“You’re beautiful,” he whispers. “Look how beautiful.”
“You are.” I smooth a finger over his bare chin. “You had this face under all that hair.”
He tries to laugh, but a cough escapes him. “You like this face?”
With the mask still down, I lean even closer. “I love this face.”
His eyes find mine. “I love you.”
I hold back the urge to kiss him because I don’t know the risks and I won’t jeopardize his recovery. Instead, I rest my lips against the soft skin of his cheek. “I love you, Liam.”
Tears well in his eyes. “Say it again.”
“I love you.” I swallow hard. “I love you with my whole heart.”
His lips tug up into a smile. “I love you with my whole heart. It’s fixed now.”
“I didn’t know it was broken.”
His gaze skims my face. “I have so much to tell you.”
I kiss his forehead. “You will. I think you’re supposed to rest now.”
“You’ll stay?” He bows his chin. “Will you stay until I wake up again?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” I look to the door. “I won’t go farther than the waiting room. I need to tell your mom and dad that you woke up.”
“Tell them I love them, and it’s okay.”
“You love them, and you’re okay,” I say through tears.
“It’s okay,” he gently corrects me. “I know why they did it.”
His eyes start to shut, so I don’t press for more.
“I’ll tell them,” I whisper as I press my lips to his forehead. “I love you, Liam.”
I love you, lilac. Happy Birthday.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Liam
One of thosemail-in DNA kits altered my entire life.
Winola bought a bunch as a fun Christmas gift a few years ago. I swabbed the inside of my cheek and mailed it in.
When it came back, I read the results.
They didn’t mirror the results that Nicholas had received back from the kit he’d sent it months before.
Not one damn thing matched.
I took that to my mother, but she laughed it off as a hoax.
“How can you trust something like that?” she asked. “They must mix up samples all the time.”
It’s plausible.
