He’s feeding me the last bite of it when a feminine voice from behind me says “Well, isn’t this cozy.”
Liam stiffens before looking over my shoulder, a glare shooting from his eyes.
Dread immediately twists in my belly. I know before I turn around, I’m not going to like what I see.
I turn around anyway.
A woman with long dark wavy hair, perfectly tanned skin, and a short skintight black dress that shows all of her curves stands there glaring daggers at me. And there are plenty of curves to show. She’s gorgeous, easily one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in person.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Liam snaps.
I look over at him shocked at his tone.
The woman glares back at him “Well I have to eat, and this is the hottest restaurant in Chicago.”
Liam’s nostrils flare the anger clear on his face. Uncomfortable would be too light of a word to describe what I’m feeling right now.
The woman’s eyes land on me again and seem to narrow even further as she takes me in from head to toe.
Like flipping a light switch, a fake smile covers her face “Don’t be rude, introduce me to your friend.”
A muscle clenches in his jaw and I can tell it’s the last thing he wants to do.
“Ava, this is Victoria. Victoria this is Ava my girlfriend.”
While it brings me some relief that he introduced me as his girlfriend, that relief is short lived as I remember the paparazzi shouting questions at him about a woman named Victoria.
Still I manage to say, “Hi. Nice to meet you.”
The look she gives me isn’t friendly at all “Likewise. Although I think what he meant to say was that I’m his fiancée.”
Shock ripples through me rooting me to the spot. Time seems to slow down, it feels like my heart stops for a moment before it takes off in a faster rhythm bringing a flush to my skin.
“Ex.” Liam hisses. “Ex-fiancée. We broke up a long time ago. Which brings me back to my original question. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Well you would know if you would answer my calls.”
“We have nothing to say to each other.”
“I really need to talk to you about something.”
“Well what is it?”
She glares over at me. “Something privately.”
“Whatever you have to say you can say in front of my girl.”
I see something akin to hurt flash across her face. “So that’s how you’re going to do me? After all we’ve been through together.”
“Um, maybe I should give you two a minute?” I start to rise. I don’t really want to leave him alone with this woman, but I’m past the point of being uncomfortable.
Liam grabs a hold of my hand. His eyes soften when he looks at me. “No babe, don’t leave.”
Turning back to Victoria his eyes harden again.
“We have nothing to say to each other. If it’s that important speak now.”
She’s quiet for a moment before she says, “This isn’t over.”
And then she’s gone.
Silence descends on our table like a dark cloud.
Taking my hand in his he says, “I’m sorry about that,” he says softly.
“Um it’s okay,” I murmur not meeting his eyes.
I can’t because I’m afraid of what might show on my face right now. The events from the last few minutes are on replay in my mind. I’d known he’d been engaged before from Lisa telling me, but it had slipped to the back of my mind. I found myself only focusing on he and I.
Looking at Victoria brings a rush of insecurities up inside of me. She was freaking stunning. How could he go from somebody who looked like that to…well me? Shame crowds my mind. I hate that my thoughts have even gone in this direction.
That’s what you get for dating somebody in the limelight.
God, I’m such an idiot.
The waiter comes back over, and Liam asks for the check. I’m so lost in my own mind that I don’t even notice he’s standing next to me until he lays a hand on my shoulder.
“Come on let’s get out of here.”
Placing my hand in his we exit the restaurant to much of what we came in with. The paparazzi yell more questions. We ignore them.
Instead of turning for my place, he heads in the opposite direction.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“I want to show you something.”
We drive for a few more minutes before he pulls into a secluded area surrounded by trees. He navigates the truck until we get to an area that has a small playground. He gets out of the car and comes around to my door. Helping me out he leads me over to a pair of swings.
Sitting down in one I wait for him to speak.
“My mom and dad used to bring us here when we were kids. I didn’t have a normal childhood because my dad was so well known but they tried to make it as normal as possible by bringing us to this park a few times a week.”
“That’s really sweet. I’m sure the family time was good for you guys.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes and the rhythmic sway of the swing calms me.
“I met Victoria at a fashion show in Venice a few years ago. She was modeling and I was there to support Levi, my brother.” he begins. “We hit it off and began dating. A few months later we were engaged. We were only engaged three months before I found her fucking another dude when she was
