Back to the Beginning: A Duet (5 page)

“What’s got you all serious?”

She smiled as she scooted down further in his arms, enjoying the deep timbre of his voice. A sleep-roughened Liam was one of her favorite Liams. “You’re not gonna like what I was thinking, but I’ll tell you anyway, because I don’t like keeping anything from you.”

He sat up so that he could prop his head on the palm of his hand. “Okay, now I’m intrigued and a little scared.”

“After Tatum, did you ever think about having another baby?”

The surprise on his face was apparent. That seemed to be the last question he’d ever expected her to ask. “Wow! Are you thinking that’s something you might like to explore again?”

She enjoyed the way he deflected to her; he always did that when he didn’t want to answer. “I’m saying, I thought about it for a while, but in the end, I decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea. I guess breaking our long dry spell made me think of it.”

Alarm flashed over his face as he shuddered at the thought of having twins again. In all seriousness, he questioned, “You’re still on birth control, right? You didn’t give up on ever having sex again.”

A loud laugh sounded from her throat. “I’m still on birth control; you’re safe. I decided when Tatum was about a year that I was probably done. Not to say I didn’t love the way you looked holding our daughter,” she was quick to point out. “It was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. You shirtless, asleep on the couch, holding the little product of our creation against your chest. Oh yeah.” She sighed. “There were plenty of panty-melting moments.” She stopped talking and began tracing one of the tattoos on his arm.

“But?” he prompted her. They’d never had trouble talking in their relationship, and he didn’t want to start now. If she had something to say, he wanted her to feel free to voice that opinion.

“I thought about having another in diapers, all the long nights of no sleep we had. Granted, it was easier with Tatum than it was with the twins, but I had a harder pregnancy with her, and neither one of them was a walk in the park. It would be even harder now. I’d be considered high risk. That would mean more appointments and possibly early delivery. I’d be a nervous wreck and so would you. I mean, we have twins who are leaving the house soon, why would we start all over?” She stopped and flicked her eyes up at his. “But I do admit to wanting a son who looks just like you.”

“Drew kinda looks like me,” he defended. They got mistaken for blood relation all the time. He thought it was more their mannerisms, but many people swore up and down they looked alike.

“He does,” she agreed. “But I’d like to see what kind of genes our son would have.”

He’d thought about that too, back when they’d found out about Tatum, but he and Drew were as close as most sons and dads. There wasn’t anything at all he was lacking in the relationship with the teenager. They were probably closer than most family. Even though Drew called him Dad, there were still times where he forgot he was supposed to be the father figure and acted like they were best friends instead.

He pulled her into his arms again and leaned back into the pillow. “Terrible Tatum is about all I can take.”

She laughed loudly when he referenced the nickname that some had given their daughter. It wasn’t that she was a pain in the ass; it was that she was headstrong and way too much like her older brother for her own good. They were going to have a terrible time with her when she got older—hence the nickname.

“She will be a handful.”

“Maybe I should plan more getaways like this, because I have a feeling we’re gonna need them as she enters her teen years.” He kissed her cheek and tucked her into his side.

“Sounds like a damn good idea to me.”

‡
Chapter Five

“W
as that your
stomach?” Denise laughed, her jaw ajar with shock as they lounged in the biggest bathtub she’d ever seen. It was round, and they lay opposite one another without touching.

He pulled his arms over his abs. “Woman, I have expended a whole hell of a lot of energy. I’m fuckin’ hungry.”

“You should have said something earlier. I’ve been in this tub for close to an hour.”

He knew. He’d been waiting for her to say she wanted to go grab something, but she’d looked too peaceful. It was an expression he hadn’t seen on her face in far too long. He hadn’t wanted to be the one to spoil it. “You were comfortable, I was comfortable. There was no reason for us to disturb one another.”

“We can always come back for an after-dinner soak.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Now that,” he hooked her around the waist as they stood, “could be arranged.”

It felt good—him touching her all the time. It was almost as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it. Another thing that had slipped from their relationship gradually that neither one of them had made comment on. The thought scared her, that they’d easily lapsed into a complacent kind of existence. She knew part of it was her fault, just like part of it was his, but it was still one of the most frightening things that had happened to them recently.

“Let’s get dressed so we can hurry up and get back here. I kind of like having you to myself.”

He had to admit, he did too.

