Kira’s eyes widened when she remembered that Liam didn’t know about Juarez, and she sent me an apologetic look.
“Yeah, sure. I won’t leave it unlocked anymore.” Looking up at Liam, I asked, “Happy?”
“Yep.”
“Good. As much as I love having you two gang up on me over an unlocked door, how about movie time?”
He started walking toward one of the couches with me, but came to a stop, then took a few steps back. “I left my candy in the car.”
“You brought candy?”
“Movie night means candy,” he answered simply.
I bit back a smile and held my hands up in surrender until he turned and jogged out of the condo.
Less than a minute later he was back, and as soon as he was inside he was yelling, “You didn’t lock the door.”
“You weren’t even gone for sixty seconds!” I yelled back, and narrowed my eyes when I caught sight of his amused expression. “You’re so—” My words caught in my throat, and I froze as I eyed the offensive boxes in his hand. “What the fuck is that?”
Liam seemed startled by my horrified question, and glanced around him for a few seconds before looking at the candy in his hand and holding it up to show me. “This? It’s Sour Patch Kids candy.”
“Oh my God,” Kira whispered, her voice expressing the same horror as mine.
“Yeah. Saw that. Why are they in our condo?”
“Well, shit, are you allergic to these too?” Liam asked quickly. “You need to tell me these things.”
“We’re not, but we might as well be!” I waved my hand at the boxes and made a gagging noise. “You need to get rid of those.”
“Fuck no, they’re my favorite.”
“Since when?” I asked dramatically, like Liam had just told me he had an incurable disease.
“Since always! What is your deal?”
“You need to get rid of them,” Kira repeated my earlier words.
“Tell me what’s wrong with them first!”
“ ‘Sour Patch’ is our dad’s nickname for Mom,” Kira explained. “They’ve never told us why, and we’ve never asked. But they eat Sour Patch Kids like they need them to breathe. Kennedy and I can’t stand them because of our parents—they gross us out.”
Liam’s lips turned up. “Seriously?” He dropped one of the boxes on the kitchen counter and walked toward us as he opened the other. “I’m sure you’ll get over it.”
My eyes and mouth widened. “You’re really going to eat them?”
“Yeah, Moon. And I’m gonna kiss you as soon as I’m done.”
“I will castrate you,” I swore, and his smile widened.
“That’s not nice.” As soon as Liam was sitting on the couch, I started walking over to sit near Kira on the love seat, but Liam grabbed me and pulled me back, so I was sitting on his lap. “Movie time, and you’re sitting with me.”
Kira laughed as she started up the movie.
“So you’re allergic to anything that comes from water,” Liam muttered, and tapped my nose before popping a couple pieces of candy in his mouth. “What about you, Kira?”
“No allergies.”
“And you’re both abnormally disgusted by the best candy ever made. What else?”
I started to say, “Nothing,” but Kira cut me off. “Pancakes.”
“Ah, yes!” I said, and pointed at her. “Pancakes.”
Liam stopped chewing, and looked at me like he was worried about my well-being. “What in the hell is wrong with pancakes? Pancakes are a Sunday-brunch tradition in my family.”
“Oh, fuck that. Don’t ever ask us to brunch with your parents. And pancakes are another thing between my parents that we don’t understand. But their little inside jokes about pancakes have made Kira and me steer clear.”
“Don’t worry,” he said on a laugh. “Sunday is family day.”
“Then I’m safe.”
“Are there any foods in particular that you love?”
“Bananas,” I said on a sigh. “I freaking love bananas.”
“Amen to that,” Kira said distractedly.
“I probably could have guessed that from the never-ending supply in your fruit basket. Now, you don’t see me flipping out over that, do you? You’re both a little dramatic when it comes to—”
“Can we stop?” Kira pleaded. “You’re going to make me sick if you keep talking about those two things.”
“So dramatic,” Liam whispered, and repositioned me so we were both more comfortable. “That’s new,” he said awhile into the movie, as he traced just below the new tattoo.
“Yep. Kira and I got the same one. We went and met Brian today.” I turned my head to smile at him, and Liam’s eyebrows shot up.
“Did you? And what did he have to say?”
I readjusted myself so I was curled against his chest with my legs across the couch and Liam’s arms around my waist. “He said you needed to go feed him.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “Figures.”
“But we took him tacos today, so he should be good for a while.”
The shock from finding out we’d gone to meet Brian was suddenly gone, and Liam was looking at me like he was trying to figure me out. “You brought Brian food?” he asked softly, and I nodded.
“Of course. You said you always did, so I thought we should too.”
“You know you didn’t have to.”
I shrugged. “I know. But I thought he’d appreciate it.”
“I’m sure he did. Thank you,” he whispered, and passed his lips across my jaw. Tapping on my skin just below my left collarbone, he asked, “What does this mean?”
For a fraction of a second, I considered telling him. About the tattoo, about my past, and what it had meant for me over the years . . . but I quickly pushed back the thought. Now was not the time while Kira was sitting right next to us with a movie playing in the background. When I finally told Liam everything, we needed to be alone. He deserved that much after everything I’d put him through before we’d started dating.
