Page 19 of Seeking Stars
He reached for her glass and took it to the fridge's water dispenser. "Ice?"
"Yes, please."
He gave her back the glass and proceeded to repeat the process with his own.
"I didn't ask before," she said, "but are you open to discussion? I'll respect your wishes, of course, but can I poke first?"
"As a sign of my goodwill and generosity, I'll say yes."
Her shyness went away at his teasing, and a glint appeared in her eyes. "I appreciate that. Very magnanimous of you."
He laughed. "You're welcome."
"Okay then. Is the awkwardness gone? Have we ironed out details? Are we ready for this?"
He took her plate out of the microwave and gave it to her. He walked around the island and sat in front of his food.
"As ready as can be," he said.
"And are we ready for the trip?"
"Almost. My PA is coming tomorrow to help me finalize a few things, and I have a couple of calls scheduled. But on Sunday, I'm free."
"Can I hover around as you do these things tomorrow?"
He filled his fork with food, before stealing a glance at her. "I expected you to. That's what we signed up for, right? You can even ask questions."
Chapter 6 - On the Road
Road trips gave Ana butterflies. Since this particular trip was for work, she caged them in.
She came out of the guest bedroom with her two bags. Liam wasn't out of his room yet, so she left them near the main door and went back into the kitchen. She filled up her water bottle and he came out of his room, big bag in hand.
"You ready?" His eyes sparkled.
With only a few words and gestures, they closed up the house and got their things into Liam's car. They loaded the big, dark green luxury SUV up with groceries, too, which to Ana only added mystery to the trip.
She got comfortable on the passenger side as he closed the main house door, admiring the tech signaling a relatively new, very expensive model. He appeared by the driver's door and got comfortable in the car, too.
"God, I love road trips," he said as the engine purred to life. He put on an 80s mix playlist and, with it filling the car, drove out of the property.
"Me too. Growing up, this is how we did family vacations. My dad loves to drive and we'd go out and explore different cities and states around our town. In a way, I think it helped him feel more settled in this country. Getting to know the area made him feel familiar with it which, in turn, made him feel more like he belonged."
"I can see that. My ancestors— a bunch of northern European folks— came here a while ago and I guess to them it was a lot of, let's see where we can find some land and make it ours."
"Right, that's what it probably was like back then, instead of visa applications and stuff. Let's just get this land, a king faraway said it's okay. Oh, you say it's inhabited already? I don't think that matters."
"Did you come here little, or were you born here?"
Ana's belly tightened. Questions like this often came with a load of emotional labor on Ana's part. She took a deep, fortifying breath and tried to find what to say.
He must have mistaken the meaning of her silence, for he apologized. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that. I assumed that if your dad wanted to feel settled in this country that he was an immigrant, but I think I shouldn't have assumed."
"Yes, he's an immigrant." She bit her lip. "Both my parents are. I was born here, though."
It was his turn to be silent. He drove them on the Ventura Freeway, following a steady pace.
She played with the loose threads of her distressed jeans. "You're right. What I told you suggested they immigrated here."
