9
Liam hauled his duffel bag from the trunk of his car on Friday evening and charged toward Cora’s front door. This was exactly where he belonged, and he couldn’t wait to be with her. Live with her. Get her to trust him and need him and want him. He stopped short on the doorstep. No, not want him. She wasn’t going to want him in this lifetime, and he’d do well to remember it. The eager anticipation he’d been feeling soured in his stomach. He pounded the door with his fist a little harder than necessary.
“I’m coming, geez!” Cora opened the door. She’d already changed from her work clothes into a blue strappy sundress that showed off her shoulders. With her hair loose around her face, tumbling down her back, she looked younger and softer, and more like the Cora he remembered from the past. A bittersweet pang of regret stabbed right through the heart. He’d missed her so much. If he felt this way every time he looked at her, living here was going to be the death of him.
“You don’t have to bang the house down,” she said, swinging the door wide. “I think even old Mrs. Gilmore next door must’ve heard you, and she’s half-deaf.”
“Sorry.” Liam stepped inside and set his bag on the tiled floor. “I didn’t realize.”
“It’s all right,” she said with a sigh. “These walls are just paper-thin. So, if you plan on singing opera in the shower like my last roommate? Please don’t.”
Angel greeted him with a soft meow, then sniffed at his duffel bag. After deciding it was beneath his dignity to give it any further notice, he began to purr and nudged Liam’s leg with his head.
“I still can’t believe my cat actually likes you.” Cora shook her head in awe. “You must smell like catnip, or something.”
“Or he could just be a very smart animal.”
“Or very dumb.” She gave him a cheeky grin. “Come on, I’ll show you your room. Is that all you have?”
“Yes.” He hefted his bag and followed her down the hall. So far, the duffel from the angels had everything he seemed to need—appropriate clothing, pairs of shoes, toiletries and even a wallet with actual funds. It wasn’t a great deal of money, but he couldn’t complain. As mysterious and aloof as the angels were, at least they weren’t stingy with basic necessities.
“But what about all your stuff?”
“I travel light.” By modern standards, it probably seemed that way to her. She had no idea that the duffel bag contained more than he’d ever owned before.
Cora paused at the door on the right. “But surely you have things from your last place. Clothes. Dishes. Neon beer signs, at the very least?”
He paused. “I have all that stuff, but it’s...put away.”
“Oh, right.” She nodded as if that made all kinds of sense. “Well, here’s your room. My roommate left her bed and linens when she moved out, so you’re welcome to them, unless you want to get your own out of storage.”
Liam dropped his bag on the floor. The room was more luxurious than anything he’d had in the past. It had wall-to-wall carpeting and cheerful blue curtains in the window. The bed looked much nicer than the lumpy motel mattress he’d been sleeping on, and it was worlds better than the straw pallet he’d had in his brother’s house. There was even a small table with a drawer and a lamp in the room. “This is perfect.”
Cora let out a huff of amusement. “I’m not sure I’d go that far, but I’m glad you approve.”
“Where’s your room?”
“Right next door.”
“Even better,” he said under his breath.
“Hmm?”
He cleared his throat. “This room. It’s even better than the motel.”
“Well, I hope you’re not a snorer, because I wasn’t kidding when I said these walls were thin.” Her grin was contagious, and for a few heartbeats they stood smiling at each other just like they had in another life. Liam wondered if she felt that same pull—the strong connection they’d forged over a century ago.
When his phone began to ring, she seemed to catch herself. “I’ll just go feed Angel and let you get settled.”
After Cora left, Liam pulled his phone from his pocket and sat on the bed. The name Margaret flashed across the screen. Damn. If he was going to focus on his task with Cora, he’d need to eliminate distractions, and Margaret was definitely a distraction. As alluring as she was, Liam couldn’t carry on with their affair. If Margaret was anything like the woman he remembered, he’d have to be very gentle about letting her down. Even though he loved Cora, he still cared about Margaret and he didn’t want her to get hurt. It would all just be easier if she wasn’t in the way.
Liam took a deep breath. “Hello?”
“Hey, sailor.” He could hear a smile in Margaret’s voice. “I’ve got good news.”
“And what’s that?” He leaned back on the headboard with a sense of unease. Letting her down wasn’t going to be easy.
“My husband’s going out of town next weekend, so you and I have plans. He said he won’t be back until Sunday night. You can stay all weekend, and we can catch up on that breakfast you missed the last time.”