Page 117 of The Paradise Problem

“Dad might want to get the lawyers involved and make things messy, but something tells me he has much bigger problems. He’s going to want his kids on his side, and that won’t happen if he challenges Grandpa’s trust.”

I am so happy for him. So relieved, so grateful that Alex—someone I’m sure to feel conflicted about for the rest of my days—actually did something brave and useful. For money, sure, but credit where credit is due.

Liam leans our embrace to the side so he can reach for the front curtain and peek out. The reporters are all still there.

“Are you going to go out there and talk to them?” I ask.

He turns back to me. “Probably.”

“What are you going to say?”

“That it’s true I created the software and modified it at my father’s instruction, but I wasn’t behind the surveillance activity. That I hope the family company can move on from this and I know that we’ll be doing everything we can to handle it in a way that feels transparent. That we plan to immediately hire a consulting firm to conduct an internal culture assessment.”

“ ‘We,’ huh?”

“My grandfather founded this company because he loved his family,” he says. “I’d like to think we can make something good of it.”

“I hope that includes finding a way to disconnect love from money,” I tell him. “Your grandfather tied the two together with good intentions, and your father with terrible intentions, but in the end it doesn’t matter what the intentions were: It has made everyone in your family devalue love. It has made loyalty and servitude the bargaining chips that keep the money flowing.”

Liam cups my face and bends to kiss me. I leave my eyes open for just a beat and catch the way his fall closed and the utter devotion on his face when our lips meet. “I want to deserve you,” he says when he pulls away.

“You already do.”

“I want all of you. I want to give you everything I have.” His lips linger on mine one more time. “There are no strings attached to what I’m offering,” he tells me. “I just want you. I just want to love you.”

“Unconditionally.” I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a hug. Liam holds me for several minutes while the reporters mill around outside, the TV drones in the background, and our hearts slow to a steady, tandem beat. I pull back and stroke his jaw with my thumbs. “I’m sorry for what I said in the hotel. Even if I was right, it was harsh.”

“You had to stand up for yourself and that’s what you did. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the paintings. You were right. It was controlling.”

“Someone wise taught me that intent matters.”

“Someone?”

“David Green. Mechanic and therapist, apparently. Also, your father-in-law.” I stretch to kiss his smile, and when I pull back, his eyes do a careful circuit of my face. It’s the same way he took me in that morning, so many days ago now, in my apartment, like he’s slowly scanning, taking me in one feature at a time. I know I look like a mess again, but this time, his expression isn’t trying to mask panic. This time, he’s looking at me like he’s seeing everything he wants all wrapped up in a pink, harebrained package.

“Is it weird seeing me in scrubby clothes again?” I ask, gesturing to my plain blue tank top, Cookie Monster pajama pants, and sneakers.

“Not even a little. I prefer this version of you.”

“The real version.”

“The real Anna,” he says. “The real Liam.”

He gets another smooch for that. “Okay, go take your victory lap and I’ll be here for when you come back inside and want some celebratory horny boner banging.”

He laughs. “Holy fuck, I’m so happy you came.”

“Same.”

Liam gazes at me with what looks a lot like the L-word. “When do you have to fly home?” he asks.

“I bought a one-way ticket. So, technically never.”

He smiles. “So you can stay tonight?”

“I may have to call my dad,” I say with a wink. “But I can, I want to, and I shall.”

“And then every night after that?”

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