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“Not one bit of sarcasm out of you, Knightly.”
He lifted his hands in quick surrender. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound sarcastic.”
“It went well,” I said coolly. “Huge boost for both their careers. Yay, them.”
“Ah. Well, good. I’m happy for them. And you.”
I smiled at his careful, kid-gloves tone. “That’s very big of you, Liam.”
“I hope they appreciate you now.”
“Hmm,” I said. “About that. The truth is, we’ve parted ways. I no longer manage Peter and Enid.”
His stunned silence filled the room. “You did what?”
I shrugged, sighing out excess tension. “I had a sort of epiphany,” I admitted. “I realized that they didn’t deserve the energy I gave them. So I withdrew it.”
“Right when they hit the big time,” he said, in a wondering voice.
“Yep.” My voice was hollow. “Shame about the timing, but hey. There’s never a good time. Like a guy I know once told me. Sometimes you just have to put your foot down.”
“Funny you should say that,” he said. “Myself, I’ve been working on the concept of compromise.”
“Really?” My heart thudded. “And how do you feel about it these days?”
“It’s not quite as horrible as I thought,” he said. “It hasn’t killed me yet. To my continuing surprise.”
“Good to know,” I said. “I’m really happy for you.”
A couple of silent, charged minutes went by, and I gently brushed my fingertips against the bruises under his eyes. He seized my hand, kissed it again.
“So, I called my father,” he offered.
That was entirely unexpected. “Did you, now. Why on earth? What came over you?”
I felt him shrug in the darkness. “You know. It was part of the whole compromise thing. I was thinking over the entire arc of my life. If you look at things long enough, you start to see them in a different light.”
“I guess that’s true,” I said. “So? How did your talk with your dad go?”
“It was weird,” he admitted. “Stiff. Awkward. Cringey. But we got through it.”
“What did you talk about? What did he say?”
He kissed her hand again, and a rush of pleasure rippled through me. “It was a short conversation,” he said. “But I asked him if I should send him an invitation to my wedding.”
My jaw dropped. I went stiff. “What?”
“Shit,” Liam muttered. “Sorry. That came out all wrong. I know it’s just a hypothetical thing. Or more like a hopeful, aspirational thing.”
“Hy-hypothetical?”
“Yeah. I told him I’d invite him. If I got lucky.”
I sat there, dumbfounded. He waited patiently, kissing every knuckle of my hand. Slow, hot, gentle kisses. “Damn it,” he murmured. “I did this all backwards, with my usual grace. I meant to tell you first that I’ll respect your work and your career, always. That I admire your drive, and dedication, and I won’t get in your way, that I’m incredibly proud of your achievements. I should have led with that.”
I just shook my head, still speechless.
“I’ll spend my life trying not to fuck this up. Trying to be worthy of you. I love you, Nancy.”