Page 15 of His Everything

“That I’ve been in love with Lucy…six years,” I muse drawing another snorting laugh from Jessa and I give her a glare in return. “That I’ve known about Liam, about three months.”

“Liam?” Mom says, hiding a smile behind her clasped hands. I can see the urge to reach for our little guy in her eyes that she’s trying hard to resist.

“Liam Michael,” Lucy tells her, dropping a kiss onto Liam’s cheek making him giggle. “And this is your other grandma and grandpa, baby.”

“Gan-ma!” he shouts looking around the room for Claire making me laugh at his eagerness to see her despite her holding him most of the flight.

“This is Grandma Shelly,” I tell Liam, pointing at Mom. “Grandma Claire is waiting in the car.”

“I’m sorry, Grandma Claire?” Jessa says coming over to us. “What the hel…heck is going on? Mom said that Lucy’s dad left town suddenly and now there’s a Grandma Claire?”

“You left people in the car?” Mom asks over my attempt to give an explanation. “What are you thinking? It’s like thirty degrees out there.”

“We didn’t want to overstep, Mom. Claire and Kenneth said they’d wait in the car until we knew if we were staying or heading over to the hotel.”

“Hotel? Why would you stay at a hotel and not here? Did you think I’d turn my grandson and his mother away?” Mom questions, her eyes promising retribution if I say yes.

“Just making sure I had a backup in case my wife and son didn’t feel welcome here anymore,” I answer honestly, chucklingas her and Jessa’s jaws drop once more. I lift my hand up, resting it on Liam’s back as his head snuggles on Lucy’s shoulder, the light hitting on the diamonds in the band.

“You gotmarriedwithout us?” Mom asks letting out a little huff. “You better start explainingrightnow, Jayden—after you have Lucy’s mother come in. I’d like to meet the woman that left her alone with her father.”

“It’s okay,” Lucy says as I bristle a bit at her tone. She lifts up, giving me a soft kiss and takes Liam from me. “Just tell them to come in while we explain.”

“I’ll be right back,” I promise her, dropping a slightly longer kiss onto her lips before getting Claire and Kenneth and returning as quickly as I can to my loves.

“Gan-ma!” Liam shouts holding out his arms for Claire when we come in. I take a seat next to Lucy on the love seat, smiling as Liam kicks himself down and heads straight for Claire when she and Kenneth settle onto the couch next to us.

“How long have you been back in touch?” Mom asks Lucy, the surprise at the resemblance between them in her eyes.

“Three weeks yesterday,” Lucy answers, nodding at the shock amongst the group before she and Claire give an abbreviated explanation of the past. “When he disappeared, it’s because he was arrested and then transported back to Alabama to face charges there.”

“Oh my god. No wonder you didn’t say a word to any of us about Liam,” Mom says, coming over to hug her and all of my girl’s tension fades. “You were afraid of him finding out and hurting him, weren’t you?”

“I’d die if anything happened to him,” Lucy says, giving her mom a soft, understanding smile for what Claire went through losing both her and Lisa.

“When Elliot called to say he’d found Lucy I didn’t think anything could possibly be better, but then he added that hefound her because of a marriage license, and I was so worried at what I’d find. She didn’t let him tell me about Liam before they came over to meet us, so when I saw him, I thought my heart was going to burst. Then seeing her and Jayden together settled any fears I had about her marrying so young. She chose a good one,” Claire adds and shit, hearing that in front of my parents that turns my ears red.

“I did, even without knowingly meaning to,” Lucy teases me, and the color deepens.

“And how exactly did that come about and not that we’re not thrilled about him, but Liam as well?” Mom asks, reaching over us to hold onto Liam’s hand.

Our social little boy slips off Claire’s lap and comes over to Mom, reaching up for hugs and kisses. She lifts him onto her lap hugging him, and he gives a little pout making Jessa laugh.

“Kisses!” Liam demands, pulling laughs from everyone else, including Mom as she kisses his cheek once. His little lip is still pouting a bit, so I reach over, lifting him in the air, bringing him down towards me.

“We’ll just have to teach Grandma,” I tease, giving him kisses all over his face and neck until he’s chortling fully, sounding like he can’t breathe. He flounces on his back across my lap, his head in Lucy’s, still giggling and the look on Mom’s face is priceless. “What?”

“Nothing…I just…I’m still in shock I think. Seeing you with a child…”

“His mama gave me a crash course, especially when it comes to Liam kisses,” I state, tickling his belly a bit. “We haven’t spent a night apart since I found them, well, other than when Mrs. Holmes kept him on our wedding night,” I add, enjoying the way Lucy’s face flushes at the reminder of it.

“And when exactly did you get married, let alone start a relationship with Lucy to begin with?” Dad asks, pulling us back to that.

“Well, our two-month anniversary was yesterday, and as for the rest…part of it is Jessa’s fault,” I warn, bringing a scoff to Jessa’s throat.

“How exactly do you think it could possibly be my fault? You’re the one that’s been in love with her your whole damn life,” she argues, and I shrug a bit as Mom’s brow lifts a bit my way.

“Yeah, but you never told her that, so she had no clue I had feelings for her when you gave her a drink with alcohol in it at the year-end blowout. While telling her there wasn’t any alcohol in it I might add,” I tack on bringing a glare her way from Mom and Dad. “Which resulted in her getting a little more than tipsy, and I’ll admittedly say that I drank way too much, and I take responsibility for that, but I didn’t know Lucy had been drinking, to realize that she wasn’t in her right mind. You knew she didn’t drink and why, but you didn’t care. You left her alone, and I found her. Was emboldened by being drunk and things happened. I don’t regret them happening, not when it resulted in Liam, but I do regret the way it came about because it’s not what she deserved.”

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