The light of the setting sun played along his face and across his pale, stormy, blue eyes. The blue of his form-fitting, button down shirt made his eyes appear luminous. Those eyes. They were a stark contrast from his sun-tanned skin and jet-black hair. His hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it back with an impatient gesture. He captivated me. All the planes of his face; the scar next to his nose, the shadows his eyelashes cast on his face, the curve of his spellbinding lips. His lips! They were full, pink, and utterly kissable. I recalled the way they’d felt against my mouth. My face warmed the more I thought of it. And the longer I thought about it, the more I ached for him to kiss me again. I broke from my reverie and I – awkwardly and unsuccessfully – tried not to look at him. My eyes ranged all over the restaurant. I looked down at our table. It was rectangular and covered with a clean white tablecloth. A white plate sat in front of me waiting to be filled with the appetizer I had just ordered. My fork was to the right of the plate and my knife and spoon were to the left. Our corner of the restaurant was fairly secluded. There was only one man, a few tables away, sipping wine. Besides that, we were alone. I took all of this in, but my eyes kept flitting back to his awe inspiring face. I gave up my effort to ignore him and just stared. I didn’t realize that my mouth was hanging open until he spoke.

“Did you find what you’re looking for?” he asked lazily.

“What-you-uh-I-“ I spluttered.

He chuckled in a low, dark timbre. The sound warmed me in all the right places.

“Wow, blush much?” he teased lightheartedly.

“Shut up, Liam!” I giggled. I kicked him in the shin, which only widened his grin. He was infuriatingly handsome, and – when he smiled – it was as if the sun shone just for him.
The carefree grin slowly fell from my face.

“Liam, we need to talk.”

The laughter faded from those eyes of his. He set his jaw and squared his shoulders – ready for anything. I was sweating. My palms were slick and my heart thumped erratically.

“Uh-well, you see-I-um,” I stumbled over the words. I stopped and took a deep breath. The words came out in a rush. As I spoke, his eyes widened and his jaw fell open. I would have giggled at his dumbfounded expression had the topic of our conversation not been so serious. When I finished talking, he didn’t move. He seemed to be frozen in place. I wasn’t even sure he was breathing. I watched his chest for a moment. I was certain that he was not breathing.

“Liam? Liam!” As I leapt from my chair, I jostled the table and the fork clattered to the floor.