Chapter Fourteen
Morgan
I stood inside my walk-in closet, staring at my options like they might suddenly arrange themselves into the perfect outfit.
It was just dinner, I told myself. My father had invited Liam as a gesture of appreciation and gratitude. A completely casual and thoughtful overture…except nothing about the way I was starting to feel for Liam felt even remotely neutral anymore.
Sighing, I pulled out a simple and classic black dress, then put it back. Too formal. Tried a sweater and jeans. Too relaxed. A silk blouse and tailored pants. Too professional.
Ugh. “Get it together,” I muttered to myself.
This was ridiculous. I’d never had trouble picking an outfit before.
But then again, I’d spent the past few weeks in a constant state of anticipation, wondering when Liam and I would finally cross that line we’d been dancing around since that night in his car.
Tonight, I wanted to feel that spark between us a little more.
We hadn’t kissed again. Hadn’t touched beyond the occasional brush of hands or his palm at my lower back when he’d walked me to my car like a gentleman after a late night at the office.
Whatever we were developing felt easy in a way I hadn’t expected.
Like we’d skipped past the awkward getting-to-know-you phase and landed somewhere deeper. Somewhere that mattered and felt real.
My cellphone buzzed on my dresser. I picked it up and saw a text from Whitney.
Please tell me you’re not overthinking what to wear.
I laughed, because only a best friend would know me that well after learning I was going to be seeing Liam at a family dinner.
I typed back, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Liar. Just wear the red dress. The one that makes your boobs look so damn good they should come with a warning label.
I grinned and shook my head. It’s a family dinner.
With a man you’re clearly into. Wear. The. Dress. You’ve been doing the slow burn thing for weeks now. Maybe it’s time to turn up the heat a little.
I bit my lip, staring at the red dress hanging at the back of my closet. It was one of my favorites. Fitted to my curves, but not too tight. Sophisticated and subtle enough for a family dinner, but tempting enough for Liam.
Fine, I finally responded. The red dress it is.
That’s my girl. Now go ruin his self-control.
I pulled the dress from the closet and laid it on the bed. I took a deep breath. It was just dinner with my family…and Liam. Who looked at me like I was the only person in the room even when we were surrounded by people. Who made me feel things I wasn’t sure I was ready to name yet.
I slipped into the dress and looked at myself in the mirror. Whitney was right. My boobs looked fantastic. And the fit was perfect, hugging my curves in all the right places without being too much.
I looked good. More than that, I felt confident and beautiful.
I left for my parents’ house, and when I arrived Parker and Becca were already there, but Liam’s car wasn’t in the driveway yet. My stepmom, Faith, greeted me at the door, her kind brown eyes lighting up as she immediately pulled me into a warm hug.
When my father married Faith just three years after my mother’s death, I wasn’t exactly thrilled.
It wasn’t just that a short period of time had passed, that had worried me.
I’d been eleven at the time, and I’d been afraid of how the family dynamic would change.
I had a close relationship with my father, and he was all I had.
I’d been wary that Faith would come between us.
But that didn’t happen. She wasn’t the evil stepmother that Disney movies had taught me to fear.
Faith was kind and patient with me. She didn’t try to replace my mother, but she filled the emptiness that was left behind in the best way she could.
She became my friend and mentor, someone that helped me through the difficult years of puberty and all of the drama that came with growing from a girl into a woman.
Nowadays, we still had a close relationship.
“Look at you,” she said, her gaze taking in my outfit as we broke apart. “Are you trying to impress someone with that dress?”
Maybe our relationship was too close. It clearly allowed her to see too much. It didn’t help that she was a psychologist; her profession made her great at observing a person’s behavior and deriving meaning from it.
“No,” I said, smoothing down imaginary wrinkles in my dress. “It’s a dinner party, Faith. Isn’t that a reason to look nice?”
“Of course,” she agreed with a soft laugh, though her eyes twinkled with unspoken suspicion before she headed to the kitchen to check on dinner.
I walked into the dining room to greet everyone. A moment later the doorbell rang and Gracie ran by me on her way to answer the door, her curls bouncing while my dad chased after her.
“I get the door!” she yelled.
My dad laughed, loving his role as a granddad. “Slow down, young lady. You’re too young to answer the door.”
I couldn’t stop my smile. If the new baby ended up being as rambunctious as that little girl, Parker and Becca would have their hands full.
Moments later, my father guided Liam into the dining room, and just like that, the air shifted and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
Gracie stared up at him like she’d discovered a superhero. “You’re tall,” she announced, her little voice full of awe.
