Chapter 11 #2
I smiled at her and the other two. “I was going to help Nora and Rae get it ready, and I was going to see if you three would be my helpers.”
“Yes, we will!” they all said in unison.
Liam smiled and gave a soft laugh.
“Guess we’re going then.”
The rest of the meal was full of little jokes and laughter.
I found myself relaxing into the seat, my face hurting from smiling so much and my stomach aching from laughing.
Mila kept counting to one hundred over and over, and Maddy tried to block her out by explaining some playground drama that had taken place a few days ago.
Seraph had a black pen in her palm, and while she ate, she doodled on her napkin.
Once the kids were done eating, they all worked together to take plates to the sink, and Maddy found containers for the leftovers.
I stood side by side with her as she packed away the food and I rinsed the dishes. “You’re pretty good at keeping all this together, huh?” Liam was at the dishwasher loading them while Seraphina wiped down the table and Mila helped her dad.
“Yeah, we sort of got used to just doing a little extra if we can.” Maddy blushed, snapping the lid shut.
“Thank you for dinner, Haley,” Seraphina sweetly said, shaking the rag out in the sink.
My heart grew. There was no other explanation for why it felt like someone had pried my chest open and tugged the organ out and squeezed.
“Of course.”
Mila walked over and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Will you be here every night to eat with us?”
“Mila,” Liam warned her, but I waved him off.
Returning her hug, I softly replied. “For as many nights as I can. I might miss a few, which is okay. I don’t live here. I’m just hanging out and spending time with you guys.”
Maddy gave me a little glare, but it went away just as quickly as it brushed across her soft features.
The girls filed out, heading upstairs to play with their toys, and I realized this was when I needed to leave.
Liam chose the moment to tug my hand until I followed him into the small office below the stairs.
It was all wide windows, facing the backyard.
A nice oak desk sat in the middle of the room, but all along his walls were pictures of him boxing, a large belt with a gold plate in the center was encased in glass, and on the bookshelf were dozens more trophies, pictures of the ref holding his hand up in victory, a large crowd in the arena, surrounding the ring he boxed in.
Seeing it made my stomach swoop and my heart swell with pride.
“Wow, this is—”
Liam perched on the edge of the desk, watching me. “My past.”
I held my elbows and moved down the wall.
“Would you ever go back?”
Liam’s jaw flexed as he looked down. “It would depend on what’s going on in my life. Right now, with the girls, that sort of life would be impossible.”
“Was it hard on you?”
He seemed to consider the question, tilting his head to the side.
He had on a pair of gray sweats, white socks on his feet and a thin, black T-shirt.
I loved how comfortable he seemed, and I also hated it because all I wanted to do was pull his hand and have him cuddle me on the little couch tucked against the far wall.
“You get used to the bruising. It’s shitty, the feeling after. It takes a few days to get better, and it’s dangerous. Getting hit like that is risky. But I was good at it. After I became a dad it wasn’t as enjoyable as it used to be.”
For some reason my chest heated at hearing him say that.
Mostly because the idea of him single made my stomach hurt.
I knew he dated, and it was only a matter of time before he found a new woman to settle down with.
A mother for the girls. Someone to hold at night while they all slept in this house together.
Someone else would cook them dinner and then clean it all up together like a family.
“So, we gonna talk?” Liam must have taken my somber attitude for a desire to change the subject.
“I don’t know that we need to,” I murmured quietly, my stomach twisted in knots.
He moved, pulled my hand until I was in front of him, standing in between his legs.
“The girls,” I softly warned, but he made some sound of frustration.
“Would it be that horrible for them to see?”
My eyes snapped up to his.
“Yes. It would confuse them.”
His lips were so close, and he smelled so good. Like heady pine, and whatever the fuck they put in Old Spice to make it so mouthwatering.
“Only if there’s something to be confused about.”
I pulled away from him, feeling annoyed.
“I’m confused, so I know they absolutely would be.”
“I like you,” he confessed, thinning his lips, silver eyes bright from the recessed lighting above us. The sky was getting dark outside as time slipped by, and the girls thumped around in the room above us.
His finger trailed over the midriff at my waist, and I sucked in a harsh breath.
“I like you too, but we have this arrangement…and we don’t know each other that well.”
Liam’s jaw flexed. “What do you want to know?”
“It’s not that simple. I just want to be careful.”
His face slipped, lowering so that his eyes were on the floor, and for some reason I wanted to pull his chin up, like he always did with me.
All too soon the kids were running down the stairs and I stepped back a few feet, so we had distance between us.
“Daddy, we’re going to build in a new world in Minecraft, and you’re the fourth controller!” Mila called, running into the room.
Her eyes shifted to me. “Actually, Haley, you can do it, but only if you know how to build good. Daddy makes the best horse stalls for us.”
I wanted to stay and just watch all four of them as they worked on whatever world they were talking about. I’d be happy to sit on the couch and observe, just be a part of whatever they were doing. But I had to create some separation, or this would get too complicated.
“That’s okay. I actually have to head out.” I lowered my head to avoid Liam’s gaze.
On my way to the front door, he trailed me. Hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats, he kept his gaze lowered while I pulled on my boots and grabbed my coat.
Then he asked, “You headed home?”
Shit. I didn’t want to tell him, but I wasn’t about to create drama by lying, and I owed him the decency of being candid.
My chin was to my chest as I zipped my coat and muttered, “Actually, I’m headed to McGrady’s.”
“What?” Liam’s voice came out sharp with a touch of surprise.
“Yeah, um…” I shrugged my shoulder, “Jeffery asked me to go with him, as a friend.”
Liam’s expression was guarded, but those eyes had flames dancing inside. His jaw tensed, lips turned down, and the rigid way he stood there spoke everything he wasn’t saying with words.
“So me telling you that I like you—that doesn’t mean anything to you?” he asked quietly.
It meant too much. More than I knew how to handle.
“Of course it does, but I’m not going romantically with Jeffery. We’re friends.”
Liam scoffed with a clench of his jaw.
“I guarantee you he isn’t thinking friendly thoughts about you, Haley.”
Why did I feel like my chest was on fire? Why did Liam look like someone had just stolen something from him? There was an edge to his gleaming eyes and coiled muscles.
I tried to keep my voice calm as I said, “You can’t know that. It’s just one night out. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the gym.”
I turned toward the door, only to spin back just as quickly.
“I think I’ll come by closer to when it opens, that way we don’t have a repeat of what happened in the locker room.”
His brows arched into his hairline as he shook his head with a scoff.
“Fine by me. Being open didn’t stop me from nearly fucking you in the shower.”
Oh my gosh.
Heat unfurled in my stomach, low and deep in the same place that was desperate for his touch in that locker room. I spun away so he wouldn’t see his effect on me, but I caught his laugh as the door swung shut.