“And? What about Liam? I’m dying to know what happened when you told him who you were. I was right, wasn’t I? He didn’t get upset like you thought he would.”
“Nothing happened.” Carly cleared her throat. “Because I didn’t tell him.”
“Carly!”
“I’m an emotional disaster, Nora. You wouldn’t believe it was me. I’ve even cried.”
“You cried?” Nora gasped. “But you never cry.”
“This was bad. I’m talking about actual tears. Ugly crying, where your face distorts and your makeup runs.”
“And you have to be careful, or your eyelashes might fall off.”
“I know! I was freaking out!”
“You know what the problem is…” Nora’s voice sharpened. “You’re a mess because you’re not being truthful, and it’s tearing you up inside. What are you waiting for? A sign from Heaven? The end of world hunger?”
“I was going to tell him who I was a few minutes ago, except he talked about how much he’d been hurt by people lying to him. After that, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“Right. Makes sense. So much better if you continue to lie to him even longer instead of telling him the truth.”
“It sounds bad when you say it like that.”
“It sounds bad because it is bad. You’re just prolonging the lying, and I don’t think he’ll be happier about it.”
“My plan is to tell him who I am right before I go. In fact, I was planning to leave a note. That way, I won’t have to be around him when he’s hurt and angry.”
“That’s the coward’s way out.”
“You’re right. I’m a coward; I won’t even try to deny it. But this is the best thing for me and for Liam.”
“Look, you already know my opinion on what you should do. If you’re going to be this stubborn about it, why did you call me?”
“Because I need you to let me out of the promise I made. I can’t spend any more time with him before I leave. Not after what happened today.”
“Why? What happened?”
“We…” Carly glanced to the side, as if she could see Liam through the wall between their apartments. “He kissed me.”
Nora’s answering squeal assaulted Carly’s eardrum. She held the phone away from her head until the sound faded. “He kissed you? When? Where? What happened? Tell me everything!”
“It was incredible—better than I ever imagined.” Warmth flooded her face.
“Did you kiss him back?”
“You could say that.”
“Like when you gave up ice cream for two weeks and then gulped down an entire half-gallon of Blue Bell by yourself?”
“Exactly. And that’s the problem. I’m no better than those people who lied to him after the accident and got his hopes up when there was almost zero chance he would ever walk again. He’s going to hate me more than ever.”
“You’re right.”
That wasn’t the answer Carly was expecting. “I am?”
“Yes. He’s going to think you’re as bad as those people. Maybe even worse. You know what this means, right?”
The slow churn in Carly’s stomach picked up speed. She’d been so selfish to kiss him, knowing they had no future together. Why had she been so thoughtless?
“It means I can’t spend another minute with Liam. I need to find Fordham and get him to shuttle me off the property in a snowmobile. I’ll get out of Liam’s life before I can do him any more harm.”
“It’s too late for that,” Nora said in a flat tone. “Now, you have no choice. You have to tell him the whole story, start to finish. In person. You absolutely cannot leave him a note and skip out before he reads it.”
“But Nora—”
“I know it will hurt to see the pain in his expression. It will be excruciating if he decides you’re scum and kicks you out of his life. But at least he’ll be the one doing the rejecting. That way, he can regain his dignity and self-respect.”
“You’re right.” Carly’s chest tightened until her lungs throbbed. “I deserve to experience his anger. I shouldn’t have lied to him.”
Just like I shouldn’t have lied to my dad the night of the party.
“Tell him as soon as you can, Carly. The longer you wait, the worse it will be. Confess the truth before he takes another chance at kissing you again.”
“Okay.” The room blurred in Carly’s watery vision. She blinked, fanning her fingers to dry her eyes.
“Tell him, Carly. Explain everything before he figures it out on his own. And maybe… just maybe… it won’t be as bad as you think. Maybe you can still be friends. Or even more.”
“Don’t say that,” said Carly. “If I let my mind go there, it’ll hurt even worse when he rejects me.”