My chest warmed when I realized that this was the first time I’d ever thought—and wanted—to tell him about anything from back then.
Grabbing his face in my hands, I pressed a slow kiss to his lips. “For now, just know that it means we’re still okay . . . and it means I’ll be ready to tell you all about it soon.”
Liam’s eyebrows were pinched together for a few seconds, then they relaxed when he understood I didn’t mean just the tattoo, and his entire face looked like I’d just given him a gift he’d been desperately wanting. “Really?” he asked in awe.
“Really. Just not tonight.”
After we watched two movies and takeout had been delivered and devoured, Kira called out a good night and headed off to her room. As he normally did, Liam stood up and started grabbing his phone and keys. The times we slept over at each other’s places weren’t usually planned, and they were rare. If it happened, it was because we’d fallen asleep while talking or watching TV, or if a few hours in the bedroom had left us with only enough strength to crash in each other’s arms.
Getting the tattoo with Kira had been a big enough step for me, and then promising Liam I would tell him about my past soon had just added to it. While I expected to feel the usual panic over what that could all mean, there was nothing. Well, nothing bad at least. Right now, all I wanted was for Liam not to go home. I knew this would be taking us in a new direction. I knew he would see a deeper meaning in this than most people might, but I was pretty sure I was ready for it.
“Hey,” I said, and grabbed his arm to stop him. “Do you think . . .” I drifted off, and stared into his patient eyes. “Do you want to stay?”
That same smile that had crossed his face earlier when he’d asked about the tattoo was there again. And without a response, he bent down and lifted me into his arms, and walked me into my bedroom.
I’ll take that as a yes.
October 24
Liam
“WHY
DON’T YOU both come with me tomorrow?”
“Come with you where?”
“To my parents’ house,” I answered hesitantly.
Kennedy’s body stilled in my arms for a second before she looked up at me; her eyes were squinting like she was trying to figure something out. We’d woken up in her bed a little over an hour ago, and I’d been explaining all about how my family spent Sundays. This was different from the first time I invited the girls over to my parents’ house. And even though I’d told her what Sunday was all about in my family just the night before, I wanted her to know exactly what she was getting herself into before she agreed to go and ended up being blindsided. I didn’t want Kennedy thinking it would be just another day when no one in my family would see it that way, not if I brought the girls with me.
“You want us to go to your parents’? But . . . tomorrow is Sunday, and Sunday—you’re really asking us to go with you?”
I laughed softly and tightened my arms. “Yes.”
“But Sunday is family day,” she said with wide eyes, like she was trying to get me to understand what I was asking.
“It is, and I want my girl there.”
“This is kind of a big deal, Liam.” She leaned forward and smiled against my lips as she slowly moved one leg over my body so she was straddling me, and I pulled her closer as I nipped at her bottom lip.
“Does this mean you’re going to come with me?”
“If I say yes, does that mean we have to eat pancakes?”
I smiled and nodded. “Tons of them.”
Kennedy sighed dramatically, but her lips were tilting up by the time she was done. After a few silent seconds, she asked, “So now I’m your girl?”
I looked up into her gleaming eyes, and narrowed mine, trying to judge her expression. “That’s not anything new.”
Her lips spread into a smile as she pressed her forehead against mine. “For you, maybe. But I haven’t heard you call me that before.”
“Maybe because you’re always so quick to reject any title that would signify that we’re together.”
Kennedy’s smile fell, but her blue eyes stayed locked on mine when she said, “Brian called me your girlfriend yesterday.”
“Did he?” I asked in a monotone voice. I was worried about what else Brian might have said.
“I think I’m starting to be okay with it.”
Not trying to hide my surprise, I grabbed her waist and pushed her back until she was lying on the bed and I was hovering over her. “Really?”
One eyebrow rose in confirmation, and a soft smile slowly crossed her face again. Her long legs easily wrapped around my hips, pulling me closer as her fingers threaded through my hair.
“It’s about time, Kennedy Ryan. How many times did I have to tell you that you were mine before you finally started being okay with it?”
“But it never stopped you from telling me.”
I shook my head and brushed my lips across her forehead. “No, it didn’t. I’ve known you were mine, just as much as I’ve been yours.”
“I have never claimed you as my own,” she responded, but there was no bite to her words. She was looking at me in wonder, and I knew this was a turning point for us.
“Not yet, but you will.”
“Oh, will I? You sound a little sure of yourself.”
“I haven’t been wrong when it came to you yet.” I pressed my mouth to hers, and then only moved far enough away that my lips brushed hers when I asked, “So what’s your answer? Are you going to come with me tomorrow?”
Before she could say anything, there was a knock on the front door. I almost told her to let Kira answer it when I realized no one else knew where the girls lived except their family, and I currently had a naked Kennedy pressed between my body and her bed.
I pushed away from her, my body tight as I stared at her beneath me. “Are you or Kira expecting someone?”
She shrugged and started to move out from underneath me. “No, but it’s probably just a solicitor or something. They’re always in this complex.”
I pushed her back gently to where she’d been. “I’ll get it. Just wait here.”
