Liam
Gritting my teeth, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When that doesn’t work, I do it again.
A cat. Tell me she doesn’t want a cat. Tell me the condition of my freedom, as it were, isn’t a furry, pissing, clawing menace.
I open my eyes to see hope in her eyes and determination on her face. This is a test. It’s a fucking test. And it’s a lose-lose for me. I’m going to end up with a fucking long-haired Persian cat named Fluffy McGunnigans and three-million-dollar vet bills or, alternately, a lawsuit for poking someone’s eye out.
She’s playing chess, offering me an option that I’d never take, and just called “Check.”
Well, two can play that game, little one. “Only if I get to name it.”
The collective gasp around my dining room communicates how little Cian and Ayla thought I would take the deal.
“Do you want to pick out your ring, or would you like me to?”
Her head jolts back. She certainly didn’t expect that question. A little shrug is followed with, “You can if you want.”
I nod. “Now please eat. You’ve pushed your food around long enough. Daddy likes your ass.”
“Gag. Oh God, no,” Ayla starts. “This just gets worse and worse. I’m out of here. Franklin has better manners than you do.”She stands, takes her plate to the sink, and returns to kiss me on the cheek. “Love you, Li,” she whispers quietly. “Even when you’re ridiculous.”
She kisses Cian and hugs Lorien. She pulls back, still holding my fiancée’s upper arms. “I like you. You’re family as long as you want to be. Come by the house for dinner sometime.” She tilts her head to me. “You can leave the brute. Or bring him and we’ll assign him baby duty.”
“I’d like that.”
“What a hardship,” I reply sarcastically.
“Liam has my number.” She turns to me. “Pass along my contact, yeah?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I salute my sister. “And bring my goddaughter back soon. Or I’ll be on your doorstep.”
“Counting on that, Liam.” She’s out the door when Cian stands. “I’d better get too. Sariah’s doing great with Wills, and she has Renée for help, but I’ve been gone a while. When are you coming by? It’s been too long.”
“Next weekend if not before.”
“Bring Lorien. Angel’s going to be pissed this all went down and she wasn’t here.”
I stare at the woman at the foot of the table, my gaze rooted to hers, but speak to my brother, “When she’s up for it, we’ll be there.”
“Make it soon.” Cian slips around the table, taking his plate and adding his and Ayla’s to the dishwasher, before slipping out the front door with another wave.
“So…” I start but don’t know where I’m going.
“Wills? Renée? Sariah?”
“Sariah is my sister-in-law.” I point to the picture on my counter that’s visible from where she sits. “Renée is her daughter from a previous relationship.” That’s the easy explanation. “Cian adopted her. She’s fifteen and one of my favorite people on the planet. Wills is a few weeks younger than Sophia.”
“Do we really need to live together?” Lorien gnaws her bottom lip whilestaring at her plate.
“It’s not my favorite either, but we both have two bedrooms, and appearances matter.”
The sigh that leaves her is in time with her diverting her eyes.
“What? You might as well tell me. If this is going to work, we need to be honest with each other.”
“Why would someone like you choose someone like me?”
What the fuck? I’ve more than once been shit on the bottom of someone’s shoe but having it thrown in my face in my own home is not okay.
