Chapter Twenty
ELLA
L iam’s arms are snaked around me like an octopus when my eyes crack open in the morning. Deciding I could use five more minutes of snuggles, I close them again and settle back against him. I hadn’t been sure what to expect when he showed up at my door yesterday, but his words eased all of my fears. Knowing that he’s choosing Macie and me over everything else settled something inside me. I hate that he has to choose between us and his mom, but at least he made it clear during his press conference that he still supports her.
Gently detangling myself from Liam, I slip out of bed with the intention of starting breakfast. I don’t have to go to work, since the paparazzi are still in town and out for blood, and Liam mentioned yesterday that he has a day off. Macie gets out of bed while I’m mixing the batter for pancakes and starts clicking buttons on the TV.
“Is Daddy here?” she asks as I give her a little bowl of cut-up strawberries.
“He is.” I smile. “He’s still sleeping though, okay? He worked a long day yesterday.”
“Okay, Mommy,” she says seriously, before going to the front room with her strawberries and messing with the TV remote. It was on the kids’ channel when we turned it off last night, and she knows which one the power button is. The sound of Harvey’s voice filtering through our TV has my stomach sinking.
“Uh oh, Mommy!” Macie holds up the remote with an “oops” look on her face. “I pressed a button! How do I fix it?”
My steps slowly bring me to the living room, pancake batter forgotten. I can’t even look at my sweet girl though, because my gaze is focused on Harvey’s stupid face on the left half of my TV, while a reporter is on the right. He’s calling in from a home office—not his, unless he completely redecorated. “You see, it’s impossible for William Stokes to be the father of that child, because I am the real father. William just doesn’t want the test because it won’t be a match.”
My heart drops into my stomach.
“Can you tell us more about your relationship with the lady everyone’s talking about right now—Ella Parsons?” The reporter asks, looking at the camera intently.
“Of course, John. It all started…”
What. The. Fuck? I cannot believe what I’m hearing right now. Fucking Harvey on the damn TV, telling the world that he’s the father of my child? Fury like I’ve never known courses through my veins, and I barely hold it together when I turn my attention to Macie.
“Macie, sweetie?” I do my best to sound as unaffected as possible. “Why don’t you go into your room and color a picture for Daddy while Mommy tries to fix the TV?”
“Okay!” She gives me a big smile before rushing to her room.
When I hear her door close, I grab the nearest object—a couch pillow—and hurl it at the TV. Only the fact that Macie’s in the next room and can probably hear everything keeps me from cursing out the damn press conference. “What the HECK Harvey?!” A stuffed pig flies from my hand and bounces off the screen. “Motherfudging piece of crap!” A blanket with ducks on it makes it halfway across the room and falls lamely on the carpet. “Gosh dang it?—”
The heaviest object I grabbed in my rage—Macie’s bowl of strawberries—is plucked from my hand before I can launch it at the TV and strong arms wrap around me. His hold acts like a weighted blanket of sorts, and my pulse slows enough to take in the mess I’ve made of the room. Pillows, stuffies, and a blanket lay haphazardly on the floor, and I’m glad Liam stopped me from doing any serious damage.
“I’m sorry, Ella,” Liam murmurs into my ear. “For all of it. None of this should be happening.”
Turning in his hold, I reach my hands up to cup his face, noticing how sexy he looks, even first thing in the morning. “You are not responsible for Harvey’s actions. Or your mom’s, for that matter. Only yours. And all you’ve done since everything happened is try to make it right.”
He looks at me thoughtfully for a moment. “There is one thing I haven’t done yet.”
He grins as he steps back and lowers himself to one knee. My heart pounds as I watch him. He can’t be doing what it looks like he’s doing. Maybe he’s tying a shoe… he’s not wearing any shoes. Maybe he found something on the ground, or hurt his leg, or?—
He pulls a blue velvet box out of his pocket, and all thoughts flee from my mind. He pops it open and my hands fly to my mouth in shock at the diamond ring nestled inside.
“Liam,” I choke out, looking at him in disbelief. “What are you doing?”
“I have wasted four years of my life not being with you.” His voice wavers with emotion. “I don’t want to waste one more second. You’re mine, Ella Parsons, and I’m yours. Fuck what my mom thinks, and fuck what the world thinks. I want to make it official, for there to never be any doubt in your mind that you and Macie belong with me.”
A shocked laugh rips out of me. “Oh my god. Are you crazy?”
“Crazy about you.” He stands and takes one of my hands. “I don’t want to go one more second not waking up next to you every day. I want to be a proper dad for Macie, and I want to be someone you can depend on. Forever. Marry me, Ella.”
