“Don’t forget we’re going to play cards this afternoon,” Liam called after her.
Her hand waved at him, the most interaction he’d gotten in the past hour.
Maybe she didn’t like that kiss after all...
“How are things going with Carly?” Bran finished the last of his soup. “She didn’t talk much during lunch.”
“It’s hard to say. I thought things were going well. She’d never gone sledding before, and she seemed to have a good time.” Liam left out the part about the kiss. “But now she won’t look at me.”
Bran drummed his fingers on the table. “What do you know about her? Other than the fact that she’s getting a PhD in Biomedical Engineering?”
“I know she’s from Houston. Aaaannnd...” Liam racked his brain. “I know she has a roommate... Oh! And she has a brother.”
“And that’s it?”
“She told me she doesn’t talk about her family,” Liam defended. “But that’s okay. I avoid talking about mine, too.”
Bran scrunched up his face. “I hate to be discouraging, but I think she’s keeping you at arm’s length on purpose.”
She may be trying, but we weren’t at arm’s length when we kissed.
“She did tell me she hasn’t dated anyone in a long time. Personally, I think someone hurt her, and now she’s afraid of opening up.”
Bran didn’t look convinced. “Tell me this. You haven’t known Carly for very long. Why are you putting this much effort into a relationship when it’s so one-sided?”
“It’s hard to explain.” Liam hitched his shoulders. “I think she’s the first woman who’s ever treated me the way you do. Like my disability is just a thing you deal with, not who I am.”
Bran released a long sigh. “That would be a first for me, too.”
“Before Elle, I went out with quite a few women.” Liam thought back to his earlier relationships. “But let’s face it… they were probably pity dates.”
Bran nodded. “The story of my life.”
Liam’s phone vibrated with a message. Again. He knew who it was from without even looking. “And then there are women like this flight attendant who’s been calling and messaging all morning. Women who are so desperate for love that they’ll take any man they can get. Those women think they have a better shot with me just because I have a handicap. This one’s the most persistent I’ve ever met.”
Bran took a long swallow of water, then set his glass down, fingering the moisture on the outside of the glass. “Well, I’m the last person to give you relationship advice. If Carly can really see past your paralysis, like you say, I hope you can work things out with her. But you seem to be falling for her, hard and fast. And I like her as a person, but I don’t like that she’s not being honest with you.”
“Because she didn’t tell me about her research?”
“You don’t really believe that’s the only thing she’s holding back, do you?” Bran’s eyebrows arched.
“What should I do?” Inside his stomach, Liam’s lunch churned. Bran was right. For whatever reason, Carly was hiding things. If she couldn’t be vulnerable with him, it was hopeless.
“I just want you to be careful, Liam. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
CHAPTER 13
CARLY
Nervous about the likely subject of Fordham’s “other matter,” Carly chatted about her idea as they navigated the hallways toward her room.
“All I’m saying is that Bran has a big heart for people with disabilities. I think if you could find a PA with a disability of some sort, or even if they had a family member with a disability, he wouldn’t be so harsh with them.”
Fordham gave a slow nod. “I’ve brought him candidates with disabilities in the past. But he’s always circumvented my plan by referring them to an alternate position with Phantom Enterprises or Limited. There’s a program in place for potential employees with disabilities, so that even those who don’t have the right experience or qualifications can get the training they need to succeed. But the family-member angle never occurred to me.”
“You think that might work?”
“It might.” Fordham rubbed his chin. “Especially if the family member was a child. One would never guess it, but he has quite a soft spot for children.”
“And if you hired a mom, that would be good for him,” Carly said. “He could use a little mothering.”
“Indeed, he could,” Fordham said, “though he might not put up with it.”
Fordham discussed the weather and the logistics of clearing their private road with snowplows until they reached Carly’s room. Without an invitation, he followed her inside.
Resigned to the inevitable, Carly stopped in the apartment foyer. “You might as well ask me about that other matter you mentioned, although I’m afraid I won’t like this matter.”
“Though your guacamole was excellent, Branson and I feel you have put us in an awkward position,” said Fordham. “We cannot, in good conscience, continue to support your subterfuge.”
Her pulse sped up, like it did every time she thought about revealing her identity.
“I promise I’ll tell him the truth before I leave.”
She planned to use it as a nail in their relationship coffin. She was confident he would back off once he learned her identity. If he didn’t, she would have to tell him about her alopecia. Perhaps even show him.
Every guy who’d pursued her in the past had lost interest when they’d discovered she was bald. Though Nora was right; Carly hadn’t informed her suitors in a gentle way. It hadn’t bothered her because she had never cared about any of them.
But Liam was different.
