Tell Them Lies (Three Little Words Book 3) (14 page)

"Your face right now, K. Holy hell. You actually like this one!"

Yup. She was dead. Even if she was telling the truth. Kieran rolled his eyes, tamping down the need to turn and look at Liz, to see what her reaction that was. Because if she had the terrified-deer-in-the-headlights look, Kieran would downplay the crap out of Anna’s statement.

"Language, Anna," Aunt Connie said and then elbowed her daughter. "You talk with kind of shit language and Liz won't think we have any damn manners."

The table erupted. Even Kieran's mom, who had a Shirley Temple clean mouth, laughed behind her napkin. The moment was broken, and he could feel Liz's shoulders relax a little. It was obvious she hated being the center of attention, though she'd answered the questions some of his
nicer
relatives had sent her way. But of course, like a junkyard mutt with a bloody steak, Anna couldn't drop shit.

"Fine, you won't answer my question. I'll move on so I don't make your sweet new girl uncomfortable-"

"Too late," Kieran interjected with a pointed stare.

"-so you just go ahead and tell us about the new permanent marking you put on your body."

Kieran leaned back in his chair, absolutely ignoring the way two of his other cousins and his aunt shook their heads. It was the biggest bone of contention with his family. They haaaaaaated tattoos. Hated them. They were all cool enough people, they all got along, had fun when they got together, but they were judgey as hell when it came to his ink.

So naturally, he shoved the sleeve of his shirt higher on his arm and turned his arm to the side so they all got an unobstructed view of the inside of his left bicep. Liz had never really seen it, but good girl, she didn't even spare it a second glace, as if she'd looked at it a hundred times already.

"Oh come on, it's not that new. Got it a few months ago. I kinda like it." He drew his fingers across the skin just below the black celtic knot. It had hurt like a bitch, one of his most painful tattoos, not that he'd tell them that. The harsh curved lines meant family, and he could easily add something under it. A name or a date. If he needed to.

"You better like it," Bethany said. "You'll still be looking at it when you're eighty."

"Here we go," Kieran breathed out, shooting an apologetic look to Liz. But she wasn't looking at him, she was looking across the table at Bethany and Anna.

"Can you imagine having that level of bravery?" Liz asked them, not continuing until the whole table quieted down. Both of Kieran's cousins gaped at her. "Because I can't. I don't know that I'm confident enough to sit down in one of those chairs and say that I believe so strongly in something that I want etched into my skin for the rest of the my life and for the whole world to see. That takes confidence, and originality. It takes passion and a love of artistry."

A pin could have dropped in that room and it would have sounded like a gunshot. He didn't take his eyes off of Liz's profile, not until she finally looked away from the women across from her and over to him. She had a kind expression on her face, soft, so that what she'd said wouldn't sound harsh. But he saw a fierceness in her eyes that about yanked his heart out through his sternum. "I think they're wonderful."

He almost moved to kiss her, but a sniffling sound from his mom finally snapped the silence.

"Oh Liz, honey." Kieran's mom wiped a trembling hand under her eye and she looked so tired when she did it that Kieran almost started crying himself. But she looked so happy that it reminded him exactly what they were doing. Not that he'd
forgotten
exactly, but those tears, they were worth any confusion between him and Liz. "That was beautiful. And you're right, of course. Isn't she, girls?"

There were some murmured agreements, and he knew that would be the closest he'd ever get to support from this group, but it was something.

Kieran wrapped an arm around Liz's shoulders, feeling very much that something important shifted between them today. Like whatever foundation had been poured beneath them at Casey's wedding was firming up, and they could finally get their bearings. Like maybe Liz was feeling what he was.

Like this might not be so fake after all.

So why did that suddenly terrify the shit out of him? Probably because it meant that he'd actually have to try to deserve her. And he had three more days to see just how freaking hard that would be.

W
hy was
the room so bright?