Do I want to marry Liam? My heart is screaming at me, telling me of course I do. It’s Liam. The father of my child and damn soulmate.
“Yes,” I say breathlessly. We’ve only been back in each other's lives for a few weeks and I’ve just agreed to marry him, but everything about this just feels… right.
His face breaks out in the biggest smile as he wraps me in his arms, pressing a breathless kiss to my lips.
“You will?” he asks, letting out a little laugh.
“I will.” My cheeks hurt from my own smile as I nod, and I giggle in disbelief as he takes the ring out of the box and slides it onto my finger.
A perfect fit.
We’re really doing this.
“Daddy, I drawed you a piture!” Macie says, running out of her room and showing Liam the hearts and flowers she drew.
“That’s beautiful!” he tells her, picking her up and swinging her around, making her squeal with glee.
“Daddy!”
“Guess what, pretty girl?” he says, letting her sit in the crook of his arm and pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“What?” she giggles, her eyes sparkling.
“Mommy and Daddy are getting married, and Daddy will get to live here forever. How does that sound?”
The shriek of happiness that leaves our daughter in response is one that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
A few hours later, after breakfast, we’re sitting on the couch together, me tucked under Liam’s arm and Macie playing with toys. This should be the happiest moment of my life, but I can’t seem to get thoughts of Harvey and this whole media disaster out of my head. “I wish there was something we could do about Harvey and the media,” I say as I hold my hand out, admiring my ring.
“And my mom,” Liam agrees, then his face lights up. “Wait a minute. What if we got married like… now? Or, as soon as we can get our marriage license?”
In… in a couple of days? I had thought getting engaged so quickly was crazy, but actually getting married? He takes in my surprised face and grabs both my hands.
“Listen, I am just happy to marry you, no matter what. But… I know what we’re up against with my mom. It was just an idea though, a way we can give a big middle finger to everyone, and silence the rumor mill once and for all. If you don’t want this, if you’d rather have your dream wedding, we can figure something else out, but if what I’m thinking will work, it would require us to get married in the next couple of days.”
Could we have that so soon? A life with the three of us, not having to worry about what people think or the media harassing us? Whatever gets us that… that’s my dream wedding.
“Yes.” I nod, squeezing his hands. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
* * *
To say that my parents are shocked at the image of Liam and I showing up at their door with Macie in tow is an understatement. Shocked, but at least not unhappy.
“Hey, guys.” I wave sheepishly. “Mom, I hope you have enough to feed an extra mouth for dinner.”
My parents recover from the shock relatively quickly, and Mom ushers us inside. “Of course I do, Ellie. Your brothers are over. That means I had to make five times the usual amount.”
I suppress a groan. I hadn’t been planning on telling my brothers in person. I was saving that for a very loud, long phone call later today.
“Hey there, Ellie.” Dad smiles warmly at us. “Liam.”
“Sir,” Liam greets and shifts Macie in his arms.
“Oh, please, don’t call me sir like I’m a hundred years old,” Dad chides, elbowing Liam. “We went over this last time, call me Lincoln. Just don’t say I’m only worth a penny.” He winks and chuckles at his own joke.
“Nah, you’re worth at least five dollars.” Liam grins and Dad lets out a belly laugh.
“Oh, I knew I liked you,” Dad chuckles, shaking his head.
“Is it safe to come out now?” Nolan calls from the other room. “Are the bad jokes done?”
“In all fairness, Nolan, the bad jokes are never done.” I shake my head.
“Isn’t that the truth,” Jayce sighs, coming into the entryway and looking Liam up and down, followed closely by Nolan. “What’s he doing here?” Jayce all but snarls.
Straightening my back, I look at my overprotective brother head-on. “I invited him. We’ve… fixed things.”
“He lied about who he was and brought a media storm down on you.” Nolan frowns at me, an expression I’m not used to seeing on him. Then, like it’s the more grievous offense, he adds, “And he made you cry.”
“Mom!” I turn to her and she winces. “Why would you tell them that?”
“They asked how you were doing. I didn’t want to say you were sitting on my couch eating ice cream at ten in the morning?—”
“Okay!” I cut her off, pinching the bridge of my nose. “That’s not the point.” Taking a deep breath, I look around at my parents and brothers. “Look, we’re here because we have some news, and I’m not sure how you’re going to react to it.”
Everyone’s expressions turn tense, and Jayce curses under his breath, no doubt remembering the last time I had some “big news,” which was Macie.
Ignoring him, I steel myself, ready to get everything out into the open.
