A sob lurched out of her. “When would I have told him? He cut off communication with me because his newgirlfriendwas getting pissed off about me calling him. That’s what he said on the phone.”
Liza dropped her face into her hands, her weeping intensifying to near-hysterical levels. The fuzziness of her head and the shredded feeling of her throat increased ten-fold. Nothing made sense, and she honestly believed nothing would ever stop hurting again.
At some point in the haze of ferocious sobbing, Liza felt Brennan join her on her side of the table, wrapping his arms around her and letting her hide against his shirt.
“I don’t know what to say, I’m so sorry, I wish I knew what to do,” he seemed to be saying, but nothing made sense on so many levels. Everything was dizzy and disoriented and physically painful. Liza clung to him so closely that she was now almost in his lap, as though his inherent kindness could be an oasis where the shattering, stunning pain of her loss would cease to exist.
“I need to go, I need to go, I need to go,” Liza found herself blubbering as she pushed away from him.
Brennan held her more firmly. “We’re going to go. I’m going to take you home. But first, try to listen for a second, L. I promise you all of this will work out. You have a lot of pain, but you’re going to overcome that. You are strong and resolute and intelligent, and you will get through this, but, honey.” He tucked his face over hers and kissed her forehead. “You’re going to have tell him this at some point.”
A scoff burst from her throat, reigniting her tears. “I can’t.”
“You’re going to have to. This secret is festering inside you, and it’s going to keep breaking you down and hurting you like this. The longer you keep it from him, the worse it’s going to get for you. And the longer you wait to tell him, the harder that’s going to be.”
“Oh yeah, well I’m sure I don’t have to worry about telling him now thatyouknow,” Liza snapped.
Brennan cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. “I will not tell him this.”
She met his eyes with tearful defiance. “Why? You’re onhisside.”
“I’m not. I’m not just yourex’sfriend. I’m your friend. I love you. You and me are a unit independent of him and me. Know that and understand that.”
Weeks ago, Brennan had said he felt a connection with her when they met, which prompted him to establish this unusual closeness with her. Liza hadn’t really understood it, because she’d never heard of or experienced a connection with anyone that was strictly platonic in nature. The only connection like that she’d felt with anyone was Connor. The idea was foreign. But right then, looking at this beautiful man with an even more beautiful heart, Liza suddenly got it.
Regardless of what happened with Connor, and the record label, and living in New Orleans, Brennan Riley was going to be a permanent fixture in her life. Like some undefined relative that was simply bound to her. Forever. She’d never had anything like that before, nor had it occurred to her to want it, but in the midst of such emotional turmoil, she couldn’t have appreciated or loved it more.
A sudden shiver caused Liza’s body to tremble.
“This café is really cold,” she mumbled. Brennan was still cupping her chin.
His eyes flitted from hers and skated across her forehead, then her cheeks. “I think you have a fever, darlin’.” His hand rubbed up and down her arm, and she shivered again. “You feel like a tiny, little furnace.”
She whined and dropped her face to his shoulder. “Everything sucks.”
“I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “But it won’t forever.”
14
Frenchmen Street, New Orleans
The coffee was still sitting in the carafe, and Connor was still stirring the milk, and the milk had been bubbling in the saucepan for way too long, and Liza was late for work for the first time ever. Now the café au lait was going to be subpar, and that was particularlybadtoday, given what happened on Friday.
Wherewasshe anyway?
Liza never arrived later than 8:30. Ninety-five percent of the time, she was seated at her desk by 8:25 on the dot. Connor checked the digital clock on the stove for the umpteenth time. It was now 8:57, and there was still no Liza, and now the milk was ruined.
Connor switched off the burner and dumped the milk, and he knew exactly why she was missing for the first time ever—because he was an asshole to herandBrennan, and they went home together on Friday.
More specifically, he’d snapped at her at Oscar’s show on Friday because the Captain had shown up unexpectedly and threw him right back into his loop of self-loathing—and Connor didn’t know how to cope with anything unpleasant except by getting really fucking pissed off and lashing out at people.
Andnow…now that Liza wasn’t even at work today…Connor guessed that she and Brennan had probably hooked up, might even bea couplenow—given what Brennan said before he went after her—and Liza had probably quit like she’d threatened to weeks ago.
He set the saucepan in the sink and rinsed it out. While he was rinsing, he heard the front door open and close, and he dropped the saucepan to dart out of the kitchen. Hooking around the corner into the hall, Connor skidded to a halt just before he slammed into Brennan.
Connor stood up straight, crossed his arms over his chest, and took a wide stance, blocking Brennan from passing him. “What up, Riley? How was your weekend?”
Brennan stared at him through limo-tinted shades, holding a to-go coffee from Café Beignet, set his jaw, and then shouldered past him. “Fine.”
