Liam clears his throat, his eyes flitting to me before he starts. "Tess and I," he eases in. "We…"
I watch as Ruthie blinks slowly, innocently, as she waits for him to continue.
"Well, we…" His eyes dart back and forth between the two of us, his jaw tightening as the words get stuck.
Ruthie leans in as if to saySpit it out, Dad, and I sit forward in my seat.
"How would you feel if maybe your dad and I spent a little time together?"
Liam inhales a full breath, and Ruthie furrows her brow.
"Guys, we do that all the time already." She turns to her dad. "Why are you being so weird?"
Liam huffs out a laugh that's part amusement, part relief, then drops his hand onto her knee. "You're right," he admits. He sits up straighter. "But we mean just the two of us."
"Like… on a date?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Ruthie stares at him blankly for what feels like an eternity, then suddenly perks up. "Wait!" she cries. Her eyes fly to mine. "Does this mean you love him back?"
"Wha—"
"Um…"
Liam and I respond at the same time, our gazes colliding. His is full of confusion, mine is pure surprise.
"Oh, please, Dad." She rolls her eyes. "You're so obvious."
He opens his mouth to argue.
"But…" she cuts in, facing me, her expression sincere. "Do you? Love him back?"
Liam freezes, and my heart nearly stops seeing hope fill his eyes.
I think of everything we've been through, from that first awkward interview to finally giving myself to him at Jo's—in more ways than one. I think of how farI'vecome, settling for less—searching for it even—to holding myself accountable for more.
I look Ruthie in the eyes. "Would that be okay with you?" I ask, letting her know without words that her opinion matters.
She nods immediately—eagerly—and the relief that rushes through me might be the best I've ever felt.
"Then, yeah," I say, turning to Liam. "Yeah… I think I do."
Her face lights up as her head swings toward her dad. "This is so cool. All my friends are gonna be so jealous. I can't believe…"
Her words fade as my vision tunnels on Liam. His smile is soft, but his eyes speak volumes.
"Hold on," Ruthie says suddenly, pulling both of us back to her chatter. "Does this mean you're not my nanny anymore?"
I defer to Liam, both of us still reeling from my confession—from all of this.
"Not necessarily," he says, his words half-question, half-optimism. "We're still figuring things out." He slides further up on the cushion as if to get as close to me as he can without moving completely. "But hopefully, it just means she'll be more than that too."
"She always was," Ruthie says, lifting her book. Her words are so casual, and yet, they completely steal the air from my lungs.
Liam blows out a slow, steady breath, his eyes glazing over, and Ruthie picks up her pencil and goes right back to drawing as if none of this happened.
Liam and I stare at each other—processing it all with eye contact alone. Energy buzzes between us as his jaw works with emotion, and it takes everything in me not to jump into his lap. Eventually, he peers down, tearing his gaze away from me.