Liz pinched her eyes shut and rolled over to dig her face into the pillow. Obviously they'd forgotten to shut the curtains before they went to bed. Kicking the sheet off of her feet, Liz grudgingly admitted that maybe the sensible cotton pajamas were far too warm to sleep in. And she'd even slept by herself. Imagine if Kieran had actually been in the bed with her.

Then she had to yank the covers off her entirely, because that really ratcheted up her internal temperature. Carefully rolling over so she could peek over the side of the bed, Liz smiled when she saw Kieran sprawled out on his back, one arm underneath the bed completely and the other resting on his bare stomach.

Finally, she could study his tattoos. The roaring lion above his heart was all curved, beautiful lines, looking like it was about to leap off of his smooth skin. Underneath it was a verse from Proverbs,
but the righteous are as bold as lions
.

This man, he never failed to surprise her. Permanently inking Bible verses onto his skin, it definitely wasn't what she’d expected. And if there was one thing she should have realized in these last few weeks of getting to know him, it was that he defied categorization. Finally admitting that made something click into place around the general vicinity of her heart.

The design that wrapped around his arm looked like a bird. An eagle maybe? It was an all-black design, like all of his other tattoos. Without being able to lean down and turn his arm, it looked like a large bird swooping down from some mountains. She tilted her head, trying to see more, and just couldn't manage it.

Kieran jerked his head, and Liz pulled back onto the bed in case he opened his eyes. Though knowing him, he'd absolutely love that she was full-on gawking at him while he slept. When he settled and quieted, Liz leaned forward to watch him again.

He was a quiet sleeper, other than the few times that he rolled into the dresser next to him and had cursed under his breath. Only one of those times had she giggled at him and then he responded by chucking a pillow up at her.

It had been sweet, awkward but sweet, how he'd volunteered to sleep on the floor when she'd been so obviously uncomfortable the night before at the thought of them sharing a bed. Because apparently the thought of him turned her into a nun. A teenage nun.

Which was ridiculous, because it wasn't like she'd never done it. Two fumbling encounters with her boyfriend Nick freshman year of college were just enough to punch out her V-card, but really only put her one baby step above convent status.

Seeing the way she hemmed and hawed and kept folding her pajamas was quite enough for him to toss on extra blanket on the floor and wink at her that it wasn't a big deal. But it was to Liz, because he hadn't guilt-tripped her. He hadn't cajoled or promised to keep his hands off. He just made a decision to respect her absolute inability to act like a normal almost thirty year old woman.

Honestly, it was enough to make her want to turn and groan into the bed. She was almost thirty. And she had this man, this incredibly interesting and kind and handsome man who was clearly interested in her. But instead of taking advantage, she'd relegated him to the hardwood floor, sandwiched between the bed and an Amish oak dresser.

But lying where she was, on the blue plaid cotton sheets that smelled like flowery fabric softener, she couldn't even really beat herself up. Because it had showed her a really important side of him. Kieran James Carter, no matter what he might say, was a complete gentleman.

With one last look at his peaceful expression, and
ahem
, the muscled chest and abdomen, Liz quietly rolled to the opposite side of the bed. With another glance to make sure he was asleep, she lifted her shirt and slipped her bra on underneath her cotton shirt. Sounds of muffled laughter came from downstairs when she pulled the door open, and she was quick to close it again so as not to wake Kieran. She hadn't even looked at her phone, but it felt early.

Only Maggie and Carol were down in the kitchen, sitting around the dining room table and sipping coffee.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Maggie said with a smile. "Coffee is ready if you need some."

"Thank you, I'd love a cup."

While she mixed in the half and half they had sitting out in a small white pitcher, the two women were conspicuously quiet. Liz gave them an amused look as she sat in one of the empty chairs.

"Talking about me?"

"No!" They were quick to say at the same time, sounding exactly like the sisters they were, and it made Liz laugh into her coffee mug. Carol spoke first, looking sufficiently chagrined.

"Not you, specifically. Not really. We're just thrilled for Kieran. He hasn't dated in a long time, not since he started his business. It's nice to see him so happy."

