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I realized I was still staring at the glasses with a blazing glare and gripping the wine bottle when Nora gently pulled it from my fingers.
She poured my glass and I smiled, giving her thanks.
Nora and Colson moved to the table, setting up all the plates and dishes there as Liam helped the girls wash their hands. I stood by the mantle looking at Colson’s photos, sipping my wine feeling totally unsure of what the fuck was going on with the man I’d fallen in love with.
Finally, once we were all seated, conversation began to flow easily about projects, plans, and the future. Mila stole the show a few times, choosing to sing her debut music that Seraphina had written for her. She couldn’t read all the words, so I leaned over to help her. It was hilarious and worked long enough to shake my mood.
But it returned after dinner as the four of us sat around the living room to have our pie and coffee.
The girls had theirs and were cleaned up, playing in the room and Nora perched on Colson’s lap in an oversized chair which left the entire couch open for Liam and myself.
Liam picked a spot on the floor after I sat on the middle cushion.
I scowled at him, long enough that I caught my brother watching us. His jaw clenched tight as he watched Liam, but he changed the subject quick enough that no one even noticed the awkwardness in the room. But as Nora and Colson came up with new conversation topics and Liam joined in, my chest filled with ugly thoughts and even uglier emotions. It felt like Liam was embarrassed by me. Like he was upset with me about something, but I hadn’t done anything.
Every time my thoughts began to churn, and I’d ask what I did wrong, I had to correct myself.
I would not be that girl. I wouldn’t sit here and wonder what I did wrong. I didn’t doanythingwrong, and he was just being a dick. Plain and simple. Finally, by the time we had to leave, I was fuming. I had my empty pie plate in my hands, gripping it for dear life, when I looked over at Nora’s house.
Maybe I should stay somewhere else tonight.
My head was turned when I felt a tug on my arm, and Liam’s silver eyes were on mine.
Worry.
Fear.
There was so much in his gaze as he looked at the house behind me and then clenched his jaw. We didn’t say anything as he opened my door for me and stood there waiting until I got in. I knew he could feel the animosity between us. I knew he could feel the frustration brewing in me, but he didn’t want me to leave.
That little thought made my rage simmer down the slightest bit.
We drove home in mostly silence, save for the questions Mila kept asking about whether birds had warm houses to stay in at night. Once we got home, I went to soak the pie dish in the sink then headed upstairs to help Liam get the girls ready for bed. This was our routine now. I would help Mila take a bath, by washing her hair and singing my favorite songs with her while we did it. We’d even convinced Liam to put in a little Alexa device in the bathroom so we could tell her to play our favorite music. Mila loved Taylor Swift, just like me.
Then Seraph and Maddy would brush their teeth if they didn’t have to shower, and before bed, I’d brush everyone’s hair out. Liam would come in and say goodnight. I was trying to give back his space, and not stay too stuck in the routines we’d created while he was gone.
The girls weren’t seeing us both in there at the same time, making it seem like we were a couple. If Liam picked up on it, he never told me. I usually cleaned the bathroom while he said his prayers with the girls, and then I would go in.
Once they were asleep, Liam and I usually went to his office, where we knew the girls couldn’t peek over the railing and see us. His office had a couch, so we’d usually cuddle while decompressing about our days, or we’d watch something on his laptop until we knew the girls were asleep. Then we’d go to his bedroom.
Tonight, once the girls were asleep, and I realized Liam was already down in the office, I went in the opposite direction to the guest room and went to bed.
* * *
I hadno idea what time it was when I felt someone touching me. I passed out the second my head hit the pillow. I even skipped my face routine and everything. But now, in the darkness of my room, there was someone perched on the edge of the bed and a hand stroking my calf.
“I know you’re awake.” Liam’s deep voice rumbled softly in the empty room.
I shifted, pulling my leg away from him.
“Haley, stop it. Come on.” He moved with me, gathering me into his arms. The streetlight filtered through my sheer pink curtains, making it light enough to see. The door was closed, and he was now in bed with me, which gave me anxiety because if the girls needed him, he’d be missing from his bed and that would probably scare them.
“Just go to bed, Liam,” I groused, my voice muffled by the blanket.
He held me tighter. “I can’t. You’re not in it.”
I rolled my eyes, even if his words did melt me just a little.
“You didn’t need me earlier at dinner when I was too young to drink. Or when you couldn’t even sit on the same couch as me. I have no idea why you think you need me now.”
