Me: Hey. Still waiting.
Me: Also—I love you girls.
Sophia shoots me a sappy grin after she reads my messages. “On that note, I’m going to head home now so you can have some alone time with Liam. You’ll text as soon as you’ve seen her?”
“I’ll do that. Thanks again.”
“Anytime, sister.”
“Quinn Lockmore?” A doctor in scrubs approaches the waiting room. All the breath whooshes out from my lungs, and I clutch Liam’s hand. We stand together as the doctor comes to a halt in front of us.
“That’s me.”
“We’ve got your mom comfortable. The procedure went better than anticipated, so it should be smooth sailing from here on out now that we’ve addressed the pain issue.” He offers us a reassuring smile.
I press a hand to my chest and take a deep breath. “Thank you. Can we see her now?”
“Of course.” A nurse who stands off to the side steps forward. “Beth will take you back to see her.”
Decision made, I quickly ask, “Both of us are allowed back with her?”
Liam doesn’t say anything, just silently squeezes my hand in support and I squeeze right back. Can he tell that this is me admitting that I need him? That I want to be with him?
“Yes, of course. Just limit the length of your visit because she’ll need to rest. Normally, we would be sending her home, but I’d like to keep her overnight to monitor her for a while.” With a wave, the doctor hurries off down the hall.
Beth gives us a bright smile. “If you’ll come this way, I’ll take you to her now.”
As we follow her through the double doors at the end of the hall, Liam lets go of my hand and gathers me to his side. His embrace gives me the comfort that I desperately need. He’s been a rock ever since he arrived unexpectedly. I’m used to going it alone and because of that, I hadn’t understood that I needed him until he’d shown up out of the blue, thanks to Sophia. It feels good to have someone to lean on—someone to take care of me, for once.
Beth stops at room 302 and nudges the door open. “Ready for some visitors, Meg?”
“Well, sure. I’m feeling okay now.”
Hearing my mom sound mostly like herself is such a relief. It’s as if my entire body sighs with it. Liam’s fingers press into my hip as he guides me forward into the room, seeming to sense that I still need the support. “Hi, Mom. How are you feeling?”
Liam lets me go as I bend down to carefully hug my mother, taking care to avoid hurting her bandaged wrist.
Mom snorts good-naturedly as I stand up. Yes, Mom and I have always been the snorting kind. Can’t even help ourselves. “Never mind me, I see you’ve brought Liam with you. Tell me about that.”
He chuckles behind me. “I think she’s going to be just fine.” He directs his next comment to Mom. “It’s good to see you again, Meg. Olivia was just raving to her mother about how good her birthday cake was.”
Mom smiles. “You bring that sweet girl in to meet me real soon.” She glances down at her wrist. “Well, maybe give me a few weeks.”
I throw a grin over my shoulder at him and reach for his hand. “Actually, Mom, Olivia asked if she could help me after school while you were recovering, so I think she’ll be around quite a bit.”
Mom’s face lights up. “That’s a great idea. I can’t wait to meet her.” She glances down at Liam’s hand, interlaced with mine, and gets a slightly dreamy look on her face.
I don’t know if she thinks since Liam and I are dating she might get to treat Olivia as a surrogate grandchild or what, but boy do we have another big surprise for her.
“Soon, for sure.” My teeth sink into my lower lip and my head swivels to gaze at Liam. “Should I tell her, do you think?”
“That’s your call. But your friends already know, so I say why not.”
“Tell me what? Is everything okay?”
My hand hovers over my stomach as my eyes connect with hers again. “Liam and I—we’re having a baby, Mom.”
Mom blinks twice and her lips part, temporarily in shock. She huffs out a breath. “I can’t believe it. Really?”