“I’ll get it.” Liam stood up and retrieved the two trays with food.
“Blessing?” Sophia cocked her head and looked at her uncle.
“Always. You want to do the honors?”
Sophia nodded and bowed her head, followed by Liam and then Bella.
Sam watched the three people sitting with her. Where did they get their faith?
“Heavenly Father, thank You for today and for our friends. Thank You for this food and the hands that made it. I pray that we find Samantha and Bella some good deals and everything they need. Amen.”
“Amen,” Liam and Bella repeated.
Sam picked up a french fry and pointed it at Sophia. “You can call me Sam.”
“Okay, Sam.” Sophia smiled and then took a bite from her pepperoni panini. A dreamy look crossed her face. “This is amazing.”
“You should try mine.” Bella pushed one of the cut halves on her plate toward her friend.
“Do you want to switch, half for half?” Sophia offered.
Bella shrugged. “Sure.”
“Try it with the soup.” Bella slid the bowl of cheddar tomato soup toward her friend.
These girls were going to become the best of friends, even though they’d gotten off to a rocky start together with the rebels from school. Sam was certain that if she and Liam could keep them away from those delinquents, then their problems would be solved.
Well, the problems with the girls and their recent penchant for getting into trouble.
Liam nudged her with his elbow.
She looked at him. Did he expect her to offer to split her lunch with him? Oh, she hoped that wasn’t the case. She wasn’t a huge fan of patty melts, and bacon was her favorite part of the pig.
He leaned in a little closer. “Thanks for lunch.”
Her cheeks warmed. “You’re welcome. Thanks for letting Sophia hang out with us today.”
His mouth lifted into a languid smile.
The warmth from her cheeks spread through her body like the fires she fought as an unexpected rush of attraction settled in her chest.
She quickly turned her focus to her sandwich. Attraction to the man sitting beside her was not something she needed to mix into this equation. Her life was complicated enough.
Liam wadded up his napkin and tossed it into the empty plastic basket his sandwich had been served in. “I’ve got sometime to kill. I thought I’d go with you to a couple stores. Maybe get some dessert before I head back to the office.”
Sam’s stomach stuttered. Not good. She needed to spend less time with him, not more. She pasted on a smile. This was for their safety. Everything she did was to protect Bella. “Sounds good.”
When everyone was finished eating, they cleaned up their mess and headed to the first store, one completely dedicated to teenage girls. Bella and Sophia disappeared among the clothes.
Liam nudged Sam’s shoulder with his, bent down next to her ear. “Why is the music so loud?”
As if to answer his question, a group of girls squealed as they found whatever they’d been looking for. He hadn’t even realized it was already past time kids were getting out of school.
He nodded. “I understand now.”
“First time in one of these stores, huh?” Sam laughed.
He grimaced. “Are they all like this?”
