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“Happy birthday, Eugene.” I wrung my hands awkwardly. He’d insisted on not getting any gifts, but it felt wrong to show up empty-handed.
“Thanks, Kennedy.” He clapped my shoulder and smiled. “In my mind, I’m not a day over thirty, but then I look in the mirror and see my dad looking back at me.”
“Your dad is looking good,” Heather said, appearing behind him and pinching his bum.
I stifled a giggle. I loved the way Eugene and Heather acted around each other. Playful and loving, even after more than twenty-five years and six children together.
“Shush, woman.” He silenced her with a kiss. Someone whistled. They separated, and Eugene kissed the tip of her nose, then gestured toward one of the tables that fronted onto what was now a dance floor. We’d cleared out the pool tables earlier, and someone had strung lights up while I’d been gone. “Liam is over there.”
“Thanks.” I headed over, finding him beside his best friend, Asher, the paramedic who’d treated me the day Liam and I had met. I’d discovered he and Liam were almost inseparable. Asher was cockier and more outgoing than Liam, but he and I still got along well. To be honest, he was probably the sort of person who got on with everyone.
“Kenz!”
I spotted Liam’s younger sister, Summer, on the opposite side of the table. She was a precocious fourteen-year-old, and she seemed to have gone all-out in a dress I was surprised her brothers had let her leave the house in. Although, knowing her, she’d have sneaked it over here earlier and changed at the last minute so no one had a chance to suggest she wear something else. She’d done her makeup too, and based on the way she’d angled herself toward Asher, I wondered if it was supposed to be for his benefit. I winced at the thought. I couldn’t blame Summer if she had a crush on her brother’s hot best friend, but she had to know nothing was ever going to happen there. Asher treated her like a baby sister.
“Hey, Summer,” I said, greeting Liam with a kiss and then sinking onto the chair beside his sister. Music was playing, but there weren’t many people on the dance floor. “Nice dress.”
She beamed. “I borrowed it from Bailey. You look good too.”
“You really do,” Liam rumbled, running his eyes over me appreciatively.
“Ew,” Summer said, pulling a face. “Young ears are listening.”
He smirked. “I don’t see any young ears around here. Surely nobody young would be wearing a dress like that. The sort of mature lady who’d wear that dress would be used to hearing their very handsome brother woo his girlfriend.”
Summer huffed. Their interplay made me smile. I loved the way they teased each other, and they seemed to have incorporated me into their ranks. I felt like part of the family. I’d been thinking more about the possibility of staying in Destiny Falls, and while I knew I’d miss my own family like crazy, it might be worth the sacrifice if it meant I got to keep Liam and become part of the Braddock inner circle.
“Want to dance?” Liam asked as the song changed to something slow, turning away from his sister.
“I’d like that.” I stood, remembering my high heels at the last moment, but surely I’d be able to manage dancing in them with such a slow beat, and if I had to take them off, I don’t think anyone would bat an eyelid. They were a casual crowd.
I shucked my jacket and draped it over the chair, then let Liam lead me onto the dance floor. He encircled me with his arms, his eyes flaring as he felt my bare skin. His palm traced up and down my back, measuring how much was exposed.
“Sexy,” he murmured.
I just smiled and rested my cheek on his chest as he drew me closer. We swayed, moving in a small circle, our steps in perfect union. He made a contented sound deep in his chest, and it vibrated against my cheek. I could hear his heartbeat, slow and steady. My stomach twisted at the thought of how much capacity for love that big heart of his had. I’d never met anyone like him. He cared deeply, and he wasn’t afraid to show it.
Time for me to be fearless too.
I tipped my head back and met his gaze. “I love you.”
The emotion that passed over his face made my bravery feel worth it, ten times over.
“You’re incredible,” he said, soft enough that the words didn’t venture beyond the bubble that seemed to surround us. “I didn’t think I’d be able to open my heart again so easily, but then you came along, and it’s like we just fit together. I love you too.”
December
ChapterNine
LIAM
“Are we nearly there?” Kennedy puffed as we traipsed up rough dirt stairs cut into a path through the thinning forest.
“Just a little further,” I told her. We were somewhere up the side of Destiny Peak. I’d been wanting to bring her to this spot for a while, but I’d been waiting for ideal weather so she’d get the best first impression of it.
The summer air was warm, and cicadas chirped as the last of the forest cleared, and we entered a sunny plateau with golden tussock rippling in the breeze. I marched to the edge where a rock formed a clifftop that overlooked the entire township of Destiny Falls and much of the surrounding areas. Thanks to the perfectly cloudless sky, we could see for miles.
“Oh, wow.” Kennedy drew up beside me, still breathing heavily. Awe filled her voice. “That’s stunning.”
