Chapter 52
LONDON
Iwoke up to the smell of fresh farm eggs and bacon, but even as I opened my eyes, I felt an unexpected heaviness in my chest. Breakfast smelled delicious and I couldn’t wait to cuddle my niece some more, but I actually, much to my surprise, really friggin’ missed Liam Jones.
It’s just because we’ve spent so much time together. It’s nothing serious. Sure, maybe I might be in love, but that’s not so serious either, right? People do it all the time. I’ll be fine. This is nothing to worry about.
As I sat up and squinted at the bright blue sky outside through sleepy eyes, however, I knew it was more than nothing.
I also knew that he’d be coming to the ranch tonight for the big family dinner and game night.
Charlie had invited him pretty much the minute they’d decided to host this darn thing.
My heart skipped and soared, and I smiled, rolling out of bed. A wave of energy rolled over me. Yesterday without him had been weird, but good for my soul. My sisters had kept talking me through all this while we’d walked. Then we’d let it go and talked more about them.
Catching up with them had been amazing and I was looking forward to doing more of that today, but I just also really freaking missed having him around. Looking forward to seeing him later, I headed downstairs to join my sisters in the kitchen.
They were laughing while Liv flipped pancakes and Abi was already sipping on her second cup of coffee. In her arms was the cutest little girl in the whole wide world, my niece, Elizabeth Grace Walker.
I made a beeline for her chubby little baby body, loving the way her legs kicked in her onesie and her toothless smile. Without even looking at my sisters, I held my arms out toward Lizzie. “Hello, baby. Good morning. Did you sleep well? Is Auntie Abi hogging you? Yes, she is. She so is.”
Olivia laughed. “Good morning to you too. This is just the incubator here who also happens to be cooking your breakfast.”
I glanced at her and winked. “You’re the best incubator on the planet for making this little cutie.”
Abi sighed and finally handed over the tiny bundle of softness and joy. She smelled like powder and cream, and I planted my nose against her head to breathe her in, my lashes drifting closed. “Guys, I think I’m in love.”
“We already knew that,” Abi teased.
I opened my eyes for the express purpose of rolling them, and then I sat down and turned Elizabeth Grace to face me.
“Oh, your auntie is so silly. She’s so silly.
You’re the one I’m in love with. Are you going to come home with me?
I think you should. Can you say Flo. Ri. Da? Florida. You’ll love it there.”
Lizzie flashed me another gummy smile and I melted, staring at her full, rosy cheeks and her bright blue eyes—and suddenly really not feeling as opposed as I always had been to making one of these. One I could keep. One of my own.
Immediately, I lifted her off my lap and held her out toward Abi again. “Take her. My ovaries are taking the wheel and we can’t let that happen. It’s downright dangerous.”
Liv laughed from the stove. “She has a tendency of doing that. Just don’t look her in the eyes and you’ll be fine.”
“Too late,” I said.
Abi, on the other hand, accepted her back with a happy smile on her lips and brought Lizzie close to her chest. “That’s okay, baby.
I’m not scared of you or what you do to my ovaries, but you’re going to have some explaining to do to your uncle Simon when I get home.
Forget Florida. How about coming home with me and convincing him you need a cousin? ”
“Hold your horses, honey.” Olivia shoved some pancakes at Abi and motioned at the toppings on the table. There was syrup and cream, fresh berries, cheese, and breakfast meats. “You need to focus on planning your wedding, not making one of these to distract you until then.”
Abi’s gaze remained rooted on Lizzie. “Distract away, darling. I’ll elope. Who needs a pretty, puffy wedding dress and the whole white wedding fiasco? Not me.”
“Ouch.” Olivia laughed. “I had all that.”
“Yeah, but now you have this and she’s just too cute.”
While Abi kept cooing at Lizzie, Olivia joined us at the table and brought plates of food with her.
She set them down in the middle and then leaned back, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.
“Help yourselves.” She glanced at me and raised her eyebrows.
“You had a pretty dreamy smile on your face when you came down those stairs. You hear from Liam last night?”
I shook my head. “Not a word.”
Yet I flashed back on lots of moments with him as I looked out into the morning sunlight.
I remembered him helping me with my suitcase yesterday and the way he’d pulled his hoodie over me on the plane.
I thought about how he never let me open my own doors but still let me take the lead in every meeting.
How I always felt a little less like I was fighting against the whole world when he was next to me. Not to mention our nights together, the way he’d taken care of needs I hadn’t even realized I had and how completely selfless he’d been about it.
Guys like that didn’t just come along every day.
A lot of them pretended to be that way, sure, but men who were truly comfortable taking charge in the bedroom and letting you do it in the boardroom?
