Maurie and Liam walked side by side along the beach that lined the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. A slight breeze stirred the evening air, and the waves lapped gently against the shore in the sure, steady rhythm of a mother rocking her baby to sleep. It was one of those picture-perfect evenings that tourists lived for, but Maurie hardly noticed it. Her insides churned with apprehension, and all she could think about was how that in less than twenty-four hours, Liam was getting married to another woman. She really shouldn’t be this upset. After all, she was dating Cooper, a fantastic guy who was crazy about her. In her heart of hearts, she knew she would always care about Liam, but she had no hope of him making a lasting commitment. So she’d done the practical thing and moved on. At least she thought she had, until this moment. She shrugged off the unpleasant thought. She wasn’t jealous that Liam was marrying another woman, simply worried about his well-being. Dani Fairchild, Liam’s fiancée, was more than ten years his junior. And any fool could see she was immature and not ready to settle down. Well, any fool except Liam could see it. Unfortunately, Liam was too awestruck to see anything clearly right now because Dani needed him. No, that wasn’t exactly correct. Dani needed Liam’s emotional support and money. And that was an intoxicating mix Liam found impossible to resist. He had an insatiable need to be needed. The more vulnerable the woman, the more Liam liked her.
Maurie had always prided herself in being self-sufficient, but she suspected her fierce independence was one of the obstacles that kept Liam and her apart. That and the fact that they were business partners. Liam was an artist, and she was his agent. Thanks to her, Liam’s paintings were selling well throughout the world. If things continued as they were, it wouldn’t be long before his success surpassed any other artist in the Hawaiian Islands. She’d spent the last ten years building the ladder of success and had pushed Liam straight to the top.
A long time ago, Liam had attempted to pursue her, but she’d yanked out the roots of the romance long before they had a chance to bloom. She’d been consumed with building the business and was leery of having a romantic relationship with her business partner. But that was years ago, and things had changed. She and Liam were the best of friends. They shared confidences, enjoyed the same things, had a common interest in art.
From the get-go, she was captivated by the authenticity and uniqueness of Liam’s art, but she couldn’t pinpoint the moment when she started having feelings for him personally. It came on gradually, like a flower opening its petals to the sun. By the time she realized what was happening, she was smitten. The worst part was—Liam was a player who wouldn’t understand the meaning of the word commitment if it hit him on the head. Which is why she was shocked that he was actually getting married. When Liam first met Dani, she was staying in the condo next-door to Liam and caught his eye. He asked Dani to pose for a painting. Fast forward a year, and here they were on the eve of his wedding.
It about killed Maurie when she realized Liam was getting serious with Dani. She spent the first couple of weeks brooding over it. Then good sense took over, and she decided to stop putting her life on hold, holding out for some fantasy that was never going to happen. She started dating Cooper Manning, a broker who’d helped her get Liam’s art into galleries across Asia. Cooper was an amazing guy, and he seemed crazy about her. For the first time in years, she was happy. Still, she couldn’t stand by and watch Liam make the biggest mistake of his life without raising a warning flag.
She glanced at him, hating to start an argument, but the words needed to be said. “I just don’t understand why you’re rushing things. Why don’t you postpone the wedding for a few months? You know, to make sure you’re compatible … that sort of thing.”
He blew out a breath. “Not this again.”
“I think you’re jumping the gun. If it’s truly right with Dani, then waiting a few months won’t hurt a thing.”
He looked thoughtful, like he was really listening to her. Hope rose in Maurie’s breast when she saw hesitation cloud his eyes. Then he shook his head, running a hand through his wavy hair. “The wedding’s tomorrow. Dani’s picking up her mom at the airport as we speak. It’s not possible to postpone things.”
“Of course it’s possible.” She clenched her fist. “This is your life we’re talking about. If you have any reservations at all, then you need to postpone.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned to her. “I didn’t say I had any reservations. Those were your words.” His eyes searched hers. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
She forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m just worried about you.”
His expression softened. “You’re so good to me, love. But you needn’t worry. Dani and I are happy together.”
She was unprepared for the wave of sadness that pummeled over her—an undertow that would pull her under and drown her if she let it. Her expression went hard as she let out a derisive laugh. “Happy, huh?” She shook her head. “You’re not happy, you’re delusional. Dani doesn’t love you. Not really. All you are to her is a meal ticket.”
