What could it hurt? She had the night off, and they were friends after all. “What did you have in mind?”
The shadows flickered away as a smile curved his lips. Lips that she’d had over every inch of her body. Don’t go there now. Just don’t.
“I thought maybe we could grill a couple of steaks and enjoy a quiet evening on my back lawn. Share a bottle of wine. Talk like old friends in a place we were both comfortable growing up. Maybe reminisce about the days we spent with my grandmother, our time at the beach. Whatever you like.”
“Is that all?” Sure, Liam.
“Depends. I’m open to some good conversation, a joke or two to lighten the mood. Heck, I’ll even be happy to watch a movie if that’s what you want to do. I just want to spend time with you.”
“Because you got the report that clears you?” She had to make sure of his feelings even though it was already too late to put a halt on her own.
“Yes. And I like you as a friend. Isn’t that enough for now?”
She stared at him, took in the slight flickering of his right eyelid, the one that showed when he was nervous. She loved that about him. He might come across as confident and wise, but he was still the boy she grew up with who couldn’t bear to be the reason why anything went wrong. He was the most honest guy she knew, so why couldn’t she believe him when he said her assault would never change his feelings for her?
She tossed that over in the back of her mind every single hour. Still no answer came to mind to give her comfort.
“Give me five.” Aggie ran back to her room and found something comfortable to wear. As much as she loved her old yoga pants and sweat top, there was no way in hell she’d wear them out of the house. Besides, she had the urge to look like a woman tonight.
She flipped through the clothes in her wardrobe and pulled out a peasant top in rich greens and a pair of faded but comfortable jeans. She paired them with a pair of casual loafers and a spritz of soft perfume over her throat. She even put on a pair of earrings. Her mood was so much better now. The freedom she’d gotten from training twice now with Ben and the other women, plus hearing Liam’s news, made her heart lighter than it’d been for ages. Tonight she was going to enjoy herself and be the friend he needed. Just like old times.
Chapter 18
Smoke filled the backyard and Liam waved his hand, trying to disperse it. “I think I should’ve taken you out to dinner. This is getting messy. Seems my grilling skills are lacking.”
Aggie laughed, a sound he didn’t hear very often. “It’ll keep the mosquitos away, if nothing else. Besides, I like smoked meat.”
Liam turned the steaks and put the lid down again. He strolled over to the table and picked up his glass of wine. “I can’t believe this last week. I thought it would never end.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
The tone of her voice made him shudder. How could he have been so insensitive? If he could take away what happened to her, he would. But instead he was left with such unimaginable guilt that he hadn’t been there for her.
It was something he couldn’t seem to get over, and not being able to help her now didn’t make it any better. Maybe he was the one who should be talking to Bradley. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound like I’ve had it worse than you. I was making conversation.”
Aggie put her glass down and leaned forward in the chair, clasping her hands in front of her. “How about we make a deal? You forget what I told you. Let’s pretend that conversation never happened. Then you won’t have to keep apologizing for everything you say.”
“If that’s the way you want it. But before we do that, how about we have it all out in the open, then I promise I won’t bring it up again?”
She threw her hands up, and her laugh this time was cynical—all traces of humor had gone. “Why? Why can’t we just leave it the hell alone, Liam? Why do you feel the need to go over it?” She tucked her feet under her body. “It won’t change anything. No matter what you say, it won’t take away what happened. I have to live with it every single day so how about we just drop it?”
“No. I want to make you see it doesn’t matter.”
“And talking about it will do what exactly?”
“How about make you realize that it wasn’t your fault? That the guy who did it would’ve attacked anyone because that was the way his mind worked that night. That you don’t have to live your life locked away from what you want because you’re punishing yourself for what he did. How about that to start with?”
She jumped up, knocking over her glass in her hurry. White wine spilled over the table but neither of them cared. “How about we just leave it alone, Liam? You said you wanted to have dinner with a friend, not stir things up with me. If this is all you’re going to do, we won’t be repeating the evening. I can tell you that now for free.”
Liam pushed himself out of his chair and grabbed her arm to stop her bolting away. “I’m sorry. Really, I am.”
She looked up at him, hurt in her eyes. “I thought I could trust you.”
He shook his head, sorry he was such a fool to bring it up again. But Liam had thought talking about it would help. “You can. I’m really sorry. I thought if I could make you understand that I don’t believe you’re second-hand goods or that I
