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It felt weird, almost like I was living with Liam and the girls. He’d told me to just use his bathroom, but I felt like that would be a strange thing to do now that Liam was back. The other two might dismiss it, but Maddy was old enough to understand that using her dad’s shower would be weird unless he and I were involved.
So, I used the kids’ bathroom, and then quickly dressed and got ready. I had looked up a few places to go on Google and had an idea of what to do with the kids today, but I wasn’t sure I could convince Liam. This was so different, having to worry about his permission since they were his kids and not mine.
He was working in his office while the girls were upstairs, so I sauntered in and perched on his lap.
“Hi.” His hands came around me, securing me in place.
My arm went up around his neck, my fingers digging into his hair.
“Could I convince you to let me take the kids to that big pizza place that’s outside of Portland?”
I read up on it. The whole place was massive, including a kids play area that went up five stories, with multicolored tunnels and slides. There was laser tag, bumper cars, bowling…it looked so fun.
“Pizza Palace?” Liam tipped his head back, which made the office chair lean.
I listened to ensure no one was coming down the stairs as I traced the space near his eyebrow with my finger.
“Yeah, that’s the one. I want to go.”
Liam’s grip tightened around me, and beneath me I could feel him growing harder.
He stared thoughtfully as I continued to trace his face. His lips, his nose, his forehead.
“I suppose this is like the snow boots and everything else you’ve paid for on your own?” The brow my finger was on raised.
I nodded and I appreciated him not making me say the words, knowing he certainly didn’t want to give voice to that scenario either. He was a prideful man, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t noticed his overdue notices for the gym or the bills coming in from his lawyers. Liam was struggling financially, and while I assumed his earnings from the overseas fighting would help some, I had no idea how much debt he was in to begin with.
“If you don’t want me to then I understand and I won’t push it, but I was never invited to any parties held at places like that, so I’ve never been before. I think it would be fun.”
My face suddenly flushed, realizing how young that sentence just made me sound.
Liam pulled my chin down and pressed a kiss to my lips.
“Fine, but if we go, I get to hold your hand in front of the girls, and if one of them asks then I’m telling them.”
“Liam.” I pressed my forehead to his. “We just agreed last night that we would make sure we did it at the right time.”
His hand came up, gripping my neck.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t know what it would be like to have you in my kitchen and my bed, and then not getting to touch you.”
He’d pulled my chin up again and stared into my eyes when he delivered that last part, and a piece of my tattered heart seemed to knit together. Old wounds of being discarded, healing over, leaving a feeling of hope hanging there in my chest instead of an ache.
Releasing a shuddery breath, I whispered, “Deal.”
* * *
The girls werebeyond thrilled when they realized where we were headed. We took my car because I didn’t want to argue with Liam over gas, but I let him drive. I also cut a path to the food line before Liam could say anything, and I ordered two massive pizzas, something called potato skins—which ended up being the best thing I ever tasted—and soda. Stuff the kids never had. They loved it. After being the one alone with the girls everywhere I went, it was a world of difference having him with us.
I felt less worried all the time, and less stressed out.
First, they played in the massive play place, then did two rounds on the bumper cars, and finally were playing arcade games while Liam and I walked behind them. His hand was laced with mine, our fingers hanging together, and every time I thought Maddy or Seraph would notice, my heart squeezed tight, but somehow, they never seemed to look down where we were joined.
I felt like we owed the girl’s a conversation, but what did I know? I wasn’t a mom, nor had I had any kind of decent parenting to use as an example. I had no idea what the proper way was to do this, I just knew it felt good to be touched by Liam. It felt good to have him and to have him hold me in a possessive way. He would stand between me and the crowd if there was a guy dominating the space. Or he’d move me behind him if he caught someone staring at me too long.
I’d never been super confident in my looks. As I got older, it became easier, but seeing the way Liam acted when another man looked at me was doing something to me…undoing all my broken pieces I’d been trying to hold together all these years. His large hands had come over, taken them, and showed me I didn’t have to carry them anymore. His feelings for me shone through every place on my body that he touched, and every single hidden kiss he snuck.
During laser tag, he’d managed to steal several.
