27. Zoey
Zoey
Five Months Later
My living room had been overtaken by a board game that involved an alarming number of tiny wooden sheep.
I sat cross-legged on the rug in front of the game board while Bobbi leaned forward on her elbows, studying the situation with the concentration of a general planning a campaign.
Liam occupied the couch behind me.
Markie occupied Liam. Specifically, Markie had settled onto Liam’s shoulder with the full authority of someone who believed that was his natural place in the world.
Every few minutes, the bird leaned down and inspected the board, then offered commentary.
“BAD MOVE.”
Bobbi ignored him. “I’m thinking,” she said.
“You’ve been thinking for a long time,” I said.
“I’m strategizing.”
“You moved one sheep.”
“That sheep was important.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Liam. He didn’t say a word, but he studied the board with interest. His knee rested against my back, the contact so warm, steady, and familiar now that I barely noticed it unless I thought about it.
Which I was trying not to do.
Because tonight I had something to say to him.
And every time I remembered that fact, my stomach flipped uncomfortably.
Bobbi reached forward and moved another wooden piece. “There.”
“BAD MOVE,” Markie screeched.
Bobbi rolled her eyes at him. “You are not helping.”
“HELP.”
“You are judging.”
“JUDGE.”
Liam lightly scratched under Markie’s beak. “He’s giving constructive criticism.”
The bird puffed slightly with satisfaction.
Bobbi turned to Liam. “You’re on her team.”
“I’m aware.”
“You’re not supposed to help the other team.”
“I’m not helping.”
Markie leaned forward again. “BAD MOVE.”
Bobbi squinted at him. “You are clearly helping.”
Liam shrugged. “I can’t control him.”
“You absolutely can.”
“I cannot.”
Markie bobbed his head. “BAD DOG.”
Bobbi turned to me. “Why does he say that?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Was Liam the bad dog?”
“Yes.”
Bobbi considered that, then she nodded. “That tracks.”
Liam laughed softly, the sound settling comfortably into the room. It always did that now.
Five months ago, I had still been cataloging every small interaction with him. Every touch. Every look. Now he was simply part of the room. Part of the routine.
That was highly suspicious.
Bobbi moved another sheep. I leaned forward and moved three. Her mouth dropped open. “You can’t do that.”
“I just did.”
Bobbi stared at the board with narrowed eyes. “Okay.” She leaned back slightly. “I see what you’re doing.”
Markie leaned down again. “BAD MOVE.”
Bobbi glared at him. “You’re biased.”
Liam scratched the side of Markie’s neck, and the bird leaned into it happily. The sight warmed my chest before I could stop it. Markie adored him.
Completely.
And Bobbi adored him too.
That had been obvious from the very first time Liam had patiently explained the rules of a card game to her for nearly twenty minutes while she interrupted every sentence with a question. He never rushed her. Never corrected her sharply. Never treated her as something inconvenient.
Bobbi suddenly turned around and looked at him. “Are you going to marry Zoey?”
My head snapped up. “What?”
Liam paused mid-scratch.
Markie tilted his head. “MARRY.”
Bobbi waited patiently.
Liam looked at me.
I looked at the board. “I’m focusing on sheep,” I said. “We are playing a game.”
“That was not an answer,” Bobbi said. “You didn’t say no.”
“Bobbi,” I hissed.
She turned back toward Liam. “Would you?”
Liam cleared his throat. “I care about Zoey very much.”
Bobbi narrowed her gaze. “That was also not an answer.”
Markie leaned forward. “MARRY.”
“Traitor,” I muttered.
Bobbi glanced at me and grinned. “You’re nervous.”
“I’m not nervous.”
“You’re doing that thing.”
“What thing?”
“The thing where you move pieces when it’s not your turn.”
I looked down. One of the sheep had somehow migrated halfway across the board. “That seems unrelated.”
Bobbi studied me carefully. “You’re jumpy.”
“I’m not jumpy.”
“You are. Why?”
“Because you’re interrogating us about marriage during a sheep game.”
She shrugged. “That’s normal.”
“That is not normal.”
She tilted her head. “Did something happen?”
“No.”
“Are you hiding something?”
“No.”
“Are you pregnant?”
Fuck me.
“Absolutely not.”
Markie leaned down. “BABY.”
I closed my eyes. “This bird is a menace.”
Bobbi ignored the bird and kept studying my face. “You’re definitely nervous.”
“I’m extremely calm.”
“You’re blinking a lot.”
“That is a biological necessity.”