Liam laughed softly, and the sweet and kind look he gave my niece was enough to melt my heart. But then his gaze lifted to mine.
The way he looked at me wasn’t overt. It wasn’t inappropriate.
But it was undeniably appreciative, his eyes sweeping over me in a single controlled pass, like he was trying not to stare but couldn’t help himself.
A shiver raced up my spine and my pulse seemed to trip all over itself.
The intensity in his eyes reminded me of every charged moment we’d shared since that make-out session in his car, making me ache for more.
He cleared his throat lightly and glanced away, but not before I saw that same awareness I’d been trying to ignore for weeks.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Liam,” Faith said as she stepped forward to shake his hand.
Liam smiled at her. “The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for having me.”
Becca entered the dining room a moment later, also introducing herself. I wondered if she’d remember seeing him at the bar the night of my birthday party, but there was no recognition in her eyes.
Liam clearly remembered her, but he didn’t say a word as we all settled in for dinner. Gracie loved meeting new people and boldly grabbed Liam’s hand, insisting that he sit next to her at the table. Parker was already seated on the other side of her booster seat, and Becca raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t want to sit by me?” Becca asked in a playfully teasing voice.
“You sit by Daddy,” Gracie said as Parker strapped her into her booster seat.
There was laughter around the table, and I slid into a chair across from Liam.
Once dinner was on the table, Faith sat next to me with my dad on her other side.
It was like any of the other countless family meals we’d had, but it felt completely different because Liam was here, and every time I looked up, his eyes were already on me.
Gracie chattered most of the meal, directing her questions and observations toward Liam. I doubt that he expected to spend this whole meal engaging with a toddler, but he was patient and kind with her the whole time.
“Why do you have brown hair?” she asked randomly, and he smiled as he thought about the answer.
“I guess it’s because my dad has brown hair,” he said, and Gracie’s eyes went to Parker. She looked shocked, as if it never occurred to her before that her own brown hair might have come from him.
“I have to wonder if the new baby will look like you too,” Becca said to Parker, rubbing a hand over her pregnant belly.
Parker touched one of Becca’s curls and smiled at her. “I wouldn’t mind a little blond baby.”
“Are you guys excited to add a new member to the family?” Liam asked.
“Oh, yes,” Becca said, nodding enthusiastically. “We’ve always wanted two kids, and now our family will be complete. Next, we need to find a bigger house for all of us.”
She laughed lightly, but my eyes shifted to Parker. Was it my imagination, or did his expression tense at the mention of them buying a new home?
Gracie chose that moment to interrupt the conversation, tugging on Liam’s sleeve to tell him all about the picture of a rainbow she drew earlier in the day, and it was amazing how much she had to say about it.
Liam gave her his attention once again, no hint of boredom or impatience in his expression.
As other conversations went on around the table, I couldn’t seem to stop myself from watching him interact with my niece, as subtly as possible. This wasn’t like when I stared at him at the office and fantasized about being intimate with him. That was physical attraction and on a whole other level.
My heart was drawn into this. I could feel it ache as I saw this soft side of him.
When dessert came around—a small dish of chocolate gelato—Liam and Parker were chatting about technical jargon I lost track of after the first few words.
Dad and Faith were trying to pry baby names out of Becca, who was smiling but refused to divulge what they were considering, as she had when she’d been pregnant with Gracie.
She liked the idea of keeping it a surprise until the baby was born.
“Uh-oh,” Gracie announced dramatically.
All heads turned in her direction. She stared down at the gelato that had fallen onto the front of her pink shirt, wearing the cutest look of shock on her face as she stared at her empty spoon.
“Well, we almost made it a whole meal on one outfit,” Becca said as she stood up and started to unbuckle Gracie from her booster seat. “I’ll get her cleaned up and changed.”
While she headed to the bathroom with Gracie, Parker cleaned off the booster seat. Liam stood with his plate in his hand to take it to the kitchen, but Faith shook her head.
“Oh, no. You’re our guest,” she said adamantly. “You don’t need to help clear the table. Morgan, why don’t you take him into the living room while your father and brother help me with the dishes?”
Dad and Parker exchanged a surprised look, because my parents had a housekeeper who usually handled cleanup, but Faith was waving them along, the picture of innocent hospitality.
I knew better. My observant stepmother was trying to play matchmaker. She’d probably seen the many looks that had passed between myself and Liam during the course of the dinner, even though I’d thought we were being subtle about it.
“Okay,” I said, not upset with the fact that I’d have some alone time with Liam.
We walked toward the living room, our hands brushing in an accidental way that made my breath catch and my pulse pick up before we even crossed the doorway.