
My stomach pitched. The man continued. “Fairchild’s team hasn’t responded to our request for comment, but it turns out he’s been hiding out in our neck of the woods. Sutter Lake. Can you believe that, folks? We have a reporter on the ground, and we’re getting word that he’s been seen cozying up to a local woman in recent months.”
Jensen unplugged the radio in a swift motion. “Are you okay?”
Oh, God.There had been so much more to this story than Liam had told me. He could be in real danger. My vision tunneled slightly as I could feel the wall of protection I’d built begin to crumble around me.Icould be in real danger. “What am I going to do, J? What if someone tells them my name? Where I work? Garrett could find me.”
