Free Say It Strong (Say You Love Me Book 2) by Virna Depaul Page B

there. God, I would suck as an actress.”
    Let it be known that I was not oblivious to the huge smile on my face at this very moment. Taking a huge risk, I reached out to take her fingers, keeping my eyes on them. This was a deciding moment. Maybe I could go slow and see where things led. If I felt things weren’t going well, I would let her know. I would give her full disclosure on my feelings.
    Do it, Liam, I heard Garrick say in my mind.
    “Seriously, you’re smart. You pay attention to details… You’re pretty amazing,” I said. Abby didn’t pull her fingers away, and I flipped her hand over gently to touch each fingertip. “The mark of a cellist, huh?”
    Abby was breathless. Her words came out on a string of airiness. “After a while, you develop thick skin, I guess.”
    I pulled her hand a little closer to me, but that was it. I couldn’t scare her away. With Abby, I would need to take my time. She was not a groupie. She’d already let me know that in no uncertain terms. Besides, you couldn’t rush perfection. “Trust me, I know all about that.”
    “You do?”
    “Oh, yeah. Not everyone loves me. I have my critics.”
    “What do they say?” she asked.
    I shrugged. “Some think I’m talentless. Some think I’m a Bono copycat…no originality…looks like Bon Jovi’s ugly cousin… You name it.”
    She giggled then covered her mouth. “Sorry. When I first saw you, I thought you looked like a punk cowboy.”
    “Punk cowboy, huh? I kind of like that.” I brushed her hair away from her eyes. She didn’t fight me, but she didn’t exactly jump on me either. Which was refreshing. And classy. And the reason I was keenly aware that I needed to get to know her better.
    “I don’t think you’re talentless,” she said. “I heard you a cappella just now. You have a beautiful voice.”
    Wow, coming from her, I was truly honored. Seriously. “Really? I gotta tell you I thought for sure you’d think I was a fake, too.”
    “You care what I think?”
    “Of course! I care a lot. Girl, you were a cello pirate in there last night, pillaging and plundering and taking no prisoners. You put everyone to shame! I would take your opinion over anybody else’s any day.”
    A soft smile filtered onto Abby’s face, like nobody had ever talked like that to her before. But it was the truth, and I was simply letting her know it.
    “In fact,” I added, “I was trying out a new lead-in to the song right before I heard you here.”
    “I heard it,” she said, refocusing on pressing back her cuticles. “I like it for the live show. Gives it a little uniqueness for the concert experience while keeping the integrity of the recording for fans who like getting what they expect.”
    I stared at her so hard, my eyeballs almost fell out. I wanted to hug her tight. “See? You get it. You just get it, Abby Chan.” A yellow and black butterfly flew between us just then.
    She grinned. And leaned forward. And kissed me.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Abby
     
    I’d heard it said before that life was not made up of minutes, hours, days, or weeks—it was made up of moments. If that was true, this was one of them. And clearly, I was temporarily insane. But Liam’s light honey eyes looked so pained, so perfect, I had to do it. There he was, worried about his credibility, talking music and plundering and things that mattered, when suddenly, I felt overwhelmed by the urge to tell him that I understood him—I got it.
    I, too, had always felt like I wasn’t doing enough.
    Do better in school, Abby.
    Get better scores on your chair exams, Abby.
    Make Samuel appreciate you more, Abby.
    My own words—not anyone else’s. Sure, my mom wanted the best for me, sometimes pushed me, but most of it was purely self-driven.
    I, too, doubted my own talents.
    Why I couldn’t have told him all that without locking lips, I didn’t know. Maybe Rosemary was right, and my pheromones were telling me things my brain wasn’t willing to listen to, and