Page 113 of I Got You

“Come on, Liv. Let’s get you dressed and ready for the day.” Gwen holds out her hand, waiting for Liv to take it. “We’ve got lots to do.”

Liv hugs me and climbs down. I stand, following Maggie into the laundry room. She spins around, and I catch her by the elbows to prevent her from falling over.

“Grizz! Make a little noise, will you.” I lift her to set her on top of the dryer, leaning forward and blocking her with my arms. “Ok. Hello. What are you doing? I need to get going.” She studies my face.

“Not yet.” I lean in closer, getting us eye to eye. “We need to talk about a couple of things.”

She huffs. “Fine, but make it quick.”

“First, I just got a text from Greg that said you and he had a nice chat. Want to tell me exactly what that’s about?”

“No.”

“Maggie,” I growl.

She rolls her eyes. “I kept getting calls from an unknown number, and in a fit of rage, I answered. Your sperm donor’s a real…charmer.”

How is it that in every situation and circumstance, she takes my inner turmoil and turns it on end? “Did he threaten you?” I need to know where Greg and I stand.

Her eyebrows tip inward. “I think he more so threatened you, but I had Simone’s brother send someone to pay him a little visit or at least make him think they were seeking him out. He works for the FBI. What did his text say?”

“The FBI? You had someone from the FBI check him out?”

She shrugs. “Yeah, I didn’t like his tone or attempt at trying to scare me into getting you to do something for him.”

“And you didn’t think you should mention this to me?” I ask, not wanting her to take matters into her own hands especially when it comes to someone like Greg.

“Shane, somehow he got my number. The two of you obviously discussed me, and you didn’t seem to think it was important enough to mention it.”

I drop my head. “He’s not a good person. I didn’t want him to have any contact with you, and I don’t want you to ever talk to him again.”

“I was waiting for you to tell me about him. I’m not going to pry things out of you.” Her tone is soft but adamant.

“Will you please tell me if he contacts you again?”

She sighs. “Yes. Will you tell me if there is something I should know, especially if it involves me or the kids?”

“Yes, of course. He would like to not have any more visits from the feds.”

“Ok. Done, as long as he stays away from us. That includes you.” She pushes a finger into my chest. “Are we good here because I have to go?” She scoots forward a little like she’s going to get down, but I wrap my hands around her hips to stop her.

“Not quite.” She meets my eyes, waiting. “Are we just going to pretend that last night didn’t happen because I’m not that good of an actor?”

She closes her eyes. “I’m not trying to act like anything. I don’t know how to navigate this.”

“Navigate what?” I grunt.

“You and me? Our…attraction.”

My annoyance rises at her downplay of what’s happening. “Attraction?”

“Yeah.” Her frustration is building as well. “I’m not sure what we’re doing here. I want to kiss you. No,” she shakes her head. “I want to do a whole lot more than kiss you, but that can’t happen.”

I fall forward and rest my head on her shoulder. “Firefly, you kill me.”

“What? I’m just keeping it real. We both know I wasn’t the only one interested in more.”

“Fine. I don’t think I can go back to not kissing you,” I blurt, surprising myself at the admission.

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