Page 15 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

I frowned as I took in his clothes. No longer was he wearing the new shirt and pants from earlier. The clothes he had on now were worn and faded. I knew I shouldn’t care—after all, Willow could dress her kid in whatever she wanted—but I couldn’t help but feel hurt.

We’d made so much progress this morning, and now, I’d messed it all up. To Willow, the idea that I might be interested in her was enough to cause her to close the door on our relationship so hard that it shook me.

Falling for a woman was pointless. It always ended the same way: me standing there with a broken heart, watching her walk away.

I cleared my throat and straightened, determined to push my feelings aside and just focus on getting through the day. Willow and I were never going to be anything more than business partners, and the sooner I pushed these ridiculous feelings aside, the happier I would be.

Willow and I didn’t say anything to each other as I drove us to Jasper’s school. As soon as I pulled to the side and Willow got out, I found my phone and swiped it on. I needed a distraction, and Liam was the perfect person to provide one.

Me: You up?

I set my phone down on my lap and tipped my head back against the headrest. I watched a few nosy moms crane their necks to see who was sitting in the driver’s seat, before I closed my eyes. I was tired, and the last thing I needed was to worry about Harmony Island’s gossip train.

To my surprise, my phone buzzed a few seconds later.

I straightened and glanced down to see that Liam had messaged me back. That was a first. Normally, he slept in until noon.

Liam: Yep. Up and eating a banger breakfast. Small town inns really know how to cook.

I moved to text a response, but he beat me to it.

Liam: What’s the plan for today? Can we meet up?

I glanced toward the school for a moment before I turned back to my phone. I didn’t want Liam at the diner, but I also didn’t want to be around Willow if she was going to act this way. I needed a social buffer, and my best friend seemed like the right man for the job.

Me: Yeah. I’ll be at the diner in about fifteen minutes if you want to come by.

I hurried to add,

Then you can tell me why you’re here.

Before I could respond, I saw Willow exit the building from the corner of my eye. I clicked my phone off and set it in the cup holder next to me. I watched as Willow dipped her head and hurried to yank open the passenger door.

Once again, her expression was unreadable as she shut the door and buckled her seatbelt.

“Everything okay?” Maybe I was a glutton for punishment. She clearly didn’t want to talk, but I wanted her to say something to me.

Willow glanced over at me for a moment before she returned her attention to her hands in her lap. “Everything’s great. You can go.”

I put my car into first gear and took off. The entire ride to the diner I was in a battle with myself. Part of me wanted to keep the conversation going. Maybe through talking, I’d find out the reason for her icy exterior.

But the other part of me wanted to keep quiet. If she didn’t want a relationship with me, I wasn’t going to force it. I wasn’t going to foster a relationship where I cared more than she did.

I decided in an act of self-preservation that I was just going to sit there with my hands on the steering wheel and my focus on the road. Getting to know Willow had distracted me from my reason for coming to Harmony, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again.

I was here to make sure that the diner was financially sound and to hopefully find my mother. I was here so I could have a second chance with my grandmother before it was too late. That should be my one and only focus.

Pursuing a relationship with a woman who’d made it very clear from day one that she was not interested in me was not why I was here.

As soon as I pulled into my spot behind the diner, Willow was out of my car and making her way inside. By the time I opened my door and stepped out, she was long gone. I took my time crossing the parking lot and pulled the back door open.

I stayed out of her way, choosing to wipe the menus down at the hostess stand. I wanted to be there when Liam got to the diner, and the hostess stand was out of the way. Right now, with the way that I was feeling, I wanted to be invisible.

I heard Liam before I saw him. He had a boisterous personality, which was why fans loved his concerts. He had an energy for life that I could only dream of having.

“Cole Watkins!” His declaration echoed off the quiet walls of the diner as he stood by the front door with his arms extended.

Embarrassment heated my skin as I glanced around to see Breia and Willow eyeing us. Willow’s expression was hard to read while Breia looked amused. Neither of them had realized that this was Liam Carmichael, international rockstar, but it was only a matter of time.

“Liam,” I said as I closed the space between us and gave him a handshake turned hug.

He patted my back a few times before we both pulled back. When I met his gaze, he wiggled his eyebrows.

“What are you doing here ?” he asked, glancing around.

