“That would be too much to hope for, would it? That would be something really special foryou?” Calvin reached up and gripped Liam’s shoulder and steered him toward the back door. They paused on the threshold, looking out at the crowd, and Calvin jerked his chin toward the big maple tree. Ben was standing underneath its branches, talking to some guy. Some guy who was smiling at Ben in a way that made Liam want to march across the yard and punch the guy in the face. And Ben was smilingback.
“Kevin,” Calvin said calmly. “He exists. And, honestly, he’s pretty nice. Unbelievably boring, but so is Ben these days. Which means they’re a good couple, I guess.”
Liam closed his eyes, but when he opened them the guy was still there, still smiling. But now Ben was looking over toward the house and had clearly seen Liam, judging by the way his expression had darkened.
So. There it was.The other guy—Kevin—made Ben smile. Liam made Ben frown. Hard to get much clearer than that.
Liam knew with a sick twist in his gut that he shouldn’t have come. Yeah, he wanted to rebuild the relationship with Seth, but there would be other opportunities for that. Times that wouldn’t be as painful. He’d only accepted Calvin’s invitation because he’d wanted to see Ben. Because he’d been a fool.Again.
Calvin clapped him on the back and said, “Put the present over on that table—we’re not going to sit around and watch them get opened. Too boring. And make sure you sign the onesie—we’re doing that instead of a guest book.”
Then he raised his voice and addressed the crowd. “Now! It’s time for the games! I warned you all that these aren’t optional… but not everyone will be taking part inevery event. We need an audience of rabid fans, obviously. And don’t forget to write down your guesses for the games in the living room—guess the number of jelly beans, match the baby photos to the adult guest photos, and all the rest of that stuff. Out here, though, we’re going to be starting with the pregnant-man shoe-tie event! So, let me set up the first contestants! Only men wearing shoes thatlace up are eligible!”
Liam faded back out of sight and counted himself lucky to be escaping. Keep it casual, drop off the gift, sign the damn onesie, and get the hell out of—
“Careful,” a female voice came from too close behind him. He’d almost backed into her. He turned and saw a pregnant woman smiling back at him, her hand cradled protectively over her belly. The same pregnant woman who’dbeen with Seth at the house site. “I’m walking for two, you know. Can’t dodge as quickly as I should.”
Oh, shit. “Did I just almost crush the guest of honor?”
She beamed at him and held out her hand. “I’ve seen you, but we’ve never really met. I’m Dinah, you’re Liam, and we should have a drink.”
“Are you allowed to drink? Not that it’s my job to police your alcohol consumption. Or anythingelse. Sorry. Your body is not public property.”
She smiled. “You’ve been well indoctrinated. Excellent. And of course I can drink. Notalcohol, but… liquids. You can get me a glass of the pink punch in that beehive cooler. I watched Calvin make it and put the lid on, so I know he didn’t sneak any booze into it. Then come sit with me on the porch. I’ll save you a seat.”
That wasn’t the quickescape Liam had been planning, but he wasn’t quite churlish enough to snub a woman at her own baby shower, so he did as he was told.
When he returned from the buffet table with a Solo cup full of punch, Dinah was perched on one side of the porch swing. She patted the seat next to her. “I’m not used to weighing this much. Come sit down so I don’t have to keep worrying that the whole thing is goingto tip up like a see-saw.”
“That can’t really happen,” Liam said. “The design of the swing—” She raised her eyebrows. Oh. She wanted him to sit down, not give her a lecture on physics and structural mechanics.
He handed her the cup and took a seat, and for a moment they sat quietly, watching the men taking their shoes off and stuff huge balloons under their shirts.
“I’m pretty sure this isgoing to end with at least one injury,” Dinah said. She didn’t sound too concerned about it.
“I expect Calvin’s planned for it.”
“Hell yeah, he has. He invited both of the town’s doctors andallthe nurses, plus quite a few paramedics and firefighters. If they’re not on duty, they’re here. This party is ready for anything short of thermonuclear war.”
“No cops, though?”
“Calvin doesn’t particularlycare for law enforcement.”
No, he didn’t. Strange to have this woman, this stranger, remind him of that, though. “How long have you known Calvin?”
“I knewofhim since a couple weeks after I moved to town, probably.” She grinned. “He’s a bit hard to miss. But I didn’t reallyknowhim until Seth and I got together. It’s been about eight years now.”
“Eight years,” Liam echoed. Seth had been involvedwith this woman for almost a decade, and Liam had never heard of her until the last couple weeks. Was he fooling himself, thinking there was any friendship left to reclaim?
He’d apparently been wrong about any lasting feelings from Ben, so was there any reason he’d meet a better reception from Seth?
They were quiet again, watching as the men raced across the lawn to their discarded shoes andcontorted themselves, trying to get the shoes on and tied without popping their balloons.
Again, Dinah was the first to break the silence. “He missed you, you know.”
Ben?No. There was no reason for Liam to believe that, and no reason for Dinah to be talking about him. Seth. “He did? I mean, does he still, do you think? Or has a couple weeks of renewed contact taken the luster off?”
“I thinkyou’re as lustrous as ever,” she said, and there was a light in her eyes, a curve to her lips that made him hope, stupidly, desperately, that maybe she reallywastalking about Ben. “You hurt him, though. You hurt both of them.”
