Meant To Be - Heaven Hill Series #1

Chapter Fifteen

Denise squirmed, uncomfortable. She had made dinner only to have her children decide they wanted to eat with new friends. After their day at school, she figured they deserved a little bit of time with people who wouldn't judge. This meant that she and Liam were left alone in his house. Because she'd already cooked, he'd decided to eat with her. It had been a quiet affair so far.

"Have I done somethin' to piss you off?" he asked, taking a bite of his baked potato.

She looked up sharply. "No, why?"

"Since I talked to you earlier, you seem like you're either pissed off or scared of me." He shrugged, rattling his ice in his glass before taking a drink. He watched her closely. It was obvious she wanted to say something, but she held back. "You can say whatever you want to me, I won't be mad."

"Are you sure?" she asked, playing with the food on her plate. "Because earlier, you went from a happy-go-lucky guy to looking like you could murder someone with the flip of a switch. It scares me. I have children in this home with you."

Silence settled over the two of them, so obviously at different points in their lives. Liam thought over how he should answer her. He debated over whether he should tell her the truth or tell her what she wanted to hear. It hurt him to know that she worried about her kids with him. Had he not proven he respected not only her but the kids? Hadn't he proven that just today?

"Don't lie to me, please," she whispered.

"That's just me."

That didn't make her feel better at all. "What do you mean that's just you?"

"I am that guy. I go from 0-60 in two seconds. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. That's who I am." His stomach dropped as he saw the look on her face. For some reason he wanted to impress this woman, and apparently his answers weren't cutting it. Never before had it mattered to him what a woman thought of what he did. Now, nothing else mattered but what this woman thought.

"Oh."

Panic welled up in his stomach. In all his life, he'd never scared a woman, and he was confused as to how he had scared Denise. "Don't do this, don't be scared of me."

She got up from the table and walked to the screened-in porch. Hugging her arms around her waist, she looked out into the black of night. Lightening streaked in the distance, and light rain hit the tin roof that covered the porch. The storm building in the atmosphere matched the storm building inside her.

Was she doing the right thing? Should she stay in this situation with this man? Was she too far in to get out? The big question....did she want to leave? For some reason she felt safe in this environment. Much safer than she had felt when she was on her own with her children. It was all so confusing. Denise felt him enter the small area but refused to turn around and face him.

"You're not used to me and I know that, but you're going to have to get used to me. I've claimed you. If you leave me, which I can tell you're thinking about doing, you'd have a bull's-eye on your back. I know you don't want that for your children." He felt like a bastard for even saying those words.

She finally turned to face him. "It may sound weird to you, but I feel safe here. In the few days I've been here I've felt more at home than I did when I was in my own home. Maybe it's because I don't have much to worry about. The only thing that worries me about you, Liam, is the fact that I don't know how far you would go for your club."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, having a seat on the outdoor chaise.

Denise didn't want to ask this question because she didn't want to know the answer, but she felt as if it was imperative that she know. "I mean, have you ever killed anybody?"