Page 74 of Tell Me Lies

“Whatcha say, girl? Ready to get out of this place?”

She nods excessively before heading toward the door. Maci does one last sweep of the room, stopping at the window.

“I think you’re going to want to see this,” she whispers to me, nodding at the window in a way Amelia won’t notice.

Slowly, I walk over. And even though I’ve been a Shark for years, I can’t believe my eyes.

The entire New England Bay Sharks team is standing outside, all waiting by the exit for when we finally get out of this place. What was expected to be a short visit to the emergency room ended up being six nights long. But finally, Amelia’s lungs are clear, and she’s eating and drinking again.RSVare three letters I hope I never have to hear again for the rest of my life because I won’t lie; there were such scary fucking episodes for my baby girl this week. It’s nice to see her finally back to herself.

I put my arm around Maci and dip my face closer to her ear. “My kid’s pretty damn lucky, huh?”

Smiling up at me, she nods. “She is. She has Logan Sterns as a dad.”

“Aw, look at you, being all sweet,” I drawl before bringing my lips closer to her ear. “Must be because we’re headed home and you’re in need of a trip to good ol’ pound town.”

She rolls her eyes and looks up at me, amused. “What about Margie? I thought your love burned deep. Perhaps you’d like to take her home instead.”

I gag, shivering. “I love you, Boston, but please … don’t talk about Marg that way. She has dentures. And smells of … Nana.”

“But age is just a number,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “So is the number of teeth one has intact.”

“You’re taking it too far,” I grumble before taking her hands. “All jokes aside … I couldn’t have gotten through this past week without you. You held down the fort, staying here when I had to go to the stadium for my game and practice.”

I want to kiss her lips so badly, but I haven’t talked to Amelia about what is happening between Maci and me. I mean, fuck, she’s only three, so I don’t even know how to approach it.

“I know this week put a damper on your writing deadline. I promise, when we get home … I’ll do whatever I can to take care of Amy so you get the words in.” I wiggle my eyebrows. “I’ll even give you more inspiration if you need it.”

“Surprisingly, I actually still managed to write ten thousand words this week. Which means I’m nearly done with this story.”

“What happens at the end?” I utter, getting closer to her and again wishing so fucking bad my lips were on hers.

That’s not the only thing I want to do with her mouth.

“I’m not sure yet,” she says softly, giving me a sly smile. “To be determined, I suppose.”

Amelia runs over to us, grabbing both of our hands. “Let’s go! Big Clyde is waiting!”

She pulls us toward the door, and I quickly grab her bag with my free hand.

“So, that’s Little Clyde?” I point to the stuffie in her arm, and she nods. “Very … original.”

I glance over at Maci, and she giggles.

“I, for one, think Clyde will be incredibly honored that he has a stuffie named after him.” She brushes her hand over the top of Amelia’s hair as we walk out of the room and down the hallway. “But I think he’ll be even happier to have you home.”

“Because I’m his best friend,” Amelia says matter-of-factly.

“Yes. Yes, you are,” Maci agrees.

Maddie worked for me for years. She attended doctor visits, holidays, dinners, and everything in between. But this feels different.

This feels like … a family.

I look at Maci and Amelia, and I know right away, these two are my family.

I never knew just how different a family could look from one person to another. But as I look out at an entire team of hockey players—all holding flowers, a balloon, or a stuffed animal in their arms—each waiting for their turn to see Amelia … I see the biggest family I have ever seen. And how lucky is Amelia that she has so many people who care about her and will protect her at all costs? They love her, and that love started with her dad. I can’t even call him the number one book boyfriend because he’s real. I can physically reach out and wrap my arms around him.

As Logan takes Amelia to the coach first, I can’t help but listen to some of his teammates bicker. Mostly because they sound like a bunch of hens.

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