*

“Do you want
to call and check on them?”

Denise looked up from her phone, a guilty expression on her face. Twice so far while they had waited for their meals, she’d pulled up Meredith’s number and almost called her, just to see how things were going. Something stopped her each time though. She couldn’t exactly say what stopped her, but she didn’t want anything to intrude on the nice time she and Liam were having.

“I do, but I’m afraid if I do I’ll be tempted to fix anything the kids have wrong, and I might make you take me back.” She blew out a breath. “Maybe you should just text Tyler and see what he says. That way you can tell me whatever you want; it doesn’t even have to be the truth.”

He took a drink of beer from his bottle. They’d found a sports bar that had food both of them liked. Liam palmed his phone in his hand. “Are you sure you want me to do this?”

“Like I said, lie if you have to. I’ll be fine until we get home; I just feel like you should check.”

“Alright. Let me text Tyler and see what he says.”

“Remember.” She reached out, grabbing his forearm. “It’s okay to lie to me if you think it’s for the greater good.”

He smirked. “You’re givin’ me permission to lie to you? Yeah, I’m not throwing that back in your face, but I’m sure things are fine.”

Picking up his phone, he tapped out a text to his friend.

How are things going? I know we’ve only been gone a few hours, but we’re both kind of worried. You can’t turn it off, ya know?

He didn’t expect an answer back quickly, so he set his phone down on the table. He picked up his fork and speared one of the boneless wings he’d ordered. “Are you excited about the rest of the trip?” he asked, watching as she ate her own wings and licked her fingers of the sauce since she’d opted for bone-in.

“Considering I don’t know where the rest of the trip is going to take us, I can’t say for sure. What I can tell you,” she winked and snaked her tongue out to gather some wayward sauce on her lips, “is that I’m having a great time so far, and if today is a preview, I’m very excited.”

So was his dick, he thought as he watched her tongue continue to clean up her lips. He’d have to make an effort to eat wings with her more often. “I think I want to keep the element of surprise there. It’s been fun so far.”

“You know I trust you.”

Given how they’d started their relationship, he couldn’t believe she did. He’d promised to keep her safe, and she’d ended up being clocked in the face by his dad. He’d had to claim her in front of the club to keep her safe. It hadn’t been what he’d wanted to do at the time, but he couldn’t stand to see her hurt because of him. She’d done a favor for his sister, Roni, and it had set off a chain of events he wasn’t sure everyone had recovered from. Meredith had been raped, Denise had been kidnapped, and he’d been forced to show her just how ruthless he could be. In the following years he’d calmed down some, because now they had a family and he had something to live for. He knew without a doubt he would do whatever it took to protect the family the two of them had worked so hard to keep together. To know she trusted him made his breath catch and his heart beat faster. It was something he never took for granted.

“Then I hope you know we’re going to have a really good time.”

She flashed him a smile. A private one—one that spoke of the hours they’d spent in bed together today, that said he knew exactly where to touch her, kiss her, how to make her wild. No other man could do that for her, and he felt his chest expand with pride and pleasure. “I’ve already had a
very
good time.”

Getting up from where he sat across from her, he grabbed his beer and plate and sat beside her in the booth. He wanted to be next to her, wanted to be touching her. Their knees and thighs met under the table, and he felt it deep in his soul. It was his greatest wish that the guys in the club and his kids found someone they felt for the same way he did about the woman who sat beside him. He sure as hell never assumed he’d have this kind of love, but damn if he didn’t find it. Everyone should have it, they should nurture it, and they should watch it grow.

The nurturing part he’d been a slacker on lately, but never again. His woman wouldn’t wonder how much she meant to him if he had anything to say about it. As they got their dessert, she leaned over to him, hating to ask, but knowing she had to. “Have you heard from Tyler yet?”

“Babe, they are with the very best people they can be with. I’m sure he and Mer are busy getting them all settled for dinner and taking care of all the shit you and I take care of on a daily basis. They’re fine.” He moved his hand from the back of the booth to the nape of her neck, pulling her into a passionate kiss. It was one he felt straight to his groin. “Trust me.”

She licked the taste of him from her lips, relishing it. “I do.”

*

It was late
night as they left the sports bar. Liam gripped her fingers in his and held her close. “I happen to know there’s supposed to be a moonbow at the falls tonight. Wanna go look?”