She squeezed right back. “Your head, honey. Let’s go inside and—”
“My head’s fine, Mom. I swear. Go see Nate. He needs you guys right now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I squeezed once more.
She turned her shiny eyes toward Liam. After a few seconds, she murmured, “Thank you, Liam.” And then she kissed my cheek, lightly caressed the skin around my swollen temple, and walked over to their minivan.
As they backed out of the driveway, I asked, “Why did she thank you?”
“Because I promised her I wouldn’t let you out of my sight until they got home.”
I jerked back, which angered all my head wounds. “Why in the world would you offer to do that?”
“So she didn’t have to worry about you and could concentrate on Nate.”
“Liam, I’m honest to goodness fine.” I pulled their front door closed and returned to the car. “I swear.”
“I promised your mother, and I’m a man of my word.”
“I’ll call Adalyn.” I rooted around in my pocket to retrieve my phone.
Before I could pull it out, Liam handed me Storm. “Mind holding him while I drive?”
Storm grinned and squeaked like one of his bath toys. I brushed a rebellious auburn tendril out of his green eyes and smiled. I wondered if every baby’s happiness was contagious, or if Liam’s son had some covert shifter power.
I didn’t bother strapping us in, but held on to him as securely as he held on to his drained bottle. “You do realize how ridiculous it is to babysit me?”
“You blacked out. Concussions are serious. Even for us.”
I pursed my lips. “You didn’t seem all that worried about concussions an hour ago when you gave Miles one.”
He slung me a look, which he didn’t substantiate with words. Didn’t need to.
I sighed, because I was aware giving Miles a concussion was the lesser of two evils. “Thank you for not killing him,” I said, just as my stomach rumbled so loudly the sound startled Storm.
Liam smiled. “How about I make you”—he stared out at the sun which sat so low on the horizon it looked propped atop Gold Dust Peak—“a very late lunch.”
“I thought you couldn’t cook?”
“I can boil pasta. Remember?”
After we parked, I settled with Storm on the living room rug while Liam carried over a basket overflowing with toys before heading into the kitchen.
“I didn’t put much faith in this not being awkward, but it surprisingly isn’t. Should’ve trusted the one-night stand expert.”
His spine straightened. “That was pure speculation. I’ve never actually hung out with a girl I”—he pushed down the faucet and set the pot on the stovetop—“wasintimatewith.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
Had I unsettled Liam? “If only they’d known mild concussions were the key to morning-after attention.”
Liam’s eyes finally flipped to mine. He shook his head when he caught my smile, but reciprocated with a diminutive one of his own.
Storm scaled my legs and jiggled his rattle so close to my corneas I blinked. “Eyes on you. Got it.” I grabbed a second rattle from the toy bin and shook it to the rhythm of a vintage pop song.
Storm clapped, then remembered his own instrument and played backup. We got through three melodies before the front door opened.
“Well, isn’t this cozy?” A gust of cold air accompanied Lucas’s voice.
