Page 39 of Harboring Secrets
Liam had chased me halfway around the planet to sit on Kieran’s step for an entire day just so I’d give him five minutes of my time. He wasn’t about to let something like Shane’s bristly personality bother him.
When the kiss ended, I took Liam’s beer from him and stole a sip before returning it to his grasp. I loved the way our fingers brushed when we passed the can back and forth. The thrill it sent through me made me feel like a high school kid who accidentally touched their crush. Happiness rose in me like bubbles
“Any further questions?” I scowled at Shane.
Shane shrugged, his drink hovering near his mouth as he paused to answer. “I’ll let you know.”
I took it for the truce it was meant to be and I changed the subject. I didn’t mind them coming over unannounced and it was nice to see them, but part of me felt guilty because I just wanted them to go away so I could be alone with Liam.
Kieran was the first to comment on the stack of kitchenware that was still spread across the counter. “Did you learn to cook on your travels?” He motioned to the mess in the kitchen.
We’d torn everything out of the packages and given most of it a quick rinse in the sink with soapy water. I’d never been so content doing chores before, but with Liam it didn’t feel like work. The domesticity of it hit me in the sternum and made it hard to breathe. I’d floated so high on my own happiness that the air got thin.
“Hell, no. I’m still hopeless. But Liam can cook, only he thought my kitchen equipment was pathetic. It was. So he bought us new stuff.” I tried to pass it off as casual, and not the life-altering event that it was, but I wasn’t sure of my success.
Liam glanced up at me and I realized that I’d said us, not me. I might have bought the house… well, Shane might have bought the house, but it was ours. I already thought of it like that. Our spatula, in our kitchen, in our house. I’d asked him to stay and he’d agreed. He checked out of the hotel and unpacked his bag, stowing the empty suitcase in my walk-in closet. His meager stack of clothes took up too little space. I wanted him to get the rest of his things so they’d be mixed up with mine. In my head, it wasn’t my house, it was ours.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at me with a quizzical expression. Unwilling to get into it in front of my brothers, I shook my head. My fingers raked through his hair again like they had a mind of their own. There was something about Liam that made me want to be in constant contact with him. I was comfortable with him, even after everything that happened between us, and that more than anything gave me hope for our future.
I wasn’t used to kissing people in front of my brothers, but it was quick and chaste, more sweet than heat, and Liam smiled against my mouth before I pulled away.
“Oh gross,” Shane said. I looked over at him to see a huge smile on his face. “The two of you are sick.”
Archer was wrapped around Shane, arms encircling his shoulders, legs around Shane’s. Clay was in Kieran’s lap, quiet and observant, but seemingly content. When I’d left, we’d all been single and I didn’t think any of us minded being that way, but this was nice too. Better in a lot of ways.
Liam’s phone rang and part of me still bristled at the sound.
“Sorry.” He dug his phone out of his pocket and glanced down at the screen. “It’s Oren.” He looked at me. “My best friend. He’s also my lawyer.”
“You should get it. Take it in the bedroom if you need privacy.”
Liam didn’t move, but swiped at the screen and pressed the phone to his ear. “Oren, what’s up? Yeah, I have a couple minutes.”
He glanced at me and mouthed an apology. He handed me his beer before getting to his feet. “Let me just step into the other room.”
When Liam was gone, I had four sets of eyes trained on me. I took a sip of the beer Liam passed off to me and shrugged a shoulder. “Before you ask me, I have no idea.”
A small lie, but they didn’t need to know Liam’s entire history.
His absence made my skin crawl. Not because I couldn’t be without him—I wasn’t that codependent—but because of the look on his face when he excused himself.
“If the four of you are sticking around, be useful and order some dinner. I’m going to see what’s up. I’ll be right back.”
I slipped past everyone and into my bedroom before anyone could get a single question out. Liam was already off the phone. It was lying on the bed and he stood in front of the windows, his arms crossed over his chest with his jaw clenched.
“What happened?”
“Piper’s parents want to sue me.”
“For what?” I barked, probably too loud. I lowered my voice and closed the distance between us.
“It’s not official yet, but their lawyers were in touch with Oren. About the eggs. They’d wanted to sue me for access to them, but I’d had them destroyed before they could get anything filed. It’s what Piper wanted. Oren wanted to warn me that they were going to be unhappy about it. As if that was news.”
I looped my arm around Liam’s waist and leaned my head against his shoulder. “Did you two want kids?”
“Piper did, more than anything. And sometimes that made me want them too. I’d have done anything to make her happy. Which means that it’s probably a good thing it never happened. It’s not what I want anymore. Maybe it never was. Sometimes I still don’t know if it was that I wanted them, or that I wanted them with her. Or for her. If that even makes sense.”
Relief washed over me. I’d never wanted kids either. Kids were fine. Occasionally cute, sometimes sticky, often loud. I’d leave populating the world up to other people.
