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“Oh, I don’t care. Is there soda?”
Luke snags me a pear soda from the fridge, removes the top and sets it on the end of the counter for me. He pauses to study Brady and me. His eyes are blue, but darker than Liam’s. More stormy than clear skies.
Brady’s brow furrows as he stares back and then he leans forward and grabs a fistful of Luke’s sweater and pulls.
“Oops, hang on, Brady. Don’t pull,” I chide, trying to open his little fingers before he leaves stretch marks in the pristine fabric.
Luke says nothing.
“He likes to explore with his hands,” I say.
“Same.” Luke’s tone is low and neutral, but I think there’s a hint of approval.
He holds his hand out, palm up, and the baby grabs it with both of his. The hand is big and calloused, and the rough texture interests Brady, who leans his entire body forward to inspect it.
“Liam said you don’t work with him and Aiden, Luke. What do you do?”
“Consulting.”
I wait, but he doesn’t say more. “I’m a student.” I lick my lips. “I took time off, but I’m hoping to go back next semester.”
“Already?” Marianne says, turning to Liam. “After doing everything by herself this whole time? Single mother and working? She’s getting no break at all? Who’s idea was that?”
“Not mine,” Liam says.
“Oh, Livvie.” Mari turns back toward me. “Take some time off. Brady doesn’t need two workaholic parents.”
“Is Liam a workaholic?” I ask in surprise.
“You don’t know?”
“Well, we haven’t spent a lot of time together, but when we have, he’s made time to do things.”
Luke and Marianne look at Liam and then at me. Liam says nothing as he puts a ladle into the pot of stew and takes a loaf of warm bread from the oven.
“Really? What kind of things?” Marianne asks skeptically.
“Well, the weekend we met he took me to a really cool concert. And then we went to a nature preserve, just a spur of the moment thing. And if I’m remembering correctly, he skipped his business meetings that morning.”
Marianne’s lips part in surprise. “Are you kidding?” Her gaze shifts to Liam, but he doesn’t stop what he’s doing or even acknowledge her shock.
Warmth spreads through me. This seems like proof of what Liam told me last night… that I was special from the beginning.
Luke walks over to the table and sits. Marianne then turns her attention to Liam. “Well, no wonder Francesca Di Luccio was so jealous she wanted to kill you,” Marianne says.
I freeze. It’s my turn to be shocked. And I wonder if that’s true. Did Francesca hear from her brother that Liam blew off work to be with me? In a way he’d never done for her? It’s hard to know how to feel about that.
Liam turns and scowls at his mother. “Don’t bring that up again, Ma.”
Marianne has the good grace to look guilty. She glances at me and says, “Pardon me, Liv. I shouldn’t have mentioned that.” She walks to the table. “This looks delicious, Liam. Let’s eat. Looking at me, she says, “You’ve got your hands full, Livvie. You sit down with the baby. I’ll make you a dish and bring it to you.”
“Oh, that’s so nice, but I’ll have to try to put him in his playpen first anyway. Otherwise little fingers will dive right into my bowl,” I say with a smile. “I think he’s excited about all the company, though, so he might not want to be excluded. Let’s see.” When I put him in the playpen, sure enough Brady immediately pulls himself up to stand and starts crying like he’s in jail.
“I’ve got him,” Liam says, reaching in and picking him up. “We’ll tag team it. Sit and eat, Olivia.”
Surprisingly, Brady calms down immediately. His little hands move over Liam’s face, pulling and pressing like he’s a sculptor at work.
After a beat, everyone sits down. Liam is completely at ease as he drinks Guinness and splits his attention between Brady and us.
