Page 72 of Forever Mine

I sighed. “I know, it's a long story. Maybe someday I'll tell you.”

Jessica hugged me. “If you ever want to talk about it, we'll be here.” The other ladies all nodded in agreement, but no one pressed me for more than that and I felt accepted, and it felt good.

“Thank you,” I said. Shortly after, I called Oscar over. He wasn't ready to go, but he listened and thanked Jessica for having him. He and Bobby had made plans for another sleepover in a few days. On the drive back over to Westin Foundation, Oscar couldn't stop talking about all the fun he had.

We swung into the Crate and ordered burgers to go. It was the one thing I knew Liam liked. Then we headed to the Westin Foundation to have lunch with my mate. There were a lot more people at the office this time, but they were all friendly and no one questioned us being there as I led the way to Liam's office without stopping to ask directions or permission.

“Hey, Maddie. Who do we have here?” Chris asked as we entered his outer office.

“Chris, this is Oscar. Oscar, this is Liam's assistant, Christine.”

“Hi, it's nice to meet you,” Oscar said, shaking her hand.

“Oh, I see you're going to be quite the heartbreaker around here. What a perfect gentleman.”

I proudly smiled down at my son.

“Is Liam free?” I asked.

“For you? I'm sure, but let me check.”

She called him on the phone before telling us to go on in. Liam was sitting behind his desk, but instantly jumped up. He gave me a quick kiss before picking Oscar up in a hug.

“We missed you last night, so I hope you didn't have too much fun. Don't think we should do that too often,” he told him.

“But, I have plans to sleep over again Friday night. Mommy said it was okay.”

I actually didn't remember saying it was okay, but I didn't admit that.

“Well, if Mommy said so, I guess I'll survive it.”

“We brought you lunch. Hamburgers!” Oscar informed him.

“Thanks. I was just going to order here, but hamburgers sound so much better,” he confessed.

I sat down on the couch and pulled the coffee table over to set the food out. Oscar and Liam chose to sit on the floor. Watching him, in his suit and tie, sitting on the floor laughing and eating with Oscar, surrounded by his plush executive office, seemed oddly out of place, and yet so incredibly right.

“What are you smiling about?” Liam asked.

“I'm just happy,” I said with a shrug.

He reached over and took my hand and kissed it. “I'm very glad to hear that, because I truly hope you aren't going to kill me. We have work to do.”

“We?” I asked.

“We.” He got up and walked to his desk, bringing back a stack of papers. “You don't have to love any of them, but it's a start.”

“What is that?” Oscar asked, and I was thinking the same thing.

“They're breaking ground on the house tomorrow, so we need an idea of what this house is going to look like, and quick.”

“We're building a house?” Oscar asked, again, exactly what I was thinking.

“Well, we don't want to live in Grandma and Grandpa's forever, do we? We need a place of our own. I've picked out ten I liked, but there're a lot more if you guys don't agree.”

“I get a say in it?” Oscar asked.

“You plan on living there too, right?” Oscar nodded. “Then yes, you get a say.”

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