Page 42 of The Marriage Playbook

“I saw it,” she confirmed. “I don’t know how much I buy it, though. That woman sounded kind of unhinged.”

“She was something,” Liam agreed. “I met her one time, to tell you the truth. I don’t know that much about her.”

“So she probably just did all that to try to get famous,” Megan said. “I figured it was something like that.”

Liam didn’t feel as if he could confirm or deny that suggestion, so he said nothing.

“But if I’m not overstepping,” Megan said carefully. “I wondered…are you actually with Cara Bailey?”

The sound of Cara’s name knifed him in the gut. “You know about her?”

“Well, sure. She’s been all over the news ever since your surprise wedding,” Megan laughed. “Half of my friends are convinced she’s a gold-digger, but I always thought the love story was real. Anyway…I just don’t want to make any trouble for you if the two of you are still involved. I don’t know how she would feel about you sitting here having a drink with me.”

“Well, I’d have to say that’s not any of her concern anymore,” Liam said, surprised by how much the words hurt.

Megan nodded slowly. “All right, understood,” she said. “In that case…what does your evening look like? I get off at five, and if you’d like, we could go out and have a little fun.” She grinned. “Nothing serious. I’m sure that’s not what you’re after. But I’m a fan, and besides, it would be good to have a story or two that I could tell my ex if he comes lurking around.”

It was exactly the kind of opportunity Liam would have gone for in his old life. Megan was a very attractive woman, and she was forward enough to make moves. The fact that she wasn’t looking for anything serious made what she was offering that much more alluring. They could just have one fun evening, see where things went, and then go their separate ways.

On paper, this was a perfect offer.

But when he imagined himself leaving the bar with her, all he could think about was Cara.

She’d hate it, of course. Whatever she was feeling toward him right now would be compounded by the realization that he had been out with another woman. The two of them had just been talking about exploring what was between them, and she’d be appalled to think she mattered so little to him that he had been able to run right off with someone else.

A part of him wanted to do it anyway. A part of him enjoyed the thought of her being angry like that. It would mean she still cared. Maybe it would wake her up to the fact that in his hour of need, she had completely shut down. She had offered him nothing but career advice when what he had wanted was comfort. All he had wanted was to know that for once in his life someone cared about him, and she couldn’t give him that.

So why shouldn’t he go out with Megan? Have a little fun, for once? It had been so long since he’d been able to just relax, have fun, not worry…

That’s not true, though, is it? Because that’s how it was with Cara. With Cara, I didn’t have to worry. Not lately, anyway. With her, everything was easier than it has ever been with anyone else in my life.

He knew it was true.

And that was the reason he couldn’t say yes to Megan. Because no matter how much fun she seemed, no matter how attractive and easygoing she was…she wasn’t Cara.

Her eyes sparkled, but they wouldn’t go soft when she sensed he was struggling the way Cara’s had. Her hand wouldn’t find his in moments of stress. She wouldn’t bite back a laugh when he had said something unintentionally funny. She wouldn’t talk back to him the way Cara did, making him forget that he was a famous name, making him feel as though the two of them were on equal footing—something he hadn’t felt with a woman in as long as he could remember.

Megan seemed great. She really did. But she couldn’t give him what he wanted.

Maybe no one would be able to do that now. Maybe Cara was the only one he would be able to feel that way with ever again.

“I think I’m going to go home, actually,” he said, giving Megan a smile to let her know that it wasn’t a rejection of her personally. “It’s been a rough couple of days. But thank you, it was nice to meet a fan.”

That was what she was, really. And it wasn’t nothing. It was nice to have fans. It was nice to know they still existed, after everything he had been through lately.

But Cara hadn’t been a fan of his. She’d been something more.

And that was what he wanted. Not a fan, not a publicist…Cara.

It doesn’t matter. It doesn't matter what I want, because she was never willing to be that. When push came to shove, she was always going to be my publicist first and foremost, and there isn’t any getting around it. That’s just the way it has to be.

He let out a sigh. Suddenly, he was realizing that he didn’t want to be in this bar anymore.

Whatever places like this had done for him in the past, that was gone too.

CHAPTER 21

CARA