Liam drew in a sharp breath. “That’s not true. You’re out of line.”
Maurie looked him in the eye. “I’m not trying to hurt you, but you need to hear the truth.”
His jaw tensed. “And what truth is that?”
“You’re too old for Dani. She’s young and immature, and she’ll break your heart.” Even as she spoke the words, Maurie cringed at the wounded look that overcame Liam’s face. Her first instinct was to run a hand along those angular features she knew so well to smooth out the tension.
“Why would you say something like that?”
Her mouth went dry. “Because it’s the truth.” She gave him a sad smile. “You know me, Liam. I have only your best interest at heart—I always have. The only reason I’m saying these things is because I’m worried.” She couldn’t stop her eyes from misting.
A look of surprise flitted over his features. “You really do care.”
She shrugged. “Yeah.”
“But I thought …”
She touched his arm. “You thought what?”
The air between them grew electric, and she got the feeling he was seeing her for the first time. Then, in the time it took to draw in a breath, things were back to normal. “Never mind.” He touched a strand of her hair. “Hey, nothing will change between us. You know that, right? No matter what, we’ll always be close. You’re my best friend.” His voice caught. “I couldn’t imagine you not being part of my life.”
A lump formed in her throat. Normally, she considered Liam’s naivety endearing. At the moment, however, it was frustrating. Everything would change when he got married. Dani would officially be his top priority, and Maurie would be forever placed on the friend shelf. It hit her then how grateful she was that she’d taken the plunge and started dating Cooper. Otherwise, the pain of losing Liam would be too much to bear. Cooper was good-looking, charming, successful—an all-around great catch—and he was crazy about her. Perhaps, in time, she’d be able to extinguish lingering feelings for Liam. She would simply focus on Cooper to help ease her through the rough patch. In fact, she was going out with Cooper tomorrow afternoon, instead of the wedding. Liam would be disappointed when he realized she wasn’t there, but she couldn’t stand the thought of watching him get married.
Liam’s phone buzzed. He reached in his pocket. “Sorry, I have to take this. Dani … did you get your mother picked up … good … I’m glad all went well. I’ll meet you back at the condo, then we can get some dinner. Goodbye, love.” He ended the call. “Dani and I are taking her mom to dinner. Samantha and Finn are joining us.”
Samantha was Dani’s older sister. When Liam had first met Samantha, she was engaged to his next-door neighbor, Anthony. That ended disastrously when Samantha fell in love with Finn, her surf instructor (really a software developer turned billionaire). Some girls have all the luck! “How are the lovebirds?”
“Samantha and Finn are great. Ever since their wedding, it seems like they’ve been on a six-month-long honeymoon. I keep waiting for them to come back down to earth, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
“It must be nice to find that perfect someone,” Maurie said dryly.
Liam gave her a quizzical look. “But what about Cooper? To hear you talk, the two of you sound pretty cozy. When am I going to meet him in person?”
“We’ll have to plan something when you get back from your honeymoon.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been hiding him from me. So things are going well?”
Over the years, Maurie had fine-tuned her radar to pick up Liam’s slightest nuances. The tinge of jealousy in his voice was pleasing. That meant he cared … a little. “Not hiding him. And yeah, things are going great,” she said flatly.
“But?”
“But, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Are the two of you getting serious?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” She sighed. “Cooper wants a serious relationship.”
He scrunched his brows. “I see.”
She laughed. “You see what?”
“Nothing. I thought you were taking things slow. You really don’t know much about him.”
She lifted an eyebrow, amused. “You’re telling me to take it slow? Really?”
He started kicking his feet around in the sand. Then he held up his hands in defeat. “Okay, I get it.” A sheepish smile stole over his lips. “I guess I’ll have to get used to sharing you with someone else.”
She smirked. “Welcome to my world.”
“It’s just been the two of us for so long. We’re moving into uncharted territory with my wedding and your boyfriend.” He reached for her hands and looked into her eyes. “Let’s make a pact right now. No matter what happens, we’ll always be friends.”
An ache started in the center of her heart and radiated out as she looked into those expressive eyes that had the power to make her heart do somersaults. “Yes,” she heard herself say, “we’ll always be friends.”
It was time to move on. This time, for real.
