Page 7 of Impossible

“Hey, I know it must be hard being here without her. Don’t feel like you have to be strong because of me,” he says.

“How did you know that’s what I was feeling?” I ask, shocked at his ability to read me so well.

“I’m a detective, Riley. It’s my job to read people.”

“Oh, right. Well, kudos to you. You must be very good at your job. That was impressive, and kind of creepy.”

He laughs. “Thanks. Glad I could creep you out.”

“It drove Becca crazy. She could never surprise you or pull anything, you were always on to her.”

“That wasn’t because of my detective skills. That was because Becca sucked at hiding any of her emotions. She was like an open book.”

I laugh. “She totally was, wasn’t she?”

“I remember one time she was trying to have a surprise dinner for my birthday. She was so obvious. She was asking me for my buddies’ phone numbers. When I asked her why, she told me in case of emergencies. There were so many other clues, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her I knew.”

“I remember that night. No offense but your acting skills need some work. It was so obvious that you knew.”

“Well, it fooled Becca.” He begins to burp Harper now that she is done with her bottle.

“Sure, she was too focused on making every detail perfect.”

Once Harper lets out a loud burp, he pulls her away from his chest and starts talking to her. I scoot closer so I can get a view of her face.

“Nice job, sweetheart,” Liam tells her.

She is looking so intently at him as he continues to sweet talk to her. After a couple minutes, he looks over at me.

“Wanna hold her?”

“Of course, I do!” He hands her over to me and I rest her on my legs while I prop my feet on the coffee table for support.

“Hi, baby girl. Look how big you have gotten.” She continues to look at me as I talk to her. “I’m sorry that I haven’t come around. I promise that will change.”

“You mind if I turn on the Cubs game?” Liam asks.

“Of course not, I love the Cubs.”

“That’s right. I remember Becca complaining about that.”

"Ugh, she hated when I wanted to watch the games. Always told me she wasn't hanging with you to get away from sports."

He smiles as he turns on the game and we both take turns playing with Harper as we watch the game. I’m surprised at how easy it is to hang out with Liam. The conversation between us is easy and Harper is being an angel.

“You want to stay for dinner? I was going to order in some Italian.”

“Oh, sure. That would be great. I should have brought some wine.”

“No worries, I have plenty. Why don’t you go grab a bottle while I order the food? You can put Harper down on the playmat on the floor.”

After settling Harper on the mat, I head over to cabinet where I know they store all of the alcohol and pick a favorite red of mine. This feels a little weird ordering dinner and having a glass of wine with Liam, but I guess I have to get used to it if I’m going to be spending some real quality time with Harper. This is not an ordinary situation. When I come back with two glasses of wine, I put them on the coffee table and pick Harper back up to snuggle with her. She falls asleep in my arms while we are waiting for our dinner. Liam needed to answer a few work emails, so he is on his laptop at the kitchen table while I cuddle with Harper.

Liam answers the door and gets the food ready while I put a still sleeping baby in her swing. She stirs a bit when I put her in, but once it starts to rock and the music plays, she seems to settle back in.

“It smells good,” I tell Liam when I join him at the table.

“I wish I could take credit for it. I’m not much of a cook, so takeout has been my dinner most nights lately.” He serves us each up some lemon pasta with chicken as I grab some salad.

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