If so, we may have a lot in common.
Appetite gone, he tossed his napkin on his plate. “We all have faults, Carly. That perfect image, the measure we set for ourselves, is unachievable. When I first found that out, I thought my life was over. But accepting yourself for who you are is only the beginning. The key is finding friends who love you and accept you as you are.”
“Wow, you’re good.” She swiped her napkin across her eyes. “I should’ve brought my computer with me. We could’ve skipped couples therapy.”
“Carly—”
“I get what you’re saying. I really do. But sometimes you can’t escape your past, no matter what you do.” Fluid shimmered in her misty gray eyes. “Some mistakes can’t be undone. The best you can do is shove it out of your mind for a while. But you can’t really forget. And if your mistake hurt someone else... you shouldn’t forget.”
His gut cramped. He understood all too well. The drunken accident that left him paralyzed had taken his best friend’s life. Yes, Ben had been driving the car, but only because Liam had consumed even more alcohol than he had. When he thought about it, the guilt was almost unbearable.
Ben’s family probably hated him. All the more because Liam’s father sued them while they were still grieving his death. His dad pushed long enough to bankrupt them, then gave up when he realized they had no assets to seize. His dad’s actions had driven an even deeper wedge between them.
“I agree with you.” The words barely eked through his tight throat. “Some mistakes are unforgivable. Good people can do horrible things. But you have to move past it. You have to look for the good in everything that happens.”
She nodded, blinking hard to dry her eyes. “Thanks, Liam. You’re a good guy. Too good for me.”
No use in delaying. He might as well lay it all on the line and tell her about his paralysis.
“Carly, sixteen years ago, I was a bitter man. You see, I have paraplegia. It happened in a car accident.”
She kept her face tucked down, but he saw her shoulders flinch, her hands fisting in her lap. Was she shocked? Surprised? Repulsed? It was hard to gage her reaction. He still wondered if she’d somehow deduced his disability before he’d told her, but he would never know.
“But then I went to this computer camp for kids with disabilities. Even though I only attended one summer, the kids I met there changed my life. These four guys had been going every year... best friends. One had been blind his whole life. The second guy knew he probably wouldn’t live past his mid-thirties because he had cystic fibrosis. The third had lost his leg to a cancer that could come back at any time. And I bet you’ll recognize the name of the fourth guy who was born missing an arm.... Cole Miller.”
She gasped, whipping her face toward him. “Cole Miller? The guy with the lime-green arm? The billionaire who owns Phantom Enterprises?”
Like every other woman in America, she was probably enamored with Cole. Bran, Finn and Jarrett teased him mercilessly about his massive social media following... ninety-nine percent female.
“Cole is only one of the billionaires. Those four guys own Phantom Enterprises together. Cole is just the most visible.”
“You can say that again. He’s in the news all the time, pulling crazy stunts.” Her wistful, half-smile spurred a pang of jealousy in his gut. Maybe if he had Cole’s looks and charisma, women would be able to see past his disability.
He pushed his envy aside. All four were great guys, and he owed them a lot. “By the way, my company designed that arm Cole wears. It’s state-of-the-art; he controls the fingers with his thoughts.”
“Wow! That’s incredible!”
“Those four started the Phantom computer empire with the vision of developing a charity arm to help other kids with disabilities. That’s how Limitless was born.”
“I didn’t realize Phantom was connected to Limitless.” Her eyes went wide.
He knew she would be excited about the company funding her research.
“The cool part was they had the dream back when they were teenagers at camp. After that summer, I realized I couldn’t sit around feeling sorry for myself. That’s how I ended up in biomedical engineering, making advanced prosthetic devices for people with mobility challenges.”
“If you ever talk to those guys, tell them how much I appreciate them funding our bio-nanotechnology research. We’ve had promising results.”
“I’ll see Branson Knight this week. That’s who I’m staying with. He’s blind, in case you wondered which one he was.”
“That’s an incredible story, Liam. Thank you for sharing.” The sadness was back in her voice.
“I don’t suppose I changed your mind about meeting me for lunch one day.” He resisted the urge to tilt her chin toward him. She should have to look him in the eye when she turned him down.
“Tell me this...” Her jaw tightened. “Do you ever feel bitter about what happened to you? Can you honestly say you’ve completely forgiven everyone who hurt you?”
He thought of his father, a former pro-football player humiliated that his rising-star son would never be a quarterback in the NFL. The words he’d used to describe Liam were scarred into his memory. Useless. Helpless. Crippled. Paralytic. Paraplegic. Wheelchair-bound. He’d reiterated Liam’s lack of worth daily as he drank himself into oblivion.
Should I have forgiven him? Yes.
Had I? No.
He felt compelled to give an honest answer. “Some hurts are almost too deep to forgive. And some are ongoing. I can’t say I’ve forgiven everyone, but I’ve learned to forgive myself.”
His answer proved to be the wrong one.
“You’re an amazing guy, Liam, but lunch is a bad idea. I’ve got baggage. More like trunks. Or maybe shipping containers.”
His lungs twisted, refusing to function correctly. He’d taken a chance by being transparent with her, but she’d still rejected him. He was an idiot to hope for more.
“I’m asking you to have lunch with me, not marry me!” He threw his hands into the air. “But I guess if you’re too embarrassed to be seen in public with me, I understand.”
He regretted his caustic words the moment her mouth dropped open in horror.
“That’s not it at all!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“I would be proud to be seen with you, and you know it.” Her temper flashed to match her red hair.
