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Liam nods at her and rests his hand on her knee. Willow loves the warmth that spreads over her skin when he touches her.
“Also, if you know Carlo, you know he doesn’t take no for an answer. So, when he asked me out, it was almost like I didn’t have a choice. Also, I didn’t want to lose my job. I went out with him and that was pretty much it. Less than a week later I was living in the penthouse and had a limo and unlimited shopping in the hotel shops at my disposal. I thought I’d struck gold.”
“Sounds like his M.O.” Liam says.
“Yeah, well, I learned the hard way what Carlo was really about. And I know being here has put you in danger. So, I’ll leave. I’ll take Frank and go.” Willow sits up and pushes Liam’s hand off her knee.
Liam is staring at her, his face unreadable. He’s so good at making that blank face, so good at hiding what he’s thinking from her. She never knows if she’s disgusting him or if he wants to fuck her.
“No,” he finally says to her, “stay. You and Frank. Stay and we’ll figure this out.”
“Liam, that’s not the only issue.”
Liam shakes his head, thinking that today can’t get any worse.
“Harriet, it’s not a coincidence. She’s my mom and I know exactly where she is.”
Liam felt as if he’d been stuck in the head with a baseball bat as he flopped on to the sofa. One minute he was sitting then the next he’s punching the wall. He was going through a wave of emotions. Not knowing what to do next. He stops the moment that he sees that he’s scaring Frank.
Liam points to Willow, “So I’m your?”
Willow nods as she tries to remain calm, “Yes and you’re Frank’s…”
“How the fuck? When?”
He has so many questions racing in his mind.
“The day that you took Frank and I thought that you…”
“Kidnapped him?”
She nods and she’s waiting for Liam to say something, but the only thing he says through gritted teeth is, “Does she know that you’re with me?”
She whispers, “No. She’s back home with my grandparents. I don’t know why? I think that she wants something. Grandma said that maybe she’s just come back home. She just wants the past to be in the past,” Willow’s talking so fast maybe trying to calm the situation down and try and figure out what Liam’s thinking. He doesn’t say anything so she asks the question,“So, what are you going to do?”
He laughs, “I don’t fucking know. I can only deal with one thing at a time at the moment. So after thinking that everything was a coincidence, it turns out that it’s a lot more than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, your mom wanted her name up in lights, so Carlo’s not only been with you but your mom too.”
Willow whispers, “He’s not the only one.”
He wants to say something else, to comfort her, but he can’t. So he leans over and covers her mouth with his, then he pulls away as he realizes that she’s his stepdaughter and he’d lied to her earlier. He does know exactly what he wants to do with Harriet and it has nothing to do with what he wants to do to Willow right now. In fact the complete opposite!
Chapter Nineteen
Liam
When he wakes the next morning, the sky outside is still gray. He rolls over and encounters a bundle of blankets. Stretching his hand over the makeshift blanket wall, he touches warmth. Willow. She and Frank are snuggled together on the far side of his large bed, blankets building a barrier between him and them. He eases up and squints into the darkness, barely able to make out the mounds their bodies make under the quilts. He can hear their breathing though, soft and low in the darkness. A fierce protectiveness sweeps over him at the sigh of Frank’s baby breaths.
Pushing aside the blankets, he creeps out of bed and into the kitchen, feeling his way to the coffee pot. Finally, he gives up and switches on the dim light over the range hood. He’s just scooping coffee into the filter when he hears the scuff of bare feet behind him. Turning, he finds Willow standing next to the counter, one of his t-shirts sweeping across her knees. She’s rumpled and delicious looking in the low light.
“Morning,” she whispers probably too scared to approach him.
“Morning.” He gestures to the coffee and grabs another cup from the cabinet when she nods her assent. They’re quiet, making their way to the sofa with their cups, steaming curling up over the tops of the fragrant brew.
Willow sits at one end and tucks her legs up underneath her, clutching her cup close to her and inhaling the scent before taking a small sip. Liam settles opposite her and watches her, sipping at his own coffee and letting it scald across his teeth.
