Unsung (11 page)

“You talking from experience?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, I think I've already proven the stupid part in regards to her.”

“Yeah, and maybe you aren't the only one. Could it be possible she felt the same way and ran scared? You did say she'd just recently gotten out of a serious relationship.”

“Possibly.” Liam closed his eyes, the spinning of the fan not making his head feel any clearer. “Doesn't matter now. The only thing to do is move on.” He waved his hand blindly in the air. But his words came out hollow, no conviction. Because at the end of the day—infuriated with her or not—it didn't
feel
done. He wanted to tell himself that was the alcohol thinking for him.

It wasn't.

“I don't believe that.” And apparently neither did his brother. “If you really thought it was done, you wouldn't be this angry about it.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Oh no, of this I know. There are few women in the world that can inspire that much passion in a man. And I've never seen you like this before.”

Liam pulled his head from the back of the chair and opened his eyes. “Because nothing like this has ever happened to me before.” And as he stared out into the darkness he had a pretty good idea it never would again.

So really, anyway he looked at it he was fucked.

Royally.

Liam adjusted his tie for about the fortieth time that night as he scanned the packed ballroom of the Brogan-Meyers Hotel. What he was looking for? He had no idea.

The hundred or so tables filling more than half the room were covered with black tablecloths and gray roses. Fitting as black and gray were the Stampede's colors. A deep male voice crooned through the speakers that surrounded the space, giving the people on the dance floor an excuse to pull their partners close. Waiters with trays of alcohol and the tiniest food he'd ever seen circled around the room.

“Stop doing that.” Adele swatted at Liam's hand. “I don't think I've ever seen a man fidget as much as you.”

Well what did she expect? He was not a suit kind of guy, and the long gray noose around his neck was beginning to get to him. But his sister had been insistent on the tie, saying he'd stick out like a sore thumb without one. His only consolation was that she'd let him wear his cowboy boots.

And yes, he did mean
let him.

But really, arguing with her was pointless. One, she always won. And two, when it came to fashion, she was always right.

The girl had the unmistakable talent to capture any time period with a skilled perfection, and she tended to bounce around eras when it came to her own style as well. Tonight she had on a black and gold lace dress that he suspected was from somewhere around the fifties, though he wasn't sure if she bought it or made it. Either was a possibility.

At the age of twenty-five, Adele was the head costume designer on one of the most popular shows on television.
Ponce
was the Florida version of
Downton Abbey,
taking place at the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine during the early nineteen hundreds. It was full of more drama than anything he'd ever watched before, and yes, he did watch it.

What? It was his sister's show. Plus, he wanted to know if Beauregard was going to end up with Abigail or Rosamund. His money was on Rosamund.

“Champagne?” A waitress stopped in front of them offering a tray of glasses.

“Please.” Adele smiled as she reached up to grab one. Liam's eyes focused on the tattoo on her right wrist of a threaded needle and a stitched heart. Much to their mother's dismay, he wasn't the only James with an ink addiction.

“I'm good, but thank you.” Liam held up his glass of bourbon before he took a sip. The waitress moved on to the people next to them and he found himself scanning the room again.

“What are you looking for? An escape route?”

He turned back to his sister and shook his head. “No. Just looking around.”

“Mmm, hmm.” Her eyes narrowed and he suddenly found himself under the type of scrutiny that would make lesser men cower. Adele had taken more after their mother's Spanish side of the family than their father's Irish side. Her sharp golden brown eyes missed next to nothing, and baby of the family or not, she had the ability to make him squirm. “What's going on with you anyway?”

“What makes you think something is going on with me?”

“Because I'm not stupid. And you and Logan sat out on the porch last night getting drunk.”

“We do that all the time. Besides you and Abby sat inside getting drunk. What's going on with you?”

“Nice subject change.” She frowned at him before she reached up and pushed a dark brown curl behind her ear. Her hair was naturally straight, but she'd done something ridiculously complicated with it tonight. Some kind of fancy, curled and pinned just right, up-do thing that no doubt matched the era of her dress. And she pulled it off elegantly even with the tiny diamond sticking out of her nose and the streaks of bright red in her hair.

“I like to think so.”

“You're a pain in the ass you know that?” Her frown deepened. “And I'm not going to be distracted, so what's going on with you?”

“How do you know that it wasn't Logan needing a drunken conversation? Something could be
up
with him.”