“So, I didn’t want to do this in the entryway, but since we’re all here…” I trail off looking at Liam, who nods. “Liam and I?—”
“Mommy and Daddy are getting married!” Macie cheers, throwing her hands up in excitement.
I cringe at the shocked faces, thinking that maybe Liam and I should have waited to tell Macie the big news until everyone else knew. Liam looks like he’s thinking the same thing.
Mom is the first to speak, looking between the two of us, shock giving way to happy tears in her eyes. “You… you’re getting married?”
“We are. In two days, actually. That’s when the courthouse can take us,” Liam confirms, and Dad looks like he might have a heart attack, but in a good way… kind of.
“We know it’s sudden, but we don’t want to wait,” I explain, putting a hand on Dad’s arm. “I don’t want a big wedding, and we just want to prove that all that matters is that we’re together.”
“Oh, Ella.” Mom’s voice cracks as she sweeps me into a hug. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve all the joy in the world.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I sniff, overwhelmed by her emotions.
“So was that a strategic move, carrying the Macy-Nator so my brother can’t pummel you?” Nolan asks, raising a brow.
Oh great, here we go.
“Mom, can you take Macie into the other room?” I whisper, and she nods, taking Macie from Liam and talking to her about wedding dresses as they disappear down the hall.
“You make it sound like you don’t want to pummel me,” Liam answers, matching his tone.
“Oh, I definitely do, but I let Jayce take care of all that.” Nolan squares his shoulders.
I don’t think anything is going to actually happen, but this posturing from my brothers is ridiculous.
“Boys…” Dad trails off, looking like he’s two seconds from stepping in.
“Just a little bit of brotherly bonding, Dad,” Jayce brushes him off, stepping up to Liam. “I know you’re super rich and all that, but I swear to God, if you hurt my sister again, they’ll never be able to find the body.”
“If I ever hurt your sister again, I’ll hide the body myself.” We all stare at him, puzzled, and he seems to think about what he said for a moment before shrugging. “I said what I said.”
Dad, Nolan, and I bust up laughing, and even Jayce lets out a chuckle.
“All joking aside,” Jayce says, turning serious again. “Do you love them?”
Liam looks him right in the eyes and nods. “More than life itself.”
I’m sorry, did my heart just sprout wings and fly out of my chest?
Nolan and Jayce exchange a look before Nolan pats him on the back. “Welp, looks like we can save the shovel for another day, brother.”
“Good.” Liam grins at them. “Because I have a plan to get my mom under control and help Harvey shut his fat mouth once and for all.”
Jayce perks up with interest. “Please, do tell.”
Instead, Liam takes out his phone and plays a recording for us to listen to. He had played it for me earlier, but hearing it again still sends a chill down my spine. There’s a little bit of static, and then Harvey’s voice. “ Aunt Rosa, the papers weren’t where you said they’d be .”
Then, an older woman’s voice wheezes, “ The financial statements… ” She coughs violently, making us all wince. “ Why does my lawyer need them again? ”
“ Dear Auntie. ” Harvey’s slimy voice makes my skin crawl. “ I’ve already told you, the hospital needs proof that you can afford to stay here. Taking care of someone with terminal lung cancer isn’t cheap, you know. That’s why they need a list of financial assets. If we can’t get to them soon, they may turn you out on the street. ”
“ Oh dear .” Aunt Rosa’s voice sounds so worried it makes my heart hurt. “ They can’t do that. Check in the safe in my closet. The combination is written on a sticky note in my desk ? — ”
The recording cuts off, and Nolan and Jayce look equally pissed.
“Let me guess, his aunt lives in Ridgewood Falls?” Jayce asks, his jaw clenched.
“According to her patient chart, yes.” Liam nods. “It would explain why he’s been in town so much and why he’s been so desperate to get back in with you guys. He probably figures she’s going to pass soon, and is trying to figure out where the rest of her money is. I was hoping between the two of you, you may be able to figure out exactly what’s going on and we can take care of Harvey once and for all. I’ve already informed the hospital she needs a patient advocate, but hopefully, he doesn’t get suspicious.”
“We’re on it.” Nolan grins, clapping Liam on the shoulder. “By the time we’re through with him, there won’t be a single item in his search history that we don’t know about.”
My reaction is immediate, and my nose wrinkles in disgust. Nope. Don’t want to think about Harvey’s search history. Skeezy fucker. “Ew.”
“Yeah, we might need bleach for our eyeballs after, but we’ll get him.” Jayce agrees, and then Liam lines out the rest of the plan we discussed back at the apartment. Once my brothers are on board, Liam steps aside to make a few phone calls, and I have to say, I really do love a man with a plan.