“I have to wonder if the new baby will look like you too,” Becca said to Parker, rubbing a hand over her pregnant belly.
Parker touched one of Becca’s curls and smiled at her.“I wouldn’t mind a little blond baby.”
“Are you guys excited to add a new member to the family?”Liam asked.
“Oh, yes,” Becca said, nodding enthusiastically.“We’ve always wanted two kids, and now our family will be complete.Next, we need to find a bigger house for all of us.”
She laughed lightly, but my eyes shifted to Parker.Was it my imagination, or did his expression tense at the mention of them buying a new home?
Gracie chose that moment to interrupt the conversation, tugging on Liam’s sleeve to tell him all about the picture of a rainbow she drew earlier in the day, and it was amazing how much she had to say about it.Liam gave her his attention once again, no hint of boredom or impatience in his expression.
As other conversations went on around the table, I couldn’t seem to stop myself from watching him interact with my niece, as subtly as possible.This wasn’t like when I stared at him at the office and fantasized about being intimate with him.That was physical attraction and on a whole other level.
Myheartwas drawn into this.I could feel it ache as I saw this soft side of him.
When dessert came around—a small dish of chocolate gelato—Liam and Parker were chatting about technical jargon I lost track of after the first few words.Dad and Faith were trying to pry baby names out of Becca, who was smiling but refused to divulge what they were considering, as she had when she’d been pregnant with Gracie.She liked the idea of keeping it a surprise until the baby was born.
“Uh-oh,” Gracie announced dramatically.
All heads turned in her direction.She stared down at the gelato that had fallen onto the front of her pink shirt, wearing the cutest look of shock on her face as she stared at her empty spoon.
“Well, we almost made it a whole meal on one outfit,” Becca said as she stood up and started to unbuckle Gracie from her booster seat.“I’ll get her cleaned up and changed.”
While she headed to the bathroom with Gracie, Parker cleaned off the booster seat.Liam stood with his plate in his hand to take it to the kitchen, but Faith shook her head.
“Oh, no.You’re our guest,” she said adamantly.“You don’t need to help clear the table.Morgan, why don’t you take him into the living room while your father and brother help me with the dishes?”
Dad and Parker exchanged a surprised look, because my parents had a housekeeper who usually handled cleanup, but Faith was waving them along, the picture of innocent hospitality.
I knew better.My observant stepmother was trying to play matchmaker.She’d probably seen the many looks that had passed between myself and Liam during the course of the dinner, even though I’d thought we were being subtle about it.
“Okay,” I said, not upset with the fact that I’d have some alone time with Liam.
We walked toward the living room, our hands brushing in an accidental way that made my breath catch and my pulse pick up before we even crossed the doorway.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Liam
Iwasn’t surehow I ended up alone in the living room with Morgan, but I didn’t mind.She looked gorgeous tonight, her sexy red dress outlining her breasts in a way that made my mouth water.It wasn’t too revealing for a family dinner, but the hem fell to mid-thigh, allowing me to enjoy the sight of her long legs on display.
The living room was large, with a vaulted ceiling and a stone fireplace where two armchairs sat.The couch was cream-colored suede, and there was a toybox in the corner of the room that I was sure was stuffed with Gracie’s toys.
Morgan moved to the large window, pulling aside the heavy blue curtain to look outside.I strolled to the fireplace, where a curved wooden mantle held a collection of framed pictures.My eyes caught on a photo of a little girl that was unmistakably Morgan.Her green eyes shone as she smiled, revealing an adorable gap in her front teeth.
In another photo, she looked a little older, but was still young and standing next to a woman with a similar figure to the Morgan that I knew.They also had the same mahogany hair.
“Is this your mother?”I asked as she came to stand next to me.
“Yes.”She picked up a different picture, one that showed her in a birthday hat while sitting in front of a cake, and both of her parents were standing behind her.The candle revealed it was her seventh birthday.“She was pretty, wasn’t she?”
I didn’t miss the tender nostalgia in her voice.“Yeah,” I said honestly.They shared many of the same striking features that shaped Morgan’s own beauty.
“She died when I was eight,” she said, tracing a finger over her mom’s face in the photograph, her touch reverent.
“That must have been hard.”
“You have no idea.”She put the picture back on the mantle.“I didn’t even have a firm concept of death at that age.No one else in my life had ever died before.So, even though she was sick for a while before she went, it was tough to grasp that she was gone forever.I needed her, you know?She was my everything.I mean, I’ve always been close to my dad too, but it’s different with a girl and her mom.”
