This feels good. Natural. Being around Liam and his family, having the kids here too. It’s early, as far as relationships go, but it feels as if we've already passed the final exam—he gets along with my family, and I get along with his. Mandy, Liam’s mom, even invited Annica to join us since Annica is currently planning two of her sons’ weddings, and they’re quickly getting acquainted.
Of course, I might have spoken a little early about our families getting along, seeing that Annica despises Luke, but most people do. There is a lot not to like about Liam's twin brother and his archaic and often offensive manner toward women.
It makes me wonder what went wrong; their dad, Collin, is a gentleman. Liam’s other brothers are, too. Yet I hear that Braxton needed some reforming before Maggie came along. Maggie’s adorable, by the way, and so are her sister, Kirsten, and her son, Jack, who I already know from the campout.
When dinner is through, the kids play croquet on the luscious stretch of green grass while the rest of us watch from the family’s massive deck—something Braxton and his crew added onto the home a few years back.
When Callie asks Liam to come show everyone hisone-turn wonder,Liam is happy to oblige. He makes his way onto the grass, grabs a mallet, and takes his first whack! The ball goes through the first two hoops and takes him far enough to make it through the next hoop with just one of the two turns he gained in his hit. He proceeds to dart through the course, making it all the way to the second set of hoops. When the ball smacks the second post with an audible snap, we cheer. But no one cheers louder than Callie, and I can’t help but think he’s getting past the hump in their relationship.
It likely has something to do with the way Liam has learned to embrace Link, who treats Callie like a queen, by the way. He’s gentle, kind, and respectful. He works hard too, and he makes decent money as a plumbing apprentice while he attends the community college to get his degree. Best of all, Link actually wants a committed relationship with goals toward marriage, kids, and the whole nine yards, unlike—according to Callie—the preppy guys she dated in high school.
So, yeah, you can’t judge a book by its cover and all that. I like seeing examples of that in action.
Liam and I take alone time to say goodbye once the evening is through. I dare myself to just…bring up the past so we can get it over with and move on, but the words only bury themselves beneath a heap of excuses: the topic’s too involved, we don’t want to rush things, it might not even be necessary to discuss it at all, and of course, therealreason I’m avoiding it: it could bring our blooming relationship to a screeching halt.
We spend the next three weeks together doing more of the same. I'm not sure which I enjoy most—spending time with thegroup, where the kids are involved, and it feels like one big happy family, or the moments Liam and I spend alone, time that reinforces my recent decision to let the past lie right where it is. Why dig it up when things are going so well?
For tonight’s date, Liam makes me a delicious dinner, and so help me, that man can cook. It’s a Greek chicken recipe, complete with diced tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and cinnamon—the “secret behind the sauce.” It's just the two of us tonight since Lucy and Martin are with Ross, and Cam is out with friends.
The food’s incredible, and the company is even better. There’s an ease between us that feels comfortable and exciting all at once. It’s the feeling you get when you finally discover where you belong. Like during those awkward days in junior high after your friend group splits or your best friend moves. You stumble onto a person or a group that speaks your language, gets your humor, and even appreciates it. Where you can grow and thrive and voice your opinions without the fear of not fitting in.
Since Liam took charge of dinner, I volunteer to provide dessert, which comes in the form of a Door Dash delivery. Liam orders a lemon tort, which makes no sense to me, while I order the raspberry cheesecake.
And just as Liam shares a bite of his dessert, insisting I’ll like it better than the cheesecake, I’m hit with something. An awareness that smacks into me like a face palm: Suddenly, I realize that I’ve fallen back in love with Liam Wheaton. Not still falling, not about to fall, but already fallen. It’s done. Boom. Check.
"See?” Liam says as the tart citrus settles over my tongue with a surprisingly sweet aftertaste. The texture of the custard is to die for, especially when paired with the fluffy, whipped layers of cream and dense, delicious cake.
“I told you it’d be good,” he says, reading on my face how much I like it.
I fight a grin, attempting to shelve my recent discovery as I see how badly Liam wants me to admit that his dessert was, in fact, the superior choice. But who would ever think that lemonanythingwould win over raspberry cheesecake?
"You know who else likes lemony desserts?" I ask.
Liam tilts his head, the furrow of his brow saying he's already leery. "Who?"
Still fighting back that smile, I tell him. "Nini. I always thought you two had a lot in common."
So far, Liam’s only experienced Nini’s unique personality once, when we came back from the campout and started unloading our things outside the condo.
She jammed her skinny head out her bedroom window with a scowl.“Oh, no,”she grumbled.“You’re back. And you broughtmoreof them with you.”
“Nini,” I hollered up at her. “This is Liam, his son, Cam?—”
“Doesn’t care,”the woman interrupted before I could name the others and slammed her window closed.
“Wow,”Martin had said, a genuine smile on his lips.
Lucy finished his sentence with wide, joy-filled eyes.“She actually knows our lingo!”
So, yeah, Nini actually knows our lingo, and Liam actually knows what a grouch Nini is, which is why he pins his eyes on me as his nostrils flare.
"Oh no, you didn't." He sets his dessert on the coffee table and lunges across the couch, circling his arms around me in a playful tackle.
I roll back, squealing and giggling as he twists onto his back, pulling me on top of himself in a moment so romantic and lovely I want to squeal again. We’re gazing into each other’s eyes, laughing and breathless, when we tip over the edge of the couch and plunk solidly onto the floor.
Fifi rushes in to lick his head with a flourish.
Liam lets out a long, low groan. “Go on, Fifi,” he manages while coaxing her away from him. “Go outside, Fifi. Go on.”
