by Abby Brooks
“It is.” I smile and nod. “He’s thinking about producing his own album with all the stuff he wrote. I keep telling him to do it because I think those are songs people need to hear.”
Michelle sighs, her eyes faraway and dreamy. “Please tell me you’ll sing with him. Especially that song you sang that night at Smitty’s. It’s so very beautiful.”
I blush. Even the thought of people hearing me sing in a recording makes me uncomfortable. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Lexi rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. You weren’t satisfied with your fifteen minutes of fame being due to the fact that you were Liam McGuire’s nurse. Are you telling me you’re going to pass up your chance at real fame?”
Michelle gives me a confused look while I laugh. “You’ve got the memory of an elephant,” I say to Lexi before explaining to Michelle about the things Lexi said to me when Liam and I first met.
Several hideous notes come clanging out of the piano in the other room followed by the low murmur of Liam’s voice, instructing Gabe, and Michelle’s daughter, Claire