Page 129 of Back to Willow

“You scared me,” I whine, clutching my chest.

“Sorry. After you rang the bell, I just couldn’t wait for you to get up here.” He beams. “Come on!”

His excitement is enough to lift my mood and ease some of my worries—for now. So, we follow him down the corridor to the front door of his apartment before he opens the door and beckons us inside. Dylan jumps right in, looking around him, while I take a few cautious steps inside.

The apartment is modern and slick. It still feels homey with a few things here and there, a few pillows, table centrepieces and a few portraits scattered around the place.

“Wow, this is so cool!” Dylan shouts. “So much better than our house.”

“What are you on about?” Liam asks, tilting his head. “Your house is better, even homier and just a tiny bit more crowded. It’s just what a home should feel like.” He steals a heated glance at me. “I love it there, that’s why besides working and sleeping, I’ve been around more often than not.”

“Thanks, Liam,” I say, blushing. “But, Mister Wow, here, is amazed because this house looks way more expensive than ours.” I glare at him.

But Dylan, the shameless kid he is, just ignores me and keeps inspecting the place.

“I do love your house way more than I like it here,” Liam whispers to me the moment Dylan disappears into the kitchen area. “Give me your bags; let’s put them in the bedrooms.”

When I nod, he yells to Dylan, “Don’t touch anything without one of us by your side.”

To which my kid yells back an “okay.”What even?

The blond man in front of me takes the overnight bags I brought and walks in the opposite direction of the hallway. I follow, taking in the house. When we reach the first door, he opens the door and stays by the entrance, looking at me with a shy expression.

If there is one thing that Liam isn’t, it’s shy. So, I curiously peek in, looking around the room, and I swear my heart jumps right into my throat.

The bed frame, covered with some dark and light blue sheets, a striking contrast to the white walls. On the opposite end, there’s a chest of drawers with a few stuffed animals on top, and right next to it, there are some shelves with children’s books.

I’m speechless. There’s no way this has always been like this. He must’ve changed it after learning about Dylan’s existence.

My eyes burn with unshed tears at the thoughtfulness of this man.

“This used to be my office,” he chimes in, his voice wavering. “Well sort of, but recently, I decided to change it a little in the hope Dylan could spend the night sometimes.” He looks at me sheepishly. “This is where he’ll be sleeping.”

On impulse, I hug him tight, thanking him for this. There are no possible words that could express how grateful I am.

“This space is because I want to spend time with the both of you.” His breath fans over my hair. “You have no idea how much I wanted this to be my first Christmas with my family.”

His family.We’re his family.

I swear my legs buckle from his words alone. This man knows how to rock my world in every possible way.

Oh god, I can’t even deny it any longer. My feelings for him.

“What’s wrong? Was it because I called–”

“No.” My voice comes out weak. “I just wasn’t expecting it. I’m-”

Suddenly, I can’t speak because Liam cuts me off with his lips. They’re soft and tentative at first, but as soon as I sigh and melt into his embrace, it grows in intensity.

Tongues meet in a delicate dance, and I can’t fight the moan that escapes my lips. That’s enough for a grunt to leave Liam’s throat and for his hands to move from my face to grip the curve of my waist, bringing me impossibly close to him.

Automatically, my arms snake around his neck, my fingers digging into his dark blond locks. His hair is as soft as I remember.

There are so many racing thoughts going through my brain, but I can’t honestly focus on a specific one. Everything comes running back to one person. Him and everything related. We fit together in all the right places, making me feel like this is meant to be.

Like we’re meant to be.

As we both come up for air, Liam doesn’t hesitate to rest his forehead on mine. Our breaths mix as our eyes flutter open. I notice how his pupils are blown out of proportion, and the thought makes a warm fuzzy feeling grow at the bottom of my tummy—the kind I hadn’t felt in years, not since our last time together.

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