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“Are you sure you want us to stay here? He gets very loud sometimes.”
“I’ve got three brothers. Noise from him will not be a problem.” Liam turns on the television and puts on the guide, then hands me the remote.
“It’s still a big disruption to your life. I understand you want to be able to visit, and that’s fair. I could get a job in Boston and move into an apartment nearby?”
“No.”
I tilt my head. “You say that now.”
“Look, the reason I got engaged to Frankie Di Luccio in the first place was because I’d decided it was time to settle down. I wanted a wife and kids.”
“If that’s true, why did you end the engagement?”
“Because she turned out to be someone I couldn’t stand. Even in a house this size, I knew I couldn’t make it work.”
“Wow. And you figured that outafteryou asked her to marry you?”
I turn on a show with singing bunnies that Brady likes, and he immediately crawls to sit under the screen. He shakes his arms and sways back and forth in time to the music.
Liam’s gaze shifts to the baby, the corners of his mouth curving up as he watches him. “Send me a link to whatever this is. So I’ll know what to put on to distract him when he gets upset.” Liam reaches down and puts his palm on Brady’s head. “I’m going to take him to my ma’s tomorrow night. You can stay home, but I’d prefer for you to come with me.”
“He doesn’t know any of you yet, so yes, I need to come.”
Liam continues to watch Brady. “Your car is a piece of junk. I’m gonna get you a BMW SUV. Look online and tell me what color you want.”
My jaw drops. “You’re not getting me a car, especially not in a brand like BMW.”
His head turns, and his dark expression causes the words to die on my tongue. “This isn’t a Maine lighthouse town with a couple thousand people, Olivia. If you’re going to drive on the interstate with my son in the car, you’re going to drive something that will win in a crash.”
I’m torn. Would I love a bigger, safer, newer vehicle? Of course. Do I want an angry, overbearing Liam to buy it for me? No, I donot.
Everything has happened so quickly I don’t know how to react.
“I understand your concern, Liam, and I’ll think about it.”
“Think and pick a color. Or I’ll do it for you.” Without another word, he leaves the room.
I exhale and shake my head. This is not going to work.
CHAPTER15
LIAM
Hours later, I’ve just finished a business call when I get a text message from Olivia.
I open it and there’s a video of the baby pulling himself up to a standing position and walking a couple of feet by holding the couch. When he sits, she turns the camera on herself. “He just started doing this. I thought you might want to see.”
I head down the hall to the family room. “Let’s see it live.”
She looks over her shoulder and then turns back toward the baby who is playing with his foot.
“Brady, want to show Daddy how you walk?”
Daddy. I love the sound of that, especially from her lips. This ready-made family suits me down to the bone. All I have to do to make it permanent is seal the deal.
Liv puts her hands out and pulls him up, then sets his hands on the couch.
The kid wobbles and teeters forward but somehow manages not to topple. Then, with a gait worthy of a man who’s drunk an entire bottle of Scotch, he staggers all the way to the end of the couch. Once he’s out of sofa cushions, he plops down on the floor and crawls across the room toward some dangling wires.
