Page 70 of Free to Fall

“This event sounds more and more appealing by the second.”

Knowing the department receiving the funds this year is the ER, I whisper my biggest fear aloud. “I don’t think I have a way to get out of going.”

His eyes narrow at me. “You don’t want to attend?” He waves the card. “I would think you’d want to be there.”

I blurt out, “For what purpose? For my colleagues to judge me? So they can see how much I’ve let them down by not returning to work the minute the ER reopened?”

He steps forward and cups my cheek. “For them to see their leader needs to be healed so she can help save everyone else.”

I’m not certain how long I absorb his words into my soul. Finally, I blurt out, “If I go, I can’t babysit for you so you can.”

His thumb caresses the underside of my jaw. “I know a few people willing to watch Bailey for the night—Hudson employees.” A slow smile creases his cheeks. “See? Then I don’t have to run a background check on them. It’s already done.”

I can’t help but chuckle.

“I like hearing you laugh.”

“It doesn’t come as easily as it used to.”

“That just makes it that much more precious, Laura.”

His fingers draw down away from my face and he steps back, giving me space. His lips curve wryly. “Maybe when you get a load of me in my monkey suit, you’ll laugh so hard you won’t stop.”

After I’ve crossed the threshold to head home, I let out the breath I hadn’t fully released. “Somehow, Liam, I doubt that.”

I very much doubt that.

“You should just ask him to go with you as your date,” Kalie shouts the next morning over breakfast at The Coffee Shop. She joined me for something to eat before my fitting with Aunt Emily.

“Yeah. That would be a great move.” I twirl my spoon around my cup of coffee—the tink, tink sound both comforting and driving me insane.

Zane—Ava and Matt’s nephew glares at us over the counter he’s wiping. “You two are taking up space that can be used by customers.”

Kalie, proving exactly why she went to law school, smiles sweetly in his direction. “But Zane, we are paying customers.”

He grunts at her, showing he gives exactly zero fucks about customer service. Kalie winks at him and he snarls at her before tossing the rag in our general direction and disappearing into the back.

I observe, “He seems to despise you.”

“Oh, it’s not me.”

“Liar.”

“No, really. It’s Daddy.”

“Uncle Keene? Why?”

“Because he has some serious hots for Reggie? Val? One of them. Anyway, Daddy—how do I say this? Ah, yes. Interrupted his ‘Me man, you woman, let’s fuck’ approach to asking one of them out?”

Fortunately, I was out of coffee or it would have ended up all over Kalie’s suit at the way she interchangeably discussed the dating life of her twin sisters. “Are you kidding me right now?”

“Not in the slightest. Now that I think about it, it had to have been Reggie. She was pissed and didn’t talk to Dad for a week.”

My brow wings upward. “That’s huge.”

“She’d been waiting forever for him to make a move. Much like your Liam, who is taking his sweet time to dip his fingers into your honey pot.”

“First, he’s not my anything. Second, if I want him, I’ll make my own damn move.”

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