“Are you crazy?” I laughed, convinced he had to be joking.
“Definitely,” he said, glancing down at his still-outstretched hand. “But I still want you to dance with me.”
I hesitated for a beat. “Um… sure,” I finally said as my heart fluttered in my chest.
Liam led me to the center of the empty dance floor. He wrapped one arm around my back, pulling me in closer than I expected, his other hand warm against mine.
We swayed gently, back and forth. After a few seconds, Liam started singing along under his breath. I couldn’t believe he knew the words. His eyes locked on mine as we swayed to the beat.
“Dance with me, Molly, just one more time…”
His voice was deep and surprisingly good. As he sang to me, the rest of the world faded around us. His eyes kept flicking between mine and my lips.
Was he going to kiss me?Oh my gosh.
Right here, in front of everyone? My knees went weak.Shit. Pull it together, Molly.
It’s just a slow dance. And he’s just serenading you. That happens all the time—you’re not that special.
My pulse raced hard enough that I could hear it in my ears.
As the song faded to an end, I caught Cassie out of the corner of my eye, holding her phone in the air as she recorded the entire moment. I rolled my eyes, giggling because this had to be the cheesiest moment I had ever found myself in.
Suddenly, low chants of “kiss her, kiss her,” started coming from the table, making the already cheesy moment that much worse. I looked up at Liam as he looked down at me, clearly waiting for my permission.
“Well, are you gonna kiss me or not?” I teased. “Give the people what they want.”
Liam slipped his arm around my shoulders, his other hand finding the small of my back. He twisted me slightly, just enough to shield us from the ridiculous onlookers in the booth to our left.
I held onto his chin, my skin tingling from his stubble. His lips met mine like a magnet to its forcefield, locking instantly. It was one simple kiss, but the feeling lingered on my lips long after we exited the dance floor.
In that moment, it felt like everything between us changed—again.
Chapter 24 – Molly
The boys headed back to the house while the girls and I went to the store for a few random things I needed, including a new air mattress for Liam. It took a lot of convincing, but I promised him I’d be fine going to the hardware store for ten minutes. Plus, I’d have Cassie and Ellie with me, both of whom were a hell of a shot with a pistol, which Liam made them carry in their purses. Where he managed to come up with two random pistols, I’d never know. I hadn’t shot a gun since I was a teenager.
I made a mental note to convince someone to take me to the shooting range soon so I could dust off my skills. Now seemed as good a time as any to brush up on them.
We scanned the contents of our shopping cart—batteries, cleaning supplies, some of my random pregnancy cravings, and trash bags.
“Alright, I think that’ll do it,” I said, pushing the cart toward the checkout.
“We better hurry and check out before Liam sends the cavalry,” Cassie joked.
“No, literally,” Ellie said, glancing down at her watch. “He gave us a thirty-minute max to be gone,and with driving time added in, we’re going to get there right at curfew. I’m not about to see what it’s like to be on Liam’s bad side.” She shivered dramatically.
“Can we talk about that kiss?” Cassie said, smiling. “He blocked the whole thing. We didn’t even get to see,” she added, fake-pouting.
“He was trying to be a gentleman,” Ellie said, defending Liam’s decision to twist me out of sight when he kissed me.
“What does this mean now? For the two of you?” Cassie asked as we set everything onto the black conveyor belt.
“I mean, I definitely think it puts us beyond co-parents. I’m not sure… co-parents that kiss? Is that a thing?”
“Yeah,” Cassie teased. “It’s called lovers.”
I shook my head and laughed. “I don’t know if we’re to the point of lovers, but we definitely have some things to talk about, at the very least,” I said playfully, but more confused than ever.