Guys who treated you like a brat, a princess, a friend, and a very desirable lover without skipping a beat?
They were rare.
With him, I could let out my inner everything without being embarrassed or worrying about being judged for being vulnerable, horny, or bossy. I honestly hadn’t met any other man capable of handling that.
Not as well as he did.
Olivia chuckled. “You’re in your feels. Shake it off or go upstairs and call him, lover girl. But before you do any of that, eat. I’ve got a full day planned for us.”
Abi finally looked away from Lizzie to lift her gaze to mine. “We’re doing antique shops, little boutiques, and walking around downtown. I’ve never done that in Houston and I’ve been reading up about it a lot. I’m dying to get that experience.”
“What about her?” I asked, glancing at Lizzie’s smile and her those long, long eyelashes. “Is she coming too?”
“Princess Elizabeth and I have work to do,” Charlie declared as he swept into the room, sweaty, dirty, and bringing the inevitable stench of hours of chores with him. “Good morning, ladies. Sleep well?”
“The best,” I said honestly. “There’s no sleep like ranch sleep.”
“Preach.” He winked at me and reached for his daughter, who’d thrown her little arms out toward him and was giggling and squirming trying to get to her daddy. “Morning, little darlin’.” He turned and bent over to press a kiss to Liv’s forehead. “And big darlin’.”
After nuzzling each of them in turn, he looked at us. “I need a shower before I take her. You good keeping her for a few more minutes, Abi?”
“I’m good keeping her with me all day, but if you insist on her staying here, then fine. I will absolutely watch her while you go wash up.”
He chuckled. “It’s dang nice having so many extra hands around, I’ll tell you that much. Alright, I’ll be back.”
As he disappeared, we settled in the sun-soaked kitchen and ate the food that Olivia had cooked. I could hardly believe my sister had made this. “Do you know that I remember when you moved here, you could barely make ramen or French toast?”
Liv looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Charlie and I got into grandma’s recipe books. Having June around to help us out was awesome. My mother-in-law has got to be the greatest cook in the state. I’ve learned so much from her.”
“Evidently.” I winked when Liv shot me an exasperated smile. “What? This is really, really good. June must be an excellent teacher.”
Olivia laughed but finally nodded her agreement and we ate together. All the while, I kept glancing at my phone, waiting for a text that never came. I honestly thought I’d hear from him during the day, but Liam had gone radio silent.
When my sisters and I finally got to town, we had a blast. We sipped iced coffee, laughed, and shopped, visiting all those shops Abi had mentioned and more.
I loved browsing through antique stores and I found some real gems, old landline telephones that were now merely decorative but were so dang vintage that I couldn’t resist. I bought a French-style toddler bed for Lizzie, with little angels engraved into the wood and I even eyed a bassinet I planned on secretly buying for Abi.
But as much fun as I was having, even sneaking in a quick purchase of something old and something blue for Abi’s wedding, I could not stop checking my phone.
I hated people who did that, constantly fishing out the damn devices they were all slaves to just to ensure they hadn’t missed anything, but I couldn’t help myself.
There was still nothing from Liam, though.
After spending all afternoon in town, we headed back to the ranch and Charlie and Liv started setting up for the big family dinner and games night. I helped them string lights along the back porch, doing anything I could to help keep my mind off of Liam.
As the sun started to set, I went back up to my bedroom to get ready, wondering if I should wear one of the vintage dresses I’d bought today or something modern and edgy. Finally, as I got out of the shower, my phone beeped.
My entire being lit up when I saw his name on my screen. I even felt an excited squeal working its way up my throat, but I swallowed it down and gave myself a real good pep talk about appropriate responses to texts from a friend with whom one had agreed not to be anything more.
Then I picked up my phone and forced myself to move slowly to open his message. It was nothing earth-shattering, no declarations of everlasting love or even everlasting tolerance. It was just a regular message, but it was from him and that made my heart beat faster and my lips curl into a smile.
Liam: Be there soon. I know you’ve missed me. I forgive you in advance for the emotional outburst that is bound to happen.
Me: New number. Who dis?
I chuckled, watching as those three dancing dots promised an incoming message. While he was typing it out, I set the phone down and changed into the vintage dress, wanting something different for tonight.
Olivia and Abi popped into my room with a round of margaritas, and as soon as Liv saw my face, she lifted her eyebrows at me. “Who has you smiling like that?”
Abi rolled her eyes and sank down on my bed. “Oh, come on, Livvy. We know exactly who it was. What did Liam say, London? Has he proposed yet or does he maybe need you to be the one to lean in a little bit for a change?”