Guilt fell heavy into her stomach right along with the hot, strong coffee and Liz had to push the smile on her face when she looked over at Maggie. Kieran's mom looked so tired and so thin. But her eyes were bright and as hard as it might be to admit, content. Content was good, especially for someone like Maggie, but it stuck in her like a shard of ice that it was purposeful deceit causing it.

"Well," Liz said carefully, after taking another sip to help center her thoughts, "I'm glad that I can be the one to do that."
That
being make people happy. It was true, sort of. "And truly, Maggie, you raised a wonderful man."

And yes, that was definitely the best possible thing she could have said, because both women practically melted in their chairs. Then Maggie reached a slightly trembling hand up to wipe under her eye.

"Oh honey. That's so sweet of you to say, but I've been the lucky one. Kieran has always been such a blessing to me. Always strong when I needed him to be. Always smiling when I was ready to curl up and cry."

Carol reached over to pat her sister's hand and it clenched Liz's heart. How must they feel? Knowing that she had a small, unknown window of time left with each other.

Liz turned the handle of her mug. "That doesn't surprise me. I know he wants to make you proud of him."

"And he does. He always has."

"Now he just needs to give you some grandbabies," Carol interjected, tilting her mug towards Liz, like she'd magically announce she was pregnant.

Liz and Maggie looked at each other in the beat of silence after Carol said it and then started laughing. After a scoff, and a reluctant smile, Carol joined in until all three of them were bent over the table trying to catch their breath. Maggie's laughter turned into hacking, wet coughs that sobered them pretty quickly. After a few long moments, she composed herself, color high in her cheeks.

"So," Maggie said, her eyes still looking shiny from her coughing, "tell us about the first time you met Kieran. I've heard him tell the story, but I want to hear your side."

With a smile, Liz stared down at the table, digging her thumbnail into a nick in the wood right next to her coffee. That would be easy, to tell a very true story to these two women. When she looked up again, Kieran was standing just outside of the kitchen, behind enough of the wall that neither Carol nor Maggie could see him.

The way he stared at her made it quite clear that he'd heard them. Her heart was thrashing in her chest so loudly that she thought that everyone sitting around that table must hear it.

She wanted to change the subject, wanted to point him out. But that was probably what he expected her to do. What she might have even done as recently as yesterday. Instead, she pulled her eyes from Kieran's and grinned at Carol and Maggie.

"I was in a horrible mood that night. Very much wallowing in self-pity, in how lonely I felt. And I was staring at the ice cream like it would somehow solve my problems." She cleared her throat, taking another sip of coffee. Her heart hadn't settled, if anything it was going faster. But she kept talking. "And this voice came from right behind me, informing me that I was blocking the best part of the store."

Both women tittered and it helped Liz relax a little. Like Kieran wasn't standing there listening to her say what she'd never said to him. Like she wasn't about to jump off a cliff of her own making, being the kind of brave that she hadn't been able to be last night. The kind of brave that she hadn’t been able to be
ever
with him. To just lay it out there so he knew what had been rattling through her brain in an unending rhythm.

"He... he was so handsome when I turned to see who had spoken. It almost hurt to look at him, that's how handsome he was to me. And he was dressed like he'd just rolled out of bed. It was
horribly
casual, even for the grocery store." Liz flicked her eyes back over to see if Kieran was still listening, and she fought the rush of embarrassment at the thought of him hearing this. But it would be way too easy to brush this off and not tell Maggie the truth. His eyes bored straight back into her and she looked back down at the table.

"So I just walked away. But at the end of the aisle, I stopped. I stopped and looked around the corner and saw him looking at the ice cream. Probably picking the one I would've gotten for myself if I hadn't completely run away just because he stood close to me and spoke to me like we knew each other. It, well I guess it threw me off. And that hasn't happened to me in a long time. And it was exactly what I needed that night. Something to genuinely surprise me."

They both kept waiting, like she wasn't done.

