Quinn
Liam takes my hand and leads me to a cute little coffee shop that I love. I’ve been here before with Sophia, and we hang out here after school sometimes or on the occasional weekend morning.
His hand remains on the small of my back as we walk up to the counter to place our order. I lean into his touch, and his hand moves up and down in a comforting gesture as we wait our turn.
Coffee in hand, we find a table for two in the corner of the shop and settle in. I blow carefully and take a small sip, sighing with pleasure. “I wasn’t expecting the temperature to dip back down under forty again.”
“Have you lived here your whole life?”
I laugh. “Yeah, that’s why it’s so surprising that I’m caught off guard by it every time it happens. It’s just unpredictable at this time of year, I guess. One day it’s sixty, the next we get hammered with a snowstorm.” I nudge his foot under the table. “How about you? Have you lived here your whole life?” And before he can answer, I blurt out, “And please make me stop talking about the weather. That’s so damned embarrassing, and I’m afraid you’re going to think it’s been like ten years since my last date.”
He chuckles. “Okay, no more weather talk. Got it. Also, I haven’t been on a date in over eighteen years, so don’t sweat it. But, no, I didn’t move to Massachusetts until I went to college. Becky and I met while we were at Boston University. Her family is from the Boston area, so we stayed after graduation.”
I nod with a tiny smirk twitching at my lips. “Ah, nerd love, huh?”
He puts up his hands in a classic what can I say? gesture. “Yeah, pretty much. Between me and my computer science stuff and her and her law degree, we had our fair share of brains to pass on to Olivia. Anyway, I lived all over before meeting Becky. My dad was in the Air Force, so we moved around a lot, depending on where he was stationed.”
“Did you like it?”
“Moving around, you mean? Eh, not really. Which is why when Becky and I divorced, I really wanted Olivia to have one home base, to settle down once and for all, and visit the other parent on occasional weekends.”
“She was okay with that? Did you want it to be you?” I slap my hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry. So many questions.”
He laughs. “No worries. I’m happy to answer. I really can’t imagine it working out any other way than it has. If Becky had fought for her, I might have let her win if it’s what Olivia had wanted. It would have killed me, though.”
I bite my lip. “I can imagine. It’s none of my business, but … is it Becky’s job that stopped her from fighting for custody?”
“Yeah, for the most part. Becky was never really a hands-on parent, anyway. It’s just who she is.”
I lift my coffee cup partway to my lips and stop. “How long have you been divorced?” My brows draw together. “I can’t remember if you told me. I was a little out of it the day I found out you weren’t still married.” I give him a wry grin, then take a careful swallow of my coffee.
“About a year. The divorce was finalized just as Olivia was finishing up her freshman year.” He bows his head for a second, running his fingers over the rim of his coffee cup. “It was hard on her.”
“I can imagine.” We are both quiet for a few seconds. “So, how long were you married?”
“Sixteen years. We got married when we found out Becky was pregnant.”
Well, that brought conversation to a halt. My brows raise, bu
t I don’t dare touch that one with a ten-foot pole. It’s pretty much why my parents got married. It’s likely also why my dad cheated and left. He’d never wanted to be married to Mom in the first place, but I guess they’d thought it was the right thing to do.
Liam leans forward and, like he’s confessing something horrible, winces. “In hindsight, it was not our best decision. We were both very career focused. I think she was actually resentful toward me because having Olivia made her put things on hold for a short time.” He gives me a rueful grin. “She was happier once we hired a nanny. I hated every minute of it, though, always having someone else in our home.” He shakes his head like he’s trying not to dwell on it for too long. “But I was an integral part of the computer security company I’d started with a few colleagues, and I couldn’t back out or slow down to give Olivia the parent she so desperately needed at the time.”
“Wow. What changed?”
“The honest truth is the business was highly successful. And I was always busy. I could see time slipping away from me and Olivia getting older and older, and … well, I didn’t like it. When I sold my portion of the company to my partners and walked away, I had the ability and means to do whatever I wanted.”
My brow furrows. “And that’s when you decided to build and run a cider mill?”
“It’s one of those fun dreams that people have, right? Open your own bar, bookstore, restaurant, bakery …” On that last one, he shoots me a wink. “You know how it goes.” He chuckles. “When Becky found out I’d pulled out of the company I’d helped build and wanted to move out of the city and do something different, she wasn’t happy. We’d already grown apart at that point, that was the last straw. We realized we were on two different paths.” His teeth trap his lower lip for a second before he continues on. “She’s good right where she is in Boston, doing what she loves.”
“And you split.”
“Yep and fairly amicably. And if our relationship wasn’t worth fighting for … well, it makes me sad some days, but it feels like I wasted my time.”
“But it can’t have been a complete waste if it gave you Olivia.”
“Right.” He nods. “That’s what I keep telling myself. Eventually, though, she’ll be off to college, and then I’m—” He blows out an exasperated breath. “Sorry. This got way too heavy for first-date conversation.”