“How do I
know
nothing is up with our brother? Because he looks like that the majority of the time now,” she said as she pointed across the room, and Liam's gaze followed automatically.

Logan was standing behind Abby, one of his hands on her hip as he bent his head low to whisper in her ear. He was about a foot taller than her, but she made a little bit of an effort to close the gap with her heels. She was stunning in her red dress, and there was no doubt she'd worn it in an effort to tempt Logan as he had a thing about seeing her in the color. He had nicknamed her Red after all, though that had more to do with her hair than anything else.

Abby turned to face Logan, both of his hands now gripping her waist as she ran her palms up the lapel of his tux. Whatever she said to him had him grinning down at her like a fool.

“Logan is so beyond happy that it's ridiculous,” Adele continued, and Liam turned back to face her. “Not only because he's in love, but because his team just won the Stanley Cup. Yet you,” she poked him in the shoulder, “spend a few hours outside on the porch with him getting drunk and he comes inside looking somber. So yes, I know it's you. Who is she?”

“How the
hell
?” He looked at her, shaking his head.

“I really wish you and Logan would give me more credit and stop trying to hide things from me.”

Yeah, maybe that was his own fault. Underestimating Adele was never smart.

“Her name is Harper. I met her a few weeks ago in Nashville.”

“Groupie?” she asked, narrowing her eyes in that intimidation stare he was so used to.

Again, Adele might be the baby of the family but she was just as protective of Logan and Liam as they were of her. She in no way approved of the hangers on, using her brothers because they were somewhat famous. Though, Logan had a lot more stardom than Liam did, and the rink bunnies were more prolific than the music groupies.

“No, not a groupie.” Liam shook his head.

Adele opened her mouth to ask something else but was interrupted as they were joined by Logan, Abby, and two teenage boys.

Apparently the rest of this conversation was going to have to wait.

“I wanted to introduce you guys to Dale Rigels,” Logan said, patting the back of the shorter, and slightly thinner of the two. “And Hamilton O'Bryan.” He then patted the back of the taller boy with thick black-framed glasses and a goofy grin.

The names immediately registered in Liam's brain, and he forced himself to switch gears from the conversation he'd just been having with his sister to focusing on the two boys.

Last February, Logan had gone to visit a kid in remission. It was something Abby had set up when she'd still worked for the Stampede PR department. Abby's best friend lived in the same small Florida town as the two boys, and they were all family friends.

Logan was never one to jump in the spotlight. He liked his private life private and wasn't about being exploited, or exploiting anyone else for that matter. He firmly believed that just because he was semi-famous didn't give anyone the right to know about his personal business. It was one of the reasons he and Abby had butted heads so hard in the beginning. He'd been pretty unwilling to work with her.

But when she came to Logan and asked him to visit Dale, he'd said yes without hesitation. If there was one thing that he couldn't say no to, it was a kid in need. And he hadn't stopped with that one visit, either. He'd developed a relationship with Dale and Dale's best friend Hamilton. Keeping up with Dale's treatments, knowing that the kid was in remission, inviting him to Stampede events, and even paying for the kid's medical bills.

That was just the type of guy Logan was, biggest heart on the planet.

“It's great to finally meet you,” Liam said, shaking both boys' hands in turn. Adele did the same, smiling warmly at both of them, clearly knowing exactly who they were as well.

“You know who we are?” Hamilton asked in awe.

“Yeah, Logan talks about you both all the time.”

“But you're…you're Liam James.”

“Hamilton here is a bit of a fan,” Logan explained.

“Are you kidding? What you can do with an electric guitar is ridiculous. That part in the chorus of ‘My Kinda Summer' is genius.”

“Genius?” Adele raised her eyebrows. “I believe that's a first.”

“Thanks.” Liam shook his head at his sister. “You play?” he asked, returning his focus to Hamilton.

“Guitar? A little. I'm not that great.”

“Don't let him fool you,” Dale said. “He plays about ten different instruments.”

“Really? Which one is your strongest?”

“The piano.”

“Nice.” Liam nodded. “Well, next time we're in the same area be sure to have your guitar. We can play together.”

“You're serious?”

“Absolutely.”

At that moment another guy joined the group. He had about an inch in height on Liam, and his arms were massive and looked to be testing the jacket of his navy blue suit. The short dark blond hair on the top of his head matched the length of the beard on his face.

