I couldn’t relate to Liam, but I imagined what I would feel like if I lost one of my brothers, and I truly didn’t know if I’d be able to overcome the pain. I wasn’t sure how Liam had managed to.
“It seems like you two had a really strong bond,” I said, smiling.
“We did,” he said. “We were extremely close—about as close as two brothers can be, I guess. When he died, I felt like I lost half of myself too. But that only made my dad more upset. He used to come home and find me crying. And he’d say, ‘I’ll give you something to cry about boy,’ as if I wasn’t already as broken as any little boy could be.”
I’d never met Liam’s dad, but I imagined if I ever did, I’d get the sudden urge to run him over with my car, put it in reverse, and run him over again.
“Your reaction was completely normal, Liam. Your dad’s just a piece of shit.”
I quickly covered my mouth with my hand, unsure how he’d take the comment.
“You’re not wrong.” He laughed. “He’s the king of all the pieces of shit in the world, actually.” He shook his head. “It’s the reason my mom’s actively trying to figure out how to file for divorce and basically go into hiding for a while. She knows he won’t take it well.”
He let out a slow breath. “The curtain’s finally starting to pull back on his perfect little life. All he’ll care about is what his business associates think—what they’ll think of him as a man and a lawyer if he can’t even keep a successful marriage together.” His jaw tightened. “That’s all he’ll be worried about. His money, essentially. Nothing more.”
He went quiet for a beat. “Just like when Noah died.”
“You’re ten times the man he ever was, Liam.”
He chuckled. “Doesn’t always feel like it.”
I turned toward him, forcing him to look at me. “You have to believe me. You overcame a family tragedy on your own. You grew up, and became someone this whole town trusts and feels safe around. Sure, you’ve hit some bumps along the way, but you’ve always apologized and tried to be a better person afterward.” I paused. “Apologizing is probably something your dad could never do.”
“I also betrayed my best friend’s trust and got his sister pregnant, then lied to half the town about it and walked out the second she told me about the baby.”
“You came back… eventually,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Don’t sound so sad to have me as your baby momma. I’m only alittleannoying.” I help up my fingers, pinching them together just before they touched.
“You’re not annoying, Molls. Wild? Yes. Annoying? Nah,” he said, brushing off my comment.
“What are the chances that when you were fixing this place up, you put a secret stash of Chinese food in the fridge?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Nope. Can’t say I ever thought about adding that to the blueprints.”
“What’s a girl gotta do to get some Chinese food then?”
“Sit in the passenger seat and look pretty.”
I clapped my hands together. “Alrighty then, let’s get this show on the road.”
——————————–
With a ridiculous amount of food in the brown bag sitting on my lap, I was pretty sure I’d be in a food coma within the hour.
“General Tso’s chicken seems like a bold choice for a pregnant lady,” Liam said as he pulled into the driveway—my driveway. “Sounds like heartburn city to me.”
“What the baby wants, the baby gets,” I said, defending my dinner choice.
“If you change your mind and want some of my noodles, don’t be afraid to ask,” he offered. “I don’t mind sharing.”
Before we got dinner, Liam drove me to my house so I could grab the basics, like my toothbrush and a few other necessities. He was extra careful everywhere we went, constantly looking around for anyone suspicious. He even searched my house from top to bottom before he let me walk in.
Normally, I would’ve thought this was overkill, but at this point, I had no idea where—or who—was safe to be around. At first, I was positive the first break-in had been a fluke, especially since I went months without another incident. But now it was clear that I was being targeted, and not a single person could figure out why.
Better safe than sorry, as they say.
“Sorry there’s not a lot of seating options until we move your stuff in tomorrow,” Liam said, gesturing toward the single small couch tucked into the corner of the living room.
Luckily, I’d remembered to grab the blow-up mattress I kept tucked in the closet for whenever I had guests over. At least now Liam would have something better to sleep on than this tiny couch.