"And then what?" Maggie asked, leaning forward in her chair. Liz dared a glance back the doorway, and Kieran was still there, he'd just moved back a bit.

"Well, then I kept shopping. And he must have too. And I was in the checkout lane, and then he chose the same one I was in, even though there were empty ones on either side that he could have used. It was horribly obvious." Liz smiled when they both cracked up, and she saw Kieran cover his mouth with one hand. "And he just kept getting closer and closer to me, for
absolutely
no reason. I've never experienced anyone with such a disregard for personal space. And then he asked me something, I think about how my night was going. His voice was... " she stopped, taking another sip of coffee, "it sounded like it came from some dark celestial being. And when I didn't answer, he pushed again. I'm sure it was the mood I was in, because I never snap at anyone, let alone a strangers, but I did at him. I just felt it, that chord between my brain and my mouth; I felt it cut right through the middle. Except he didn't get offended like I expected him to. He looked," Liz paused, shaking her head, completely lost in the memory. One she hadn't really taken the time to go back and examine until just then, "he looked fascinated. More than any reaction, that was the one that could have terrified me the most. And it did truly terrify me. So I walked out to my car, never expecting to see him again."

The doorway was empty when she looked up, and her lungs fell into her stomach. Liz looked back at Maggie, trying to reconcile that she'd actually put that entire encounter into words, every thought that had gone through her head, in a way that she never had before. And had he heard every word? Did she
want
him to have heard every word?

"And he followed you out?"

Well crap. Liz nodded, not daring to open her mouth and contradict anything Kieran may have told his mother. Thankfully, Maggie nodded in return.

"That's what he said. Oh, that's such a wonderful story." She reached across the table and gripped Liz's hand with a surprising strength, given how frail she seemed. "I'm so happy you're here, Liz. And that he has you."

"Me too," Liz said.

Thankfully the rest of the day didn't involve any more duplicity on Liz's end. That was because the Carter women enjoyed baking and drinking. At the same time.

Which meant that by noon, Liz was on a sugar high, and slightly buzzed from the 'punch' that Aunt Carol was practically pouring down her throat. And not knowing whether Kieran had heard all of it or not, truthfully, Liz wanted every drop of it.

"Are you sure we need more cupcakes?" Liz asked, peering over at the three dozen that were already cooling on the table, which were surrounded by two dozen cookies and two cakes.

"Need?" Kieran's cousin Bethany asked while she squeezed a bag full of strawberry frosting over the cooling vanilla cupcakes. "Of course we don't need more."

Max slipped through the kitchen, swiping three cupcakes, shoving one in his mouth before he cleared the door and ran back out to where he and Kieran were tinkering with something in the garage.

"So what do you do with all the extra?"

Bethany snorted, taking a finger-full of the frosting that she was swirling. "
Extra?
Between Kieran and Max, half of this will be gone before dinner."

B
ethany had been right
. Liz watched Kieran snag his eighth cupcake just as he sat down for dinner. Numbers nine and ten came during the meal. Before dessert was served, he'd polished off an even dozen. And throughout all that sugar intake, Liz couldn't help but notice that Kieran had done a very credible job of staying clear of her. Not ignoring her, precisely. But he seemed guarded. And quiet. Two words that she'd never have used to describe him before that night.

It dug a prickly burr underneath her skin, like she'd done something wrong. Which was ridiculous, because all she had done,
for once
, was be honest with his family. And with him, since he'd been so kind as to eavesdrop. One hundred percent honest. About how she'd felt when she saw him, and what all his dark handsome features had done to her heart. And what did she get? Silence. Long, brooding looks. And more silence.

It felt like a strange role reversal from the evening before, where Kieran had easily taken over for talking, so she could sit and observe. But over takeout chinese (apparently the rule for the family weekend was that no one had to cook dinner), it was Liz propping up the conversation on their end of the table.

"So you just read books allllll day long?" Max asked around a mouthful of chicken fried rice, looking completely horrified at the thought.