Page 58 of Forever Mine

I'll try to get her to come around, but please, she just needs time. Too many people here know who she is now, and I just didn't want you to find out through the grapevine. Of course none of them know the details of what happened to her, but even just hearing she's alive and here, it needed to come from us. She wasn't ready and I pushed her into it. I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt either you any more than you already have.”

Zach's voice was filled with emotions. “There's no man on this Earth I would want for my daughter's mate other than you. Thank you. Thank you for taking care of her and bringing her back home. Thank you for telling us and”—he had to take a moment before he continued—“thank you for sending the pictures. They mean a lot to Cora and me. We've waited eight years in hopes of hearing anything, anything at all about Madelyn. I can't tell you what it means to know she is safe and with you, and hear her sweet voice even if only for a moment.”

“She'll come around. I know she will. She loves you guys, but she's been through a lot, so I really feel like we need to do this on her terms.”

“Okay, son. Okay. We're going to trust you on this, but do me a favor and try to get her to at least talk to us.” The door opened quietly and Maddie walked back in while he was talking. “We don't care what happened or why she stayed away. We don't ever have to mention it again if that's what she wants. We just want to be a part of her life. A part of Oscar's life, too.”

She looked at me with big questioning eyes.

“I'll see what I can do, Zach. And I'll call you in a few days and let you know how she is even if she's not ready yet.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“Thank you, Liam,” Cora added as they hung up the phone.

“Did you tell them?” she whispered.

“Yes. They needed to know and I didn't want you to have to relive it all again with them.”

She cried as I held her. “They still want to speak with me? They still want to see me? Are you sure you told them everything?”

“I told them enough, and of course they want to see you. They're your parents, and they love you, Mad.”

“And Oscar? They said they wanted him in their lives, too?”

I laughed, wondering how she could be so blind. “Of course they want to know him. He's their grandpup.”

“It's all so much. Too much.”

“I know. Shh, come on, let's go to bed.”

I led her back to my room. Her bags were already waiting inside. I noticed she'd changed into her pajamas while she had been away and I grabbed a pair from the bottom of my drawer and went to the bathroom to change, too. I didn't usually wear pajamas, but figured tonight was probably not the night for her to find that out, and I sent up a quick thanks to my mother who insisted on buying me a pair every Christmas despite knowing I didn't use them.

Maddie

Chapter 18

While Liam went to change in the bathroom, I pulled back the covers on his bed and climbed in. I should have been a nervous wreck. Any other night I would be freaking out at just the thought of spending the night alone in the same room with him, let alone the same bed, but I was numb from the emotional overload.

I wasn't sure how to feel about my parents. I had tried for so long to bury them in my past and not think of them and how they were feeling about my absence. Hearing Mom break down nearly broke me, too. I was grateful Liam had shared stuff with them. Stuff I didn't want them to know and doubted I could ever tell them myself. Part of me wanted to be angry at him for doing that, because I still felt ashamed and didn't want them to know, but I knew it was for the best.

He walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a pair of PJ bottoms on. I had only truly seen him without a shirt twice, at least as an adult. The first had left me mesmerized and drooling and that had been mostly from across a pool. Now he was about to climb into bed next to me like that. The room suddenly felt very hot and I fought not to toss the covers aside in an attempt to cool down. My mouth was suddenly very dry and my palms sweaty with anticipation.

He walked over to a small mini fridge in the corner. Why did he have a fridge in his room?

As if reading my mind, he chuckled. “Left over from my college days. I've got some cold water in here. Want one?”

“Yes, please,” I said, and even I could hear the husky modulation of my voice.

Liam stilled, like he was trying to compose himself, then reached in and grabbed two water bottles and headed to the other side of the bed. He climbed in and slid under the covers, but remained sitting. He handed me a bottle. The cool liquid helped my dry throat, but it did little to cool me off.

“How are you holding up?” Liam asked, watching me cautiously. I hated thinking he was waiting for me to break. I had my moments still, and I got that he had seen me at some of my lowest points in years, but I had been doing really well and getting stronger before he showed up and turned my life upside down. I sighed knowing it was true, but also in the best ways possible.

“I'm stronger than you think, you know,” I told him stubbornly.

He looked confused for a moment. “Sweetheart, I think you are the bravest, strongest woman I've ever known.” He said it with such conviction and awe that I knew he was telling the truth. “I know today was a long, hard one, though. I mean, twenty-four hours ago I was walking into a charity ball expecting a boring evening.” He laughed. It had truly been a long day. “You faced a lot of demons today and I did pretty much kidnap you and Oscar. You faced both your families today. It's been a lot.”

And you told me you loved me,I wanted to add to his recap of the day. All the rest didn't matter because of that. He had said it didn't matter what Oscar was, or that I couldn't shift. He was all in, and looking up at him, I knew it was time he knew I was, too.

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