Abby stepped in, making quick introductions. “This is Bennett Hart, Hamilton's brother-in-law. And, Bennett, these are Logan's siblings, Adele and Liam James.”

“Nice to meet you.” Bennett shook Adele's hand first before he turned to Liam. “Liam James, the singer? I didn't realize the family connection.”

“That's because I only claim him every once in a while,” Logan said before he took a sip of the same bourbon that Liam was drinking. They both were whiskey drinkers.

“You know I don't know what I ever did to the two of you.” Liam shook his head.

“You want a list?” This coming from their mother, who was hand in hand with their father as they joined the group. “Because I can give you one in alphabetical order.”

“Oh great. This is going to be fun. I think I'm going to need another drink before the roast begins.”

“Hmmm.” Adele narrowed her eyes. “With the stuff we've got on you, you might need two.”

“Don't worry.” Logan clapped Liam on the back. “We won't embarrass you in front of everyone. By the way, Mom, Dad, let me introduce you to Dale, Hamilton, and Bennett.”

Dustin and Edie chatted with the three men, both of them knowing the story behind Dale just as much as Liam and Adele.

“So is it just the three of you that were able to make it to tonight's event?”

“No,” Bennett answered. “My wife and our friend are here. But they seem to have disappeared.”

“We didn't disappear,” a blond with curly hair bouncing around her shoulders said as she joined the group, leading a woman who followed behind her. “I was just getting a drink for Harper and me.”

He knew it was her before her name even hit his ears.

Harper's gaze was caught by something on the other side of the room as she joined the group, her head turned away on that slender neck of hers. A neck that was exposed.

He spotted the cluster of freckles that were under her left ear. Freckles he'd kissed more than once. Freckles he'd know anywhere.

Harper was here.

He'd found her.

I
t was one of those slow motion moments, like when Liam had first seen Harper at the bar, where everyone and everything disappeared besides them. As her head turned to face them, his heart started beating out of his chest and he stopped breathing.

And then those violet eyes were on him, going wide as she choked on her drink. She coughed, covering her mouth.

“Are you okay?” the blond with curls asked, turning around.

The sound of someone else's voice so close brought Liam back to the room filled with people and the reality of the situation.

It had been six weeks since he'd seen her. Six weeks of thinking he'd never see her again. Six weeks of being out of his mind, and here she was. Standing in front of him.

“I'm fine,” Harper said when she caught her breath. “Just swallowed wrong.”

“This is my wife Mel,” Bennett said, introducing the new guests to the circle. “And our friend Harper Laurence.”

Harper Laurence.

“And these are Logan's parents, Dustin and Edie James,” Bennett continued with introductions. “His sister, Adele, and his brother, Liam.”

The shock in Harper's eyes was giving way to something else that he wasn't quite sure of. Where he was pretty sure he hadn't breathed since he saw her, he thought she was about to hyperventilate.

“Liam James,” she whispered.

Ahh, so she'd
just
figured it out.

“You want an autograph?” Well, he'd apparently found his breath and his voice. But he couldn't help himself.

“Liam!” his mother gasped. “Don't be impertinent.”

“Don't worry, Mom, Harper and I know each other.” He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her, the smile on his face not one of amusement. “We met a few weeks ago.”

This time it was Mel choking on her drink, coughing hard as she tried to catch her breath. He knew the look in her eyes had nothing to do with him being a singer. Apparently Harper had mentioned him, and that weekend, to her friend.

Liam didn't have to look at his brother or his sister to know that the two of them were playing a tennis match, looking between him and the woman in the blue dress. He couldn't bring himself to look away from her again, afraid that if he did she'd disappear.

“You look
magnificent
as ever, Harper.” His eyes dipped, taking in the rest of her. Her mouth was painted a deep red, and her black hair was up, all piled on top of her head. She was wearing a form-fitting midnight blue dress and those damn bronze strappy heels she'd had on the second night…the last night…the night she'd knelt down on the floor between his legs wearing nothing but those heels and lace.

A blush started to creep up her chest, maybe because the word
magnificent
had her thinking about his mouth on her breasts. Or her completely naked underneath him. He knew that's what it made him think of.

“Holy shit,”
Logan whispered low enough for only Liam to hear, but even at that volume he could clearly hear the surprise in his brother's voice.

