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I carried my bundle of chub to the baby splash pool. The water barely covered her thighs and she freaked out, squealing and kicking happily like she did in the tub. I floated her toys around her—content simply watching her have fun.
“Don’t move.” Liam appeared out of nowhere, holding his phone on us. “Quick, Mackenzie, while she’s smiling.”
I obeyed, letting him snap a couple of us smiling, then more of me kissing her cheek and holding her.
Shoot done, he dropped his phone on his chair and came back to us. The serious, dignified man lay on his stomach and made little waves with his hands, floating Laurel’s ducks to her. She shrieked as she grabbed her captives—babbling at full speed and tossing them around.
“Thank you for this,” I said, resting my chin on his shoulder. It wasn’t meant to be an intimate move, though my skin tingled doing it. Mostly I wanted to play too. “You were right. Making these memories with her is everything.”
“These are the times, when Lizzie is running around happy with her friends, that I don’t feel like a complete failure as a father. If she grows up and resents how restrictive I’ve made her life, at least I can look back and remember the times she enjoyed herself.”
“Liam, Elizabeth looks at you like you’re Superman, Spider-Man, and Iron Man rolled into one and made out of ice cream. She could never resent you.”
“See, I would’ve said Batman or Wolverine. Darker origin stories.”
“Do you have a dark origin story?” I asked. “We’ve talked a little, but I’m realizing there’s so much I still don’t know about you.”
“I didn’t, to be honest.” That’s what Liam promised me—honesty. “My life was charmed. Private schools, chauffeurs, unlimited bank account, and parents who made time for me every day. Mom cooked my favorite breakfast in the mornings and Dads helped me with homework. I didn’t want for anything—especially their love and attention.
“I know that now and I knew it then, even so, I’m ashamed to say I did resent them at times. I hated the bodyguards who followed me around. Hated having to carry a weapon everywhere since sixteen, and I wasn’t too pleased with the girlfriend in senior year who used me to get access to the compound and steal information about my parents’ business. I couldn’t trust anyone or have a moment’s privacy, and my folks got the blame.”
“Your rebellious phase was catastrophic, wasn’t it?”
His laugh was richly smooth, and ended up getting Laurel to laugh along.
“Catastrophic is putting it mildly.”
I rubbed his arm. “I can’t say what the future holds or how Elizabeth will feel about it, but I know this much. If she does become resentful or starts acting out, she’ll have a father who understands how she feels and will listen when she needs to talk. That makes all the difference, Liam.”
Liam laid his hand over mine. “You’re wise for twenty-three. Wise, compassionate, and insightful. How did that happen?”
I considered my answer. “I grew up faster than most kids. The year I was supposed to be shopping for training bras and giggling over posters of One Direction, I spent watching my mother sit on trial for murder and dealt with bullies daily. You have a lot of time to think about the childhood you want, when you’re standing outside it. You spend even more time wishing for understanding and compassion, until the day you accept it has to start with you.”
A soft smile hung on his mouth as he kissed my fingertips. “Why can’t you be seven years older?”
“I tried,” I said, sighing. “The owners of the time machine refused to let me go back and engineer an earlier meeting for my parents. So rude.”
He laughed, shaking me on top of him. “You make me laugh, Mackenzie Blaine.” Liam looked away. “You make me wish things were different.”
“I can be the sweet, cool, accepting boyfriend all day long because Liam doesn’t date women under thirty and Bane doesn’t date at all.”
A wild emotion gripped me. “Why do things have to be different, Liam? They’re right just the way they are. Who cares that you’re twelve years older than me? We’re both adults.”
Liam’s teeth ground. I sensed his promise to be honest warring with the reserved gentleman who didn’t enjoy hurting people he cared for. “It just wouldn’t work.”
“Why?” I pressed. “Give your reasons, so I can tell you why they’re bullshit.”
He chuckled. “There you go again, saying exactly what’s on your mind.”
“Now it’s your turn.”
Shifting, he gazed over my head. I followed his line of sight to Lizzie climbing the jungle gym. “Giselle was twenty-three.”
Giselle. Elizabeth’s mom.
“She was excited about the baby at first... when it meant a wealthy baby daddy who’d shower her in cars, shopping, and trips. Then Elizabeth came, and it got too real for her. She was young and beautiful, and had a lot of life left to live. Nipple cream, baby carriers, and spit-up didn’t factor into a glamorous life.”
