Who knew all it would take for Kate to change her mind about him was winning the karaoke event? The light returned to her features, and if possible, she was even more beautiful than she had been on stage.
Liam swallowed hard. I shouldn’t be thinking that way. Kate wasn’t in the right frame of mind to jump into a relationship. But even as she kept babbling excitedly, he knew he was already going down the wrong path. His interest in her had already started, maybe even as early as when they’d sat together on the plane.
Kate sighed. “What other activities are there? I thought I saw ice-skating and cookie decorating. Or was it a gingerbread-house-making contest?”
“Whoa.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s all going to work out. Take a breath.” This was such a different side of her, and it was absolutely adorable. “But let’s rewind a moment. You still haven’t told me what you were going to say.”
Almost immediately, she seemed to grow uncomfortable. “I don’t even know why I thought it was okay to ask—”
“Kate.” He laughed. “Just say it.”
She took in a deep breath and let it out through pursed lips. Her eyes darted toward the door at the wintery scene around them then back to his face. “I was wondering why you were here alone. I told you my story…” She shook her head. “Of course, if you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. I was just…”
His heart twisted, and his hands dropped to his sides. He’d known it was only a matter of time before she asked. And his wound wasn’t as fresh as hers. Liam pushed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “It’s not a big deal.” He raked a hand through his hair. “My girlfriend was really into meteor showers. She found out there would be one this weekend over this area. I booked us this retreat because it was the only way we could guarantee seeing it.”
Liam let out a shuddering breath and peeked at her. Saying it out loud was harder than he’d expected. Her eyes were a mask of unreadability. He couldn’t tell if she thought it was romantic or if she pitied him. Why won’t she say something? Anything. The only thing he could read was curiosity. She wanted him to go on.
“Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and passed away six months ago.”
Kate gasped. Her eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Emotion burned behind his eyes. He hadn’t shed tears over Sarah in at least two months. But something about telling Kate his story had dragged all those latent feelings to the surface once again.
The lump in his throat seemed to have grown, and no amount of swallowing could dislodge it. He cleared his throat and spun to face the railing again. Leaning against it, he stared down at the ice-skating rink. “She was a singer too.” Peeking at Kate, he offered her a sad smile. “When she sang, I swear angels descended from the clouds to join in.”
Kate moved closer and placed her hand on his forearm. She didn’t say anything, though it looked like she wished she could. Not surprising. People never knew what to say to someone after hearing this kind of news.
He let out a sad chuckle, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. I completely ruined your excitement. I didn’t mean to bring all the doom and gloom on us.”
Her hand squeezed where she’d placed it on his arm. “Don’t apologize. I’m impressed you came anyway.” She bit down on her lower lip. “Do you need the refund too?” Her voice was small, uncertain.
Liam shook his head. “No. I came because I promised her I would.” He placed his hand over Kate’s. “She insisted that I come no matter what happened to her, so here I am.” His voice cracked, and he forced a smile.
Kate blew out another heavy sigh. “That’s both terribly romantic and heartbreaking. I don’t know if I would have been able to do it. She must have been something special.”
“She was.” He broke eye contact and glanced down at the skaters again. “It’s interesting. Out of everyone I know, you have got to be one of the only ones who seems to understand why this is important. My friends have all told me I need to move on.”
“I hear you.”
Liam glanced at her again.
She hurried to continue. “My friend says I needed to come for ‘closure.’” She muttered something under her breath he didn’t quite catch then met his gaze. “Except all I can think about is how this was supposed to be my honeymoon.” Her gaze shifted to him then away. “I guess we make quite a pair, huh?”
A crooked smile touched his lips. “I guess we do.” She was close enough, he could see the little flecks of amber in her blue eyes. A breeze picked up, tugging on the loose strands of her hair and giving him a whiff of its floral scent.
Without realizing the implications, he reached up and tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear. His fingertips brushed against her cool skin, and she shuddered. Liam’s gaze dipped down to her lips—the lips she had a habit of nibbling when she seemed nervous about something. Those lips he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss. Lips he could warm up if given the chance.
“Look, there they are!”
Kate jumped at the interruption. Liam stepped back, forcing himself to put at least two feet between them, then tucked his traitorous hand into his pocket. They both turned as a couple of women scurried up to Kate.
“You were so amazing on stage. I was just telling Maddy here that you should sing ‘All I Want for Christmas.’”
Mandy’s head bobbed enthusiastically. “You would be perfect for that song.”
Kate’s gaze bounced to Liam, her cheeks filling with a rosy hue.
The first woman reached out and grabbed both Kate’s hands in hers. “Come on. No one was as good as you were. It’s getting to a point we’ve contemplated hiding the power cord. We can’t stand to listen to one more off-key Christmas song.”
Liam’s eyes didn’t leave Kate’s face as she lifted her shoulders in question. He nodded and waved at her to go. She needed this. And if he were honest with himself, he did too.