Well, he could just join the fucking club.

“Small world, isn't it?” he asked.

“You two know each other?” Abby looked between the two of them, and then her eyes went wide. Apparently she knew a little something about the situation, too. Liam wondered for a brief second if Logan had mentioned something or if she'd heard about it from Harper herself.

Then he realized he didn't care. He didn't care who knew what. All he cared about was the fact that she was here.

What he didn't know was how he felt about it. Yeah he was angry, there was no doubt about that, but a sense of relief was running through him, too. And then there was the need to touch her. He wanted so much to grab her and pull her close. Take her mouth again because it felt like forever since he'd gotten to taste her.

“When did you guys meet?” Bennett asked, looking a little bewildered. He obviously didn't know what was going on, and the only other people in his boat were the two boys, and Liam's parents.

“In Nashville,” Harper answered.

“I had no idea you knew Abby or Logan,” Liam said.

“We met through Abby's best friend Paige. She lives in our hometown and is married to one of our very close friends.” Mel was speaking now, probably trying to take some of the attention off her friend. It didn't work. The majority of the eyes in that circle were on Harper. “We've known Abby for years.”

“Well, isn't that fascinating?” Edie asked, and there was something in her tone that made it clear she was picking up on the tension as well. She might not know what had happened, but she did know her son, and Liam was hiding nothing. He couldn't.

“Yup, fascinating.” He downed the last of his bourbon.

“Where are you guys from?” Dustin asked.

“Mirabelle, Florida,” Bennett answered. “It's a tiny town on the beach about three and a half hours west of here.”

“And the world just keeps getting smaller,” Adele said.

“No kidding.” Harper tipped back the last of her drink.

She'd barely finished it when a waiter came up, taking the empty glasses from the group. Not a second later there was another waiter, offering up some filled glasses.

“No, thank you.” Harper shook her head. “Actually, I need to get some air. Liam, do you have a second?”

His instincts were at war with each other. Part of him really wanted to be the arrogant bastard he knew was in there and not give her anything she wanted. She hadn't given him the courtesy, so why should he give it to her?

But that part of him was small in comparison to what the rest of him was screaming for…to get her alone and get some answers.

“Sure.” He nodded his head, finding that he wouldn't have been able to say no, pissed or not.

Harper gave a friendly smile to the group, one that he knew took everything in her to achieve. She reached out as she turned, grabbing Mel's forearm and squeezing tight before she let go, her hand shaking.

So,
that
just happened.

The last three minutes weren't really processing fast enough. Harper was in shock, so unbelievably unprepared for seeing Liam. And not only that, but meeting his entire family.

It's lovely to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. James. And oh, by the way, I'm carrying your grandchild.

Her step faltered at the words that echoed in her head, and she stumbled a little bit. A hand was suddenly at her side, another at the small of her back. And just like that she had the sure and steady weight of Liam's palms on her body, his fingers gently pressing into her and holding her firm.

“You okay?” His mouth was at her ear and she turned instinctively to look at him.

He was so close. Those green-gold eyes of his focused on hers, eyes that hadn't hid anything from her before. But now…now she couldn't decipher them to save her life. There was a hardness to them she didn't recognize.

Hardness she had no doubt put there.

“Harper?”

Just the sound of her name on his lips had her back in that cabin, no one but him and her. Nothing but the feel of his hands on her skin, his mouth at her ear as he moved inside her.

Making love to him had been so real. So raw and bare, everything stripped away besides the two of them.

But that was gone now.

“I'm fine,” she forced herself to say before she turned away from him.

She had no idea how she was going to get through this. She wasn't ready, was supposed to have the rest of the weekend to figure things out, and then even after that there still should've been more time until she was doing
this
. Until she was face-to-face with him and telling him…telling him that she was going to have his child.

There was supposed to be more time.

But she'd known the second she'd seen him there wasn't going to be any more waiting. She couldn't do it. Couldn't possibly be around him for any length of time and not have him know the truth. And she wouldn't be able to walk away without telling him, either.

He deserved to know and she wasn't going to be a coward. Not this time around. She was going to bite the bullet, ready or not.

His hand didn't move from the small of her back as he came up next to her and guided her through the crowded room. His hands on her body were killing her, splitting her heart in two. But she didn't want him to stop, because it was probably going to be the last time he ever touched her like this.

