He had a blast. Meanwhile, I was… well, having a very grown-up night with Liam.
Several times over.
And loving every minute of it.
It’s always just been the three of us—me, Laddie, and Talia. Our little unit. Imperfect, but unbreakable.
And now I’m caught up with Liam again, letting myself want more.
A family.
A future.
But what if Liam doesn’t want Laddie? Or worse, what if Laddie doesn’t want Liam?
What if adding someone else ruins the balance we have?
What if I’m dreaming up a life that only works in my head—and not in reality?
“…and Tristan’s little sister spilled juice on my sock, but it’s okay because I took it off and wore one of his Spiderman ones. Wait.”
He freezes mid-ramble, eyebrows furrowing as he looks at me more closely. Then his nose wrinkles.
“Mama… why are you wearing a Reapers jersey?”
Shit.
I keep looking out the window and try to act casual. “Oh, this? It’s just something I borrowed.”
“Borrowed it from who?” he presses, suspicious. “It smells like… boy.”
I choke on a laugh.“What exactly does ‘boy’ smell like?”
He leans in and takes a dramatic sniff, then makes a face. “Like stinky armpits. And hockey.”
He tries to sound out Callaghan, tongue tripping over the syllables, and I bite back a laugh.
“Alright, Detective,” I say, grinning at him, “I think you’ve cracked enough cases for one morning.”
And of course,Talia makes it all worse the second we walk through the door.
She looks me up and down and sneers at me.
“You know, it’s not the co-ed walk of shame up in here, Emma,” she says. “You’re not some college girl who can just hook up with people and come slinking home looking like a sewer rat in the middle of the day. You have responsibilities.”
I glance at Laddie. He’s crouched on the floor, pulling an art project from his backpack. Thankfully, he seems oblivious to the daggers flying between his mom and aunt.
I keep my tone even. “I’ve gone out before, Talia. You’re always the one telling me to loosen up, to have some fun. What’s so different this time?”
She doesn’t answer—just glares.
It’s a macaroni-and-glitter masterpiece that Laddie holds up proudly. I immediately ooh and aah, as if it belongs in the Louvre.
“That issocool, buddy,” I say, kissing the top of his head. “Go put it somewhere special in our room, okay? And maybe start a bath?”
He skips off, and Talia and I square off again.
“Is it just because it was Liam?” I continue.”He’s the father of my child, Tal. Why wouldn’t I try to work things out with him? Give Laddie a chance to have a relationship with his father? Wouldn’t that be agoodthing?”
