Page 33 of Impossible

Chapter Fourteen

Riley

Harper and I spent lunch with Shirley again today. She was much more hands on and interactive with Harper this time. She has been in touch with Liam and is going to start taking Harper for a couple hours on the weekend. I'm so happy she is doing better and able to spend the time with her granddaughter. It will do her good to see Harper’s beautiful smile and cheerful personality.

This past weekend, as I was planning and getting ready for the school year in two weeks, I realized that I only have four more days with Harper. The thought instantly brought tears to my eyes as I thought of all the things I’ll miss out on. Her first time sitting up on her own, crawling, trying new foods. I couldn’t help but wonder where I will fit in her life. I know Liam will tell me I can stop over whenever to visit, but I won’t want to intrude on their life.

Harper is down for her late afternoon nap right now, giving me time to prepare a nice meal for Liam. I know he really enjoys Italian, so I’m prepping my ingredients to make chicken carbonara. I have the bacon cooked and chopped along with the basil and garlic. Once everything is ready, I put them in separate bowls and place them in the fridge.

It’s around four by the time Harper is up from her nap. Her and I hang out for a while after she has her bottle. I place her on the floor as we begin to play with her toys together. She enjoys sitting in between my legs while I stack her foam blocks. I have already started reading her books as well. She will look at the pictures as she listens to my voice. It must be the teacher in me that can't resist exposing even babies to books.

Once five o’clock rolls around, I put Harper in her activity center that allows her to sit up and see me while I'm cooking. This allows me to get to work on the dinner while she is happy and entertained right next to me. She watches me with a curious look while I work around the stove. I spend this time talking to her like she actually knows a word I am saying, but she is a good listener. Now that it's close to when Liam gets home, I'm starting to get a little nervous. After what happened last time we were together, I have been wondering how to act around him again. These feelings that are forming are starting to take root and I fear I will not be able to control them soon.

I put on some music to clear my head and loosen up. I am lost in the song, moving my hips to the rhythm when I hear someone clear their throat. I close my eyes, realizing this is the second time Liam has caught me dancing like an idiot while cooking. I lift the spatula and slowly turn around to find Liam leaning against the framing of the entryway into the kitchen, biting his lip as he fights the smile he is wearing. Stupid sexy man in his stupid sexy suit. Ugh!

“Hi,” I put my free hand on my hip as I blow a stray hair out of my face.

“Hi. Smells good in here,” he continues into the kitchen. “ Were you two having fun?” I want to wipe that smug look off of his face...with my lips.

Liam looks down at Harper, who is bouncing around in her seat then looks back up at me. I turn back around to stir the pasta into the cream sauce while I try to ignore the embarrassment I am feeling.

“Yes, we were enjoying ourselves. Thank you for asking,” I reply. Could I sound more uptight?

“Aww, don’t be embarrassed, Riley.”

Liam is now leaning against the counter right next to me as I keep my head down while stirring. I feel my cheeks flush as he stares down at me. The attention is making me feel warm all over. When I look over at him, I see his eyes rolling up my body before they meet mine. His look seems more intense than his simple teasing that was taking place a moment ago. I don’t know what to do with the way he is looking at me right now, so I quickly turn back to the food.

“It smells amazing. You staying for dinner tonight?” He tucks my stray hair behind my ear before he gently taking my chin and turning my face towards him.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I whisper.

“Why not? You know it makes me feel horrible that you slave over these meals without being able to enjoy it.”

Of course, he manages to convince me to stay for dinner. How could I say no to this man? I'm quickly learning he has some sort of power of me that would make me do anything for him. I begin to set the table for dinner as he plays with Harper. While I'm in the middle of this, I realize how much I have grown to love these times. Not just with Harper, but with Liam too. It's going to be hard to not be around him so much when I go back to school. The dangers of this realization make me want to ditch the food and run out the front door right now. What do I think I'm doing right now? Are the choices I have been making lately the right ones for my life, for everyone’s life? I look over at Liam and Harper as they play together on the floor and wonder how these two people have stolen my heart in such a short amount of time.

Liam turns to me in that moment, catching me staring at him, and offers me a wink. My breath falters as I try to compose what a simple moment of attention from him does to me.

“Looks like we are all set,” Liam says as he stands up with Harper in his arms and walks my way.

I nod my head. “Yep, we are good to go.”

“You know what I was thinking,” he places his hand on my shoulder as I look up at him. “I think Harper might be ready to sit in her high chair with us at dinner. What do you think?”

“Actually, yeah, she probably is ready.” I realize she has been doing so good in the activity center seat, she can definitely sit in her high chair now.

I take Harper while Liam pulls the high chair over to the table. Once Harper is setup in the chair, I give her a sippy cup of water to play around with while Liam and I take our seats across from each other and begin to fill our plates. Something feels different about the energy tonight but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. It seems like we're purposely taking these steps with intention in them. Like we know that we are moving towards something yet we are not pumping the breaks.

“How was your day today?” Liam asks over a bite of his food.

“Oh, it was perfect as always with this one. We hung out with her Grandma Shirley this afternoon. I read her some books after her nap and we sang songs. Right, Harpie?” I tickle her under her chin and which makes her laugh. “What about you? Catch any bad guys today?”

Liam chuckles. “We are closing in on a lead right now. It'll feel good to hand over the evidence and be done with this one.”

“What about your social life? Have you had any other chance to get out and enjoy yourself besides that night out with your brothers?”

“Social life, ha! No, I’m afraid I don’t have one of those anymore. Harper and I went to visit my brother Jackson this weekend for about an hour, but I left early cuz I felt like I was intruding on his new living situation.”

“New living situation?” I ask, curious what that means. I remember Jackson from the wedding and some other random events. He comes off as a straight up ladies man. The girls flock to his natural charisma.

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