The familiar ache she'd known for the last few weeks settled over her, and her chest tightened for about the eighty-sixth time since she'd seen him. The second they were outside and away from the crowd, his hand disappeared from her body.

Oh, look at that, her chest tightened for the eighty-seventh time.

The ballroom of the Brogan-Meyers Hotel was located on the roof of the building, which just so happened to be the thirtieth floor. There were a few people out on the terrace that ran around the floor, and Harper kept walking until no one was near them.

She went to the railing before she stopped and turned to look at him. Somehow she managed to speak first. “I had no idea you were going to be here.”

“Funnily enough, I guessed that.” His eyes moved over her face, like he was seeing her for the first time. Like he didn't know her. And at the end of it all, they didn't know each other…not really.

Case in point, he was
Liam James
.

The country musician. The country musician whose albums she had. The country musician who wrote the songs “It Ain't Me, It's You”; “Buckle Up”; and “Mother Trucker.” Songs that she'd sang along to quite loudly more times than she could possibly count.

She
knew
his music, so how was it possible that she hadn't made the connection? She'd even had her own private show.

Maybe it was because when he was around her she couldn't think straight to save her life. Maybe that was the reason.

“I owe you an explanation.” She started to run her hands up and down her bare arms.

The sun had only gone down about an hour ago, the temperature dropping to the mid-seventies. It was still warm, even with the breeze coming from the water, but it didn't matter, she suddenly found herself very cold.

“You mean for leaving and not saying good-bye?”

“Yes.” She nodded slowly. “For that.”

“By all means.” He gestured to the space between them. “The floor is yours.”

Her mouth went dry and she regretted downing the last of her ginger ale. “I've thought about this more times than I can count. Gone over what to say to you. But now that you're here, and I'm looking at you, none of it seems right. I don't know where to start…I didn't expect it to be this hard.”

“Did you think it was going to be easy?”

“No…” She shook her head. “No, I didn't think it was going to be anywhere near easy. Nothing about you has been easy. Not from the moment I met you. I couldn't in my wildest dreams have imagined you. Couldn't have predicted that weekend. What it was like to be with you. It was unreal. Everything that happened…I don't even know how to describe it.”

“But it was real, Harper.” He took a step toward her, closing the gap between them. “And you walked away.”

“I was scared.”

“That's a bullshit excuse. Everyone gets scared.” She couldn't help but flinch at the harshness of his words. “You don't think it freaked me out?” he asked, taking another step toward her, their shoes almost touching.

He was only about an inch or two taller than her with her heels on, but she still had to tilt her head back to look up into his face. His expression was fierce, his eyes so intense that she was desperate to look away, but she couldn't. Not for the life of her.

“You don't think it was scary for me, too? That's never happened to me before. Meeting someone, and having this…I don't even know what it was, but it was something powerful. Something real.” He reached out, his hands landing on hers and stopping her palms from constantly moving up and down her arms.

Her next breath was sharp, the contact of his skin on hers overwhelming her beyond anything else. How was it possible to miss something so much? Something she'd only known for such a short amount of time?

“You think a single second of it was easy for me?”

“No.” The word fell from her mouth on a whisper.

“And then you were gone.” His hands disappeared from her body and he took a step back from her. “Dammit,” he all but shouted as he turned away from her, his hands going to his hair as he walked a few steps to the side. He leaned against the half wall that ran around the balcony, resting his forearms on the top and looking out to the city below them.

She came up next to him, placing her palms flat on the concrete wall. She watched the twinkling lights of the cars and buildings below them for a few moments before she spoke. “It wasn't easy you know. Leaving you.”

He turned at her words, his hair falling across his forehead and into his eyes. She wanted to reach over and push it back.

Not appropriate.

She pressed her hands down onto the concrete, the grit digging into her skin. “It was one of the hardest things I've ever done.”

“Yet you did it anyway. Why?”

“I thought it was safer.”

“Safer?”

“Liam, I'd just gotten out of the most serious relationship that I'd been in.
Ever
. Brad, my ex, he broke me. I'm not over-exaggerating, either. He really did, and that was after being with him for a year and a half. I knew you for less than forty-eight hours, and somehow you had more of that power than he did.” Her throat tightened, the corner of her eyes prickling as tears started to brim. “I've never done anything like that before.” She tried not to wince as her voice cracked on the last word.