The clock on the wall of the ballroom read ten after ten in the morning. Kate was supposed to be here by now. Liam figured she might be a little later this morning based on how she’d reacted last night when he’d confronted her after dinner. But at this point, he wasn’t sure if he should go looking for her or give her another couple minutes.
The organizer for the event stopped by his table and flashed him a smile. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and her gaze trailed over the room. “Is your partner here yet?”
Liam cleared his throat and shook his head. “She was feeling under the weather last night.”
She frowned, tilting her head to the side. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Her gaze dipped to the tray of cookies and the brightly colored frosting. “If she doesn’t show up in the next ten minutes, your team will forfeit. Do you think she’s on her way?”
Liam’s attention shifted to the clock on the wall again. “Would you be able to hold off long enough for me to go get her? Maybe she slept through her alarm.”
The woman clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Unfortunately, we have to start right on time. But if you think you can track her down and get back on time, you’re welcome to try.”
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, almost dancing as he fidgeted. This was something Kate had wanted. He wasn’t as invested in winning as she had been. If she didn’t want to show for this event, she was practically demonstrating that she’d lost interest.
The only thing that didn’t sit right with him was the fact that she hadn’t called. Wait. Does she even have my number? That didn’t matter. Kate was the kind of woman who would have come down to tell him she wasn’t interested anymore. She wouldn’t leave him hanging… would she?
That thought made his stomach churn. He hadn’t thought she would abandon him. The feeling was similar to when Sarah had left him. Granted, she’d left him under different circumstances. She hadn’t had a choice. It was strange to feel an almost identical sting.
His jaw tightened, and he gave the woman a sharp nod. “I’ll see what I can do.” Without waiting for a response, he headed straight for the double doors. The cacophony of excited voices died away as he neared the elevator. One of the things he’d liked about Kate was how thoughtful she was. He loved that he could talk to her.
But last night, she’d shown a completely different, unexpected side to her. She’d thrown up some walls and refused to talk to him. Something was going on. He didn’t know what it was, but now he was going to find out. She didn’t have the luxury of keeping this secret. Not anymore.
He didn’t care if they barely knew one another. She would talk to him and bring everything out into the open.
The elevator doors opened, and he half-expected to find her standing there with a chagrined smile on her face. His heart dropped when the elevator stood empty before him. She wasn’t coming.
His disappointment quickly shifted into something foreign and distasteful. Fury swirled in his gut, mixing with the disappointment and something else. Pain.
Okay, he was jumping to conclusions. What if she really was sick? For all he knew, she could be hovering over a toilet, her skin pale. As much as he didn’t want her to be suffering, that idea sat better with him. That would be a better excuse for standing him up.
Liam made it to her room and knocked on the door. He glanced down the hallway, not finding any activity. He hadn’t passed her on the way down. There was a chance she’d gone somewhere else to be alone.
He shook off that thought. She would have told me, he insisted to himself. His attempt to swallow the lump in the back of his throat was a sad one. It continued to grow, and he almost felt like the air around him was being sucked into a vortex.
This time, he clenched his hand into a fist and thudded it on the door, making sure to keep his voice controlled. “Kate!” he called. “Kate, I need to speak to you.” The last thing he needed was to scare her off.
Something crashed in her room, and his heart jumped into his throat. She was in there. Relief and concern were quickly replaced by that familiar aching in his chest. “Kate!” He pounded on the door again. “I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”
The door swooshed open, and she stood before him with red-rimmed eyes. Black mascara smudged beneath her eyes and her brows lowered. “What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed as she poked her head into the hall and looked both ways. “You’re going to get us in trouble.”
His features softened as he took a step forward and pushed on her door. “We need to talk.”
Kate gasped and jumped out of the way. She hovered near the door, her back pressed against the wall.
Liam turned around and faced her, his arms crossed tightly against his chest if only to prevent him from pulling her into his arms and asking what he could do to fix whatever had happened. She’d been crying, and by the looks of it, she hadn’t gotten much sleep either.
Her dark eyes flitted around the room then came to land on him briefly before falling to the floor. “What do you want, Liam?”
He let out a sound that resembled a disbelieving laugh blended with a huff. “What?”
She forced a heavy sigh. “You’re the one who wants to talk. What is it?”
Liam stared at her dumbfounded. “I don’t know.”
Kate’s features scrunched up. “You came to talk, and you don’t know what you want to talk about?”
He jabbed a finger at the door. “You said you were going to be at the cookie decorating thing, and you stood me up.”
The angry, defensive expression fell from her face, and she looked at the floor again.
“Yeah. Let’s start there.” He lifted his chin. “Why didn’t you show?”
“Maybe I didn’t want to waste my time anymore.”
Liam shook his head. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’m not going to win anyway. What’s the point?”
His brows creased, and he took a step toward her. She stiffened, causing him to stop before he got too close. “What’s the matter, Kate? Why won’t you talk to me?” He couldn’t hide the pain in his voice. It was like his chest had been torn open. He was allowing her to see exactly how he felt. And surprisingly, he didn’t care, not if it would help. “Kate… please tell me what happened,” he whispered.
Her head jerked up and she shot an angry look at him. “You want to know what happened? Men. That’s what happened.” Her voice was loud and full of rage.
His hands dropped to his sides, helpless. What was he supposed to say to that?
She took a step toward him, closing the distance between them, and poked him hard in the chest. “There are no good men left in this world, and you proved it last night.”
“What?” He grabbed her wrist with his hand.
Kate attempted to turn away from him, but he pulled on her, forcing her to take another small step toward him.
“What on earth are you talking about, Kate? I’m done with trying to decode what you’re saying. Just spit it out like an adult.”
The fury in her eyes clouded over with pain, causing another aching strike to his chest. If he wasn’t already pushed to the brink, he would have been more patient with her. The problem was they didn’t have much time. She needed to start talking. Now.
“You’re a cheater,” she spat.
He released her wrist like it had burned him, and his mouth dropped open. “What did you just say?”
Her chin lifted, and the confidence returned to her eyes. “Who’s Rebecca, Liam? Why don’t you tell me all about the girl you’re currently dating? Then try to explain why you had to keep her a secret from me.”
Liam’s eyes searched the ground as if he’d be able to make sense of the direction this conversation had taken. “Rebecc—” His gaze shot up to meet hers. “How do you know about Rebecca?”
“So, you’re not denying it.” She let out a sharp laugh. “That’s just perfect.”
He stepped toward her again. “Kate, how do you know about Rebecca?”
A flicker of fear filled her gaze but disappeared just as quickly. “I saw a message on your phone last night.”
His brows lowered. “You went through my phone?”
Her eyes widened. “What? No! Of course not. But if you’re trying to hide a girlfriend, maybe you should change your settings to make the messages that fill your screen private.” Her voice had turned venomous. “Karma is a funny thing, Liam. It always comes full circle.” She stumbled back a few steps until her hands reached the handle on the door. “You should go.”
“You don’t even want an explanation?” For all the pain and grief that had filled his body moments ago, his chest suddenly felt hollow. So this was how it would end. She’d kick him out of her life without giving him a chance to plead his case.
Her hard gaze confirmed everything running through his mind. Clenching his jaw tightly, he brushed past her and out into the empty hallway. So much for thinking he might have a second chance at finding love. He’d been fortunate enough to find it with Sarah. He’d been a fool to think luck would smile on him and bring him Kate too.