Chapter 38
Noah
We rented an SUV, and I drove us back to Beacon. Since Loch and Tuesday, Lark and Harbor are flying in together, I thought it was best to get on the road instead of waiting for the helicopter to retrieve us. It also gave me time to think and sort through what just happened.
There were so many topics to cover with Liv that I almost didn’t know where to begin. I just want her safe.
At a gas station about an hour from my parents’ home, she was coming out of the store with Max wrapped around her front like a monkey and a bag in her hands.
I left the vehicle and hurried to help her, happily taking that little monkey.
Max clung to me the same. It’s been a long and busy day even though it’s only early afternoon.
Walking back, I say, “We need to talk about the meeting.”
“I wanted to ask but didn’t know if it was my business.”
I stop in front of the SUV, staring at her in disbelief. “You don’t get it, do you?”
“What? What are we talking about?”
“Us, Liv. We’re talking about us.” Rubbing Max’s back, I look into her hazel eyes that stirred more than my libido that night in the Hamptons.
They woke me up entirely. I knew then that I’d never be the same after meeting her, and that’s come to fruition.
“My business is your business, and I hope you feel the same. I have nothing to hide from you. You can check my phone. You can spy on me. You can riddle me with questions about my whereabouts, but you won’t find anything incriminating because I love you, and we’re in this together.
To me, our lives have already become one. ”
She opens her mouth and then closes it again, choosing to wrap her arms around us instead. I wasn’t planning on saying all that, but I’m glad it’s out there, and she knows how I truly feel about her. “I love you so much.”
I wrap a forearm around her, kiss her on the side of the head, and then whisper, “I should have saved that. It would have been a great proposal speech.”
Bursting out laughing, she steps back and nods. She wipes under her eyes as the tears breach her lids. “That would have been.” She’s still laughing when she says, “I’m glad you didn’t. I don’t want our proposal story to start with, ‘We started pumping the gas . . .’”
Chuckling, I say, “I wholeheartedly agree.”
We get back into the SUV, and once we settle in, she says, “You really meant that.”
I look at her as she stares out the window, seemingly deep in thought by her faraway gaze.
She turns toward me and says, “Every man I’ve ever known has let me down, except for you.
Not once have you questioned anything I’ve told you.
You never even asked for a paternity test. You just stepped in and became Max’s dad.
” She takes an unwavering breath. “You stepped into my life like we were made for each other. Your perseverance and dedication have been nothing less than incredible to witness and receive. I don’t know why you were in the Hamptons the night we met, but I’m so glad you were.
” She leans over to kiss me, but I will always go the distance for her.
Our lips meet, and though it’s short, it says so much more about her commitment to me.
Max squeals at the top of his lungs, startling us and causing us to both look back at him. I ask, “What is it, buddy?”
Kicking his feet, he laughs, looking back and forth between us.
Liv says, “Oh, I know what he wants.” She reaches for the bag she bought and pulls out an applesauce pouch.
She sets him up, and he’s fast to take it and to start sucking that goodness down.
Glancing at Liv, we share the same amused smile—one of love and pride, joy and appreciation. Content in the moment.
Although I’m aware of the trouble ahead, I let her revel in the feeling for the time being. Whatever lies ahead, we’ll tackle it together.
“First, let me just say that I don’t think anyone can deny this kid is mine. Just look at how handsome he is.”
When she begins to laugh, I relish the sound. “No, there really is no denying it.”
I lean closer again. “And secondly, I will always be a man you can depend on. I will do anything for you, babe. Thirdly, we fit like a glove together. Not just sexually, though that too, but soulfully. I have no doubts that you’re my other half.”
Melting against the seat, she sighs so sweetly. When she pops up suddenly, she playfully rolls her eyes. “Dammit, you just one-upped me again.”
I shrug. “Oops, sorry.”
The tips of her nails scratch gently along the back of my neck. “It’s okay. I’m happy to be romanced by you any day.”
We share another quick kiss. I’m about to shift into drive, but a voicemail notification pops up on my phone.
I play it back. Fuck. I missed a call back from Leslie.
I push play and hold the phone to my ear.