Not wanting to have this conversation out in the open, I hushed him and turned toward the kitchen. “Come on, let’s go talk in the back.”

Thankfully, Liam didn’t push. Instead, he followed after me as I made my way through the diner to the kitchen door.

“I need to use your office,” I said to Willow, not meeting her gaze and not really asking.

“Oh, okay,” she said softly.

I didn’t wait to see if she had more to say as I pushed through the swinging door and headed into the kitchen. When we got to Willow’s office, I shut the door and turned to Liam.

“Why are you really here?” I asked as I made my way over to Willow’s desk and leaned against it while Liam plopped down on the couch.

He relaxed, draping his arm across the back. “I should ask you the same. Why are you here, running a diner on Harmony Island? I’ve never even heard of this place.”

I folded my right arm across my chest and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’m here to find my mom.”

Liam was quiet for a moment. “And she works at this diner?”

I lowered my hand and glanced over at him.

“No. She wrote about this place in her diary. My dad won half of the diner in a bet, and I’m here to make sure it stays open in case she comes back.

” I swallowed against the lump of emotions in my throat.

“I need to find her. We think she might help with Gran’s memory. ”

Liam’s face fell. Gran’s situation was hard on me, but it was hard on him as well. She had loved feeding him back when we were first becoming friends.

“Oh, man. I’m so sorry,” he said.

I shrugged. “It’s okay.” I sighed. “So why are you here?”

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees as he stared at the ground. “It’s definitely not as noble as why you’re here.”

“Liam.”

He glanced up at me. “Katie took Ana and I didn’t want to be alone.”

I raised my eyebrows. “She did?” Katie was a good mom, but she treated Liam like he was a second class citizen when it came to their daughter.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Silence fell between us. I waited for Liam to fill in the gaps, but he didn’t seem eager to talk. Instead, he just dropped his gaze to the floor and held it there.

“So what do you need from me?” One of the defining traits of our relationship was a mutual respect for privacy. If Liam didn’t want to tell me why Katie left, then I wasn’t going to push him. I knew he’d tell me when he was ready.

Liam sighed as he leaned back against the couch. “I just need a place to cool down for a few days. Figured this place would work.” He met my gaze. “Are you cool with that?”

I nodded. “Of course.” I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from Willow’s desk. I jotted down the address of the house I was renting and handed it over to Liam. “Here’s where I’m staying. There’s a gate, but if you text me before you get there, I’ll let Nick know that you’re coming.”

Liam took the piece of paper from me. “Awesome.”

I returned to leaning against the desk. “I’m going to be working here most days, so you know where to find me if you need me.”

He folded the piece of paper before he pulled out his wallet and tucked it inside. “Cool.”

I paused, wanting to ask more about his situation with Frankie, but then decided against it. “Are you just going to hang around town?”

He glanced up at me as he returned his wallet to his pocket before settling back once more. “Yeah. I’m going to try to get some R&R in. Maybe write some music.” He paused. “There’s a cute little library here that seems perfect for inspiration.”

“Harmony Island is a good town for R&R.” If I wasn’t here to find my mother and deal with all the emotional ramifications of that, I would vacation in Harmony. It was a quintessential little beach town.

I spent the next few minutes asking Liam how things were going in Miami. We kept our conversation light, and I could visibly see him relax. When I glanced at my watch, I realized that the diner was about to open, so I stood and nodded toward the dining room.

“I gotta get out there,” I said as I crossed the room and opened the door.

Liam stood. “I should head out, too. I’m going to do some sightseeing.”

“Sounds good.”

He followed after me as I led him through the kitchen and out the back door. I told him that he was welcome to eat at the diner if he got hungry, and he nodded as he headed down the back steps.

When I got back to the dining room, I found Willow at the hostess stand, shuffling the menus I’d left out when Liam got here.

“Sorry,” I said as I approached her. “I was planning on taking care of those.”

She glanced over at me before she shook her head. “That’s okay. I’ve got it.”

Not sure what to do, I just stood there, watching her take care of my mess. When she was finished, she glanced over at me.

“Was that a friend?” she asked, flicking her gaze toward the kitchen before returning it to me.

“Liam. And, yes, he’s a friend from Miami.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Is he visiting?”

I nodded.

She dusted off her hands as she sidestepped me and made her way to the front doors. “Let’s open up.”