Page 23 of Passion Restored

There was a casual seriousness in his tone that Owen felt, as well. The eldest Gallagher had been married once before and had also had a beautiful baby girl. When she’d died, Graham’s marriage had fallen apart and so had Graham. The fact that he was now a loving father to Rowan and had even legally adopted her when he married Blake was a big thing. Now having him speak of a new baby was a huge thing, and Owen honestly couldn’t be happier for his big brother. If anyone deserved that kind of happiness, it was Graham.

“Not yet,” Graham answered. “We’re still practicing.”

Owen rolled his eyes, and the others laughed. “I’d have thought you guys would be worn out practicing by now,” he added dryly.

“Never too much practicing,” Graham said with a laugh.

Owen shook his head and leaned back into the couch as his brothers continued to joke around about making babies and other things he never would have thought they’d talk about as a group. The four of them had really started to grow up and reach the next level in recent years, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit behind. He’d planned so much of his life, of his brothers’ lives, and yet he didn’t have a family to call his own.

Liz’s face entered his mind, and he held back a frown. One kiss, one very hot and steamy kiss, did not make a relationship or a family. She was still too skittish around him, and he knew to even get her to go on a date with him was going to take a lot of work. But that’s what Owen did. He planned and made things happen. Maybe with the right plan, the right list, he’d find a way into Liz’s life and see what happened next.

That was if he could make the timing work. He still had his old clients, this new one, and the idea that someone out there had actually hit him with their car. It would all be a little too much for some people, but not Owen. He would make it work. And when he did, maybe, just maybe, he’d get to kiss Liz again.

He smiled into his beer as Jake and Murphy started yelling at each other and the TV. When Jake threw a fake punch at their little brother, Murphy tackled him to the ground. Owen took that time to make sure everyone’s beer was firmly on a coaster and watched as Jake and Murphy wrestled on the floor the way they had for decades.

Some things might change in their lives, but not everything. They were Gallagher brothers through and through, after all.

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