“Hello, I’m returning your call. Unfortunately, I won’t be available to answer any questions regarding the Torres account, Bancroft & Lowe, or Chip Lowe.
If you have further inquiries, you can contact my attorney, David Speckle at Speckle Manhattan. Good luck.”
I look back at the screen, wondering why I would need to contact her attorney to ask her questions . . . And then it dawns on me.
“Everything okay?” Liv asks, settling in next to me.
Since I have a few attorneys in the family, I know if someone redirects you to their lawyer, they have something to hide. I put my phone down and shift into drive. “All good.”
My brother is the best attorney in the city with an impressive track record. I’d trust him with my life, but more importantly, I trust him with the love of my life’s entire future. Her life is what matters most.
Liv plays peek-a-boo with Max until he falls asleep in his car seat. She angles forward again and says, “Fear has always been a driving force behind so many of the major decisions I’ve made.”
“What did I miss?” I ask as the statement hits me out of the blue.
“I was always trying to please my father and not disappoint him. I followed a path I desperately wanted him to approve of and dated a vile excuse of a man because I knew it would make my father happy. I even stayed at the company and endured so many years of toxicity for fear of losing him.” She laughs, but I haven’t missed the tremble in her tone.
Nothing I can say will give her back the time she’s lost trying to win his love. I’ll do what I can to help her recover from him, though. “Most people would have stopped trying a long time ago. You have such a loving heart, Liv. It’s his loss that he’ll never get to experience your sunshine.”
I find she nods when she’s too overwhelmed to speak. She looks down at her fidgeting fingers and takes a few shallow breaths. “Everything I do now is with Max at the forefront of my decisions.” Turning to me, she adds, “If anything bad ever happened to him—”
“I’ll never let that happen.”
She pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around her legs. “Or if anything happens to me . . .” She allows that to lie between us long enough for me to know she’s worried.
Liv is an intelligent woman. She can connect the dots from this morning without me guiding her through each step. I reach over and take her hand in mine, our fingers falling together. “Nothing will happen to you, Liv.”
“The sudden emergency meeting with your family has to do with the files I sent to the cloud.”
I once omitted some details of what was happening in the office to protect her. I can’t do that again. I won’t. She needs to know everything, but the only way we can make sure she’s as protected as Max is to have the full picture of what’s been happening. “Yes.”
She goes quiet, eventually dropping her feet back to the floorboard again. Turning on some music, she keeps the volume low enough for me to hear her say, “I’ll cooperate.” There’s no tremble to her voice anymore. She sounds surer than I’ve heard her. “What do I need to do?”
Wanting Loch to represent her, I walk her through the same steps I took this morning to establish the attorney-client relationship. I feel better knowing she’s being advised by the best.
Watching Max run free without worrying about strangers grabbing him, or invading someone else’s space, or having to contain him even in the wide-open parts of Central Park rewires an aspect of my heart.
I want this for him.
I want to give him what I had growing up—the freedom to explore, to make dumb decisions without major repercussions, to know the feeling of grass under your feet, and allow him to be a kid without teaching him the rules of living in a concrete jungle.
Hell, I want that for me now.
With Tuesday playing with Max and Lark sitting near the pool, which has a new child safety fence installed around it, I turn back to the group in the living room where Loch has been going through the options with Liv.
They’d met privately in my dad’s office for several hours until they reached a point where the family could be included.
We are Liv’s family and are all willing to do what we can to help her reach the best possible outcome.
After Liv decides to go on record and file, Loch leaves the room to call the appropriate authorities. Liv eats one of the remaining crackers from the platter on the coffee table. Food will help her think more clearly, so I’m glad she’s eaten.
My mom sits beside her on the couch, saying, “I think that’s the right decision, Liv. I’m just so sorry you’re being forced to make it in the first place.” She rubs her back. “If it helps, we’ll be there for you.”
“It does help to know that. Thank you, Delta.” The warmth in the hug she gives my mom reaches me across the room.
Her eyes latch onto mine while a small smile crosses her mouth. She gets up and comes to me. Exhaustion has gotten the better of her pretty face, and dark circles have appeared along with her eyelids hanging a little lower. I envelop her in my arms and kiss her temple. “How do you feel?”
“Numb.”