“I can get it,” she said on a laugh.
“You’re not dressed yet,” I argued, and quickly climbed off the bed. Grabbing my jeans off the floor, I stepped into them and snatched my shirt up as I began walking out of the room. “Put some clothes on.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” she called back as I reached the hall.
I smirked and walked over to the entryway, the entire time wondering if any member of their family other than Eli knew about my relationship with Kennedy. But my worries of Mason and Kash coming after me died as soon as I opened the door to a guy I’d never seen before.
The guy’s forehead creased in confusion, and he took a step back to look at the number near the door.
“Can I help you?”
His hard eyes shot back to me. “I’m looking for Kennedy.”
I straightened and held his stare. “And you would be?”
“Look, just tell me if she’s here. Or do I have the wrong building?”
Before I could answer, I heard Kira’s door opening and Kennedy’s voice coming from down the hall. “Who is it, Liam?”
The guy’s mouth twisted into a mocking smile, and he looked behind me, at whom I guessed was Kira.
“I need your name,” I told him, stepping closer to him and closing the door enough that I was all he could see. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m letting you in here without knowing who the fuck you are.”
“Liam, seriously, who is it?” Kennedy touched my arm as she came up behind me, and I hated that every time he heard her voice, the man standing in front of me looked like he’d just won a prize. Kennedy ducked under my arm, and immediately scrambled back when she saw the guy, but was blocked by my body. “Holy shit!”
Releasing my hold on the door, I pushed Kennedy back and slammed the door shut before locking it. “Who is he?”
Kennedy just stood there staring at the door with wide eyes, not saying anything. I looked over to Kira, and she shrugged.
“I didn’t see him,” she replied, and walked up toward her sister. “Is it—” She cut off abruptly and looked up at me for a few seconds, then turned her body so she was facing away. That didn’t stop me from hearing her when she asked, “Is it one of Juarezes?”
“Who the fuck is Juarez? Someone tell me what’s going on,” I demanded. I had to know if I needed to go outside and beat up the guy who was asking for Kennedy, or call the cops.
“No, it isn’t,” Kennedy replied to her sister, but her eyes stayed locked on me—nothing but confusion and pain in them. “Kira, it . . . it’s Rhys.”
Kira looked at Kennedy with a confused expression, then her head jerked back and she turned quickly to look at the door and I saw the sudden surprise and confusion in her eyes. “Uh . . .”
“For fuck’s sake, will one of you tell me what’s happening. Is this guy dangerous? Do you need me to call the police?”
“I don’t think he’s dangerous,” Kira said, her voice sounding a little unsure. “But maybe you shouldn’t open the door for him again.”
As soon as Kira took a step toward the door, I stopped her and turned to get it myself. I still had no idea who Rhys was, or why he was here, but I sure as hell wasn’t letting the girls talk to him until I knew.
Unlocking and opening the door, I eyed the guy still standing there.
Before I could say a word, he asked, “Do you mind if I see my wife now?”
13
October 24
Liam
WHATEVER QUESTION I had for Rhys quickly escaped me, and I stood there staring at him as his question played over and over in my head. The guy was asking to see his wife . . . to see Kennedy.
I took a step away from the door and turned to look at the girls standing there with a mix of emotions on their faces. Kennedy looked like she was worried and hurt, and Kira’s
face was full of confusion and anger.
“Kennedy?” I asked softly, and her head snapped around to look at me before going back to Rhys, who was standing in the doorway.
“Well, I can say that I’ve never been more surprised by anything in my life,” Kira sneered. “Who’d’ve thought that you would show up after four years? And what is this, the second time I’ve seen you . . . ever?”
“Kira, stop,” Kennedy whispered, and even though there was no force behind her words, Kira obeyed. “You’re here. How? How did you know I was here?”
Rhys started to say something, but I spoke over him. “So he wasn’t lying? You’re his—you’re married to him?”
The sharp tone of my words had Kennedy looking at me again, her face apologizing when her words couldn’t do the same. “Liam,” she pleaded, and reached for me when I stalked past her toward her room, but I didn’t stop or respond.
As soon as I hit her room, I was searching for my phone and keys. Just as I was turning to leave, she was beside me, tears streaming down her face.
“Please, you don’t understand.”
“I don’t understand? You’re fucking married, Kennedy! What isn’t there to understand?” I laughed harshly and ran a hand roughly through my hair. “So he’s why you continued to push me back? He’s your past? He’s why you’re fucking terrified of letting yourself get too close to me?”
“Liam, please!”
“No. No, I fucking get it. Message received. What I don’t get is why you waited this long to tell me that you have a goddamn husband!”
“He’s my ex-husband,” she said weakly. It sounded more like a question than a statement.
“Ex?” A hard laugh sounded in my throat, and I nodded past her. “Does he know that? Better yet, do you?”
October 24
Kennedy
LIAM STORMED PAST me, but I didn’t try to stop him. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say at all now that Rhys was here. Like Kira had said, it’d been four years since any of us had seen him.
Minutes after I heard the front door shut, I turned at the sound of someone walking toward me, and found Rhys there.