Page 44 of Liam

"Oh, sweet boy … call me Mamma." She patted my face affectionately. My heart fluttered. I'd never called anyone Mamma … or Momma, Mommy, or even Mom.

"Yes, liquids," she said. "You can use warm water from the tap." I had to take a second to keep my eyes from misting over. I took a deep breath and read the recipe card.

Yogurt, olive oil, and warm water whisked together, then added to the dry. I retrieved a fork from a drawer. I remembered where they were kept from when I'd helped with dishes. Once I had the dough sticking together, I floured my hands and kneaded it into a sticky ball.

Dadi handed me a sheet of plastic wrap to cover it.

"Put it on the top of the fridge," Mamma said. "You can check it in an hour."

I placed the bowl on the warm surface, washed my hands, and set an alarm on my phone to go off in one hour. "Is Jamal here?" I asked both women.

"He's in his room," Mamma said. "He'll be happy to see you survived us."

I looked over my shoulder as I left the kitchen. "I'll be back in an hour." I was curious what cooking the naan would look like. The dough reminded me a bit of bannock.

I tapped on Jamal's door and waited for what sounded likecome in. I walked in on Jamal lying on his bed changing his clothes. He had folded one set and was prepared to put on the other.

I smiled. He was wearing the cutest colourful briefs.

And nothing else but his socks.

His legs looked different than I thought they would. They were atrophied, but he still had some muscle tone in his thighs. His knees looked bulkier than they should, and his shins covered in thick black hair were prominently thin. His feet looked oversized in comparison.

"Liam!" He was staring at me.

Shit.

"Was I not supposed to come in? I thought I heard you saycome in."

Idiot.

"I saidjust a sec." Lying on his back, Jamal maneuvered his feet into the pantlegs of his jeans and hauled them up to his hips. He turned back and forth as he pulled them the rest of the way up.

The colour of his face was darkened, flushed for all the wrong reasons.

"I'm sorry," I said and placed my hand on his arm to stop him from frantically trying to zip and button his pants. "I shouldn't have stayed once I saw you were changing."

Jamal covered his eyes with his hand. "I didn't want you to see me like that."

Oh, beautiful man.

He had no idea how I felt about him. I released his arm and cradled his face in my palm. He moved his hand from covering his eyes and looked up at me.

"Do you want to know what I see?" I brushed my thumb across his skin. "I see a man who is so brave and dedicated that I'm often left breathless, I am so in awe of you."

"Liam," Jamal croaked then blinked a few times, displacing a gathering of tears. "You have no idea how difficult this is going to be for me … for us."

"And you have no idea how much you are underestimating me."

"You're not frightened by what you saw?"

"I told you what I saw."

"Liam … how … why?"

I sat on the edge of the bed and tucked in tightly against his hip, one hand still on his face, the other beside his bare shoulder. The mattress compressed as I leaned forward, staring down at him.

"I'm going to kiss you, and you arenotgoing to argue with me about it."

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