“Then we lean into that,” I say. “Cook for her. Show her she still has a place here.”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just studies the list like it’s sacred.
“You don’t win her back with promises, Liam,” I say gently. “You win her back with truth. With action. One memory at a time. One piece at a time.”
He’s quiet for a long beat.
Then, finally, he nods. “Alright,” he says. “Let’s do it.”
I clap him on the shoulder hard and grin. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Because maybe Liam Stone’s done drowning in the wreckage of what he lost. Maybe now, he’s ready to rebuild something worth coming home to.
We plan and plot for the next few hours. Turns out, Liam has a few ideas of his own, like expanding the kitchen and turning the guest room by his into a nursery.
By the time we’re finished, he’s finally back to his old self.
“But how in the hell do I get her to agree to come home?”
I smile. “You let me handle that.”
And then I open my phone and text Phern.
26
I sit on the back porch swing, a glass of ginger ale sweating in my hand, one palm pressed lightly against the curve of my belly. The air’s warm but soft, leaves drifting down from the trees in golds, oranges, and yellows, and for the first time in days, the nausea’s given me a little peace.
Phern’s beside me, her legs tucked under her, sipping sweet tea and eyeing me like she’s working up to something.
I wait.
She’s not exactly subtle.
Finally, she says, “I’ve been thinking.”
“Dangerous,” I mutter.
She nudges me with her foot. “Don’t be a smartass. I’m trying to be serious.”
I glance over. “That’s new.”
She glares, but her lips twitch. “Olive.”
“Phern.”
She exhales, slow and deliberate. “You need to come home.”
I blink. “I am home.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “You’re at your parents’ house. You’re hiding.”
I sit up straighter. “I’m not hiding. I’m working. I’m growing two humans. I’m surviving.”
“You’re existing,” she says gently. “And there’s a difference.”
I look away, jaw tight. “It’s too hard, Phern. Being near him. Loving him and not knowing if he can ever really choose me over the ghosts that raised him. I told him what I needed, and he?—”
“—Didn’t give it to you. I know.” Her voice softens. “But what if he’s trying now?”
