Page 31 of The Marriage Playbook

A moment of silence. “Liam.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t do anything, I promise. Just got a little drunk and snapped at a guy.”

“I’m on my way,” she said. “Don’t go anywhere. Don’t talk to anyone. Just wait outside and I’ll come and get you.”

He had never been more ashamed in his life. “I really am sorry, Cara…”

“I’m just glad you called me,” she said. “This could have been a lot worse, Liam. We’ve made a lot of progress.”

“Do you think I ruined it?”

“No,” she said quietly. “I think you might ruin it if you keep this sort of thing up. But right now…we’re okay. It’s good that you called me.” She paused. “Thank you for trusting me, Liam.”

Who said anything about trusting?

But he did trust her, he realized. She was absolutely right. That was the reason he had called her when things had gotten sticky. Something in him had known that she wouldn’t give up on him.

And I guess I owe her the same. I shouldn’t have given up either.

Next time she comes up with a plan—no matter how crazy it feels, no matter how much I hate it—I’ll do it.

Cara won’t steer me wrong.

CHAPTER 16

CARA

Aweek after the disastrous football game, Cara lay awake in the middle of the night, staring up at the ceiling above her bed.

Things had been going better since then. She and Liam had settled into a pattern. Most mornings, they would make a public appearance of some kind—most often it was just going for a walk in the park near his house, but they had also been to the beach and to a few restaurants, and most recently to the zoo. It had gotten easier with each passing day. At first they had struggled to speak to one another, but now the energy between the two of them was more natural. Being out with him felt like being out with a friend. Cara even found herself looking forward to the next day’s outings.

That wasn’t what kept her up tonight, though. Tomorrow the two of them had plans to see a concert—a jazz musician was playing at a local bar, and Cara had decided it would be good for Liam to visit a bar in a more mature context. It was hard to picture him getting into any scraps at a jazz lounge. And she was looking forward to hearing the music.

Still, her mind wouldn’t settle down and let her sleep.

With a sigh, she sat up in bed and pushed off the plush comforter. This bed was so comfortable. She’d never had any complaints about her own bed back at home, but after sleeping on these expensive sheets on this perfectly soft mattress, it was going to be hard to go back to what she was used to. She’d manage, of course, but she had to admit she was enjoying her stay here.

And that had nothing to do with the sheets.

She opened the door to her bedroom and went out into the hall. The lights were dim, but not pitch-dark, and after a moment she figured out why—light was coming from down the hall. A door was cracked open.

The library.

She’d been in it a handful of times, though she never stayed long. Something about that room made her feel as if she was overstepping her bounds, as if she wasn’t supposed to be there. It felt like she was reading Liam’s diary. Books were so personal. She hadn’t been able to stop herself from looking at what he had on the shelves, though. It was adventure fiction, for the most part. He thought he was Robinson Crusoe.

She had never seen him in there.

She tiptoed toward the door, wondering how he would respond to seeing her. He must not be too bent on privacy, she decided, or he would have closed the door all the way. He knew she was in the house.

She nudged the door open with her toe.

Liam was standing with his back to her in front of one of the shelves. He didn’t turn around when she entered. At first, she thought maybe he hadn’t noticed her.

“You can come in,” he said.

She felt hot with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

He turned. “You aren’t disturbing me.”