She leaned closer to examine me. Liam laughed softly behind us. I turned and glared at him and the bird.
“We are playing a board game.”
Bobbi pointed at the board. “You just sacrificed four sheep.”
I looked down again. Apparently, I had. “That was tactical.”
“It was reckless.”
Markie nodded. “BAD MOVE.”
I leaned back and rubbed my forehead. Bobby flashed me a satisfied grin. She knew something was coming. Unfortunately, she was correct.
The door closed behind Bobbi and her mother, and the apartment settled into a quiet that felt almost startling after the chaos of game night.
Markie shuffled along the top of his enclosure and muttered to himself. “BAD MOVE.” He tucked his head under a wing.
Liam bent to gather the last of the game pieces from the rug. “I think she was winning.”
“She absolutely was.”
“You did sacrifice four sheep.”
I smiled despite myself. “That was tragic.”
He carried the box to the coffee table and began stacking the pieces neatly inside. His movements were calm and efficient. Familiar.
When he stood again, he moved into the kitchen without needing to ask where anything went. Plates into the sink. Cups rinsed. Dishwater running.
He had been doing that for months now.
Just stepping into the rhythm of my life as though he had always belonged there.
I leaned against the doorway and watched him.
His sleeves were pushed up slightly. His shoulders moved steadily while he rinsed a plate and set it into the rack.
Comfortable.
Safe.
The thought moved through me slowly and quietly like it had for a while now.
I loved him.
The thought coursed through me with a strange, calm certainty.
Five months ago, I would have panicked. I would have tried to dismantle it. Question it. Build a list of reasons why it was dangerous to love this man.
Now I just stood there, watching him wash dishes.
If I was being honest with myself, I would marry that man tonight.
Deeply suspicious behavior for someone with my history.
But the last five months had changed things.
Therapy had changed things.
Healing had changed things.
And Liam had changed things.
We were both still imperfect. Still figuring things out and working through habits that had taken years to build.
But we were growing.
Together.
Even my relationship with my mother had started to soften, which I would have bet money against six months ago. Liam was helping me enforce the boundaries that made the relationship with my mom even possible. He helped me regulate my nervous system just by being near. I’d never had that before.
Liam reached for another plate.
That was when I finally decided to stop thinking. I crossed the kitchen quietly.
When he made to put the plate in the rack, I took it from him and set it down on the counter instead, then I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Dishes can wait,” I murmured.
He didn’t move for a beat, then he leaned down and kissed me.
Slow.
Deep.
The kind of kiss that made the entire room fade out around us.
I slid my hands up to his shoulder as his arms tightened around me.
I loved feeling him against me. The warmth of him. The solid presence of him.
I couldn’t wait anymore.
The words escaped before I could overthink them.
“I love you, Liam.”
He pulled back slightly and looked down at me. His expression softened in a way that made my chest tighten. He looked almost stunned. Then something even deeper moved through his face.
He cupped my cheek. “I love you too.”
His voice carried a weight I had never heard before.
“I’ve loved you for a long time.”
My throat tightened.
“More than anything,” he added.
Emotion surged through me.
He lifted me off the floor, and I wrapped my legs around his waist without even thinking about it. The living room blurred around us as our mouths found each other again. When we reached my bedroom, I pulled back slightly and pressed my forehead against his.
“I’ve been thinking about something.”
His fingers dug into my back. “What?”
“I know this might sound rushed.”
He waited quietly.
“But it’s not. I promise it’s not.” I took a breath. “I’ve talked to my therapist about it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
My heart was racing now, but the certainty remained. “I want you to claim me. Tonight.”
Every muscle in his body locked.
“I need it,” I continued softly. “I love you so much. I want to be yours forever.” I slid my hands up to his face. “I know that sounds intense, but I’m not scared. Not even a little.”
Emotion filled my chest so strongly it almost hurt.
“I already know,” I said quietly. “If you need time to think about it, I understand. But I don’t.”
He was staring down at me. Completely still.
Then something in his expression broke open, and a tear slipped quietly down his cheek.
“I don’t need time,” he said, his voice rough. He brushed the tear away quickly, then kissed my cheek, my forehead, my temple.
Only then did I realize tears were sliding down my cheeks.
He rested his forehead against mine. “Zoey, I have loved you with everything I am.” His arms tightened around me.
“You changed my life. You made me brave enough to walk into rooms I avoided for years. You trusted me when I didn’t trust myself.
I would spend every day of my life protecting what we have. ”
His hand slid gently into my hair.
“You are my home.”
Emotion surged through me again.
Then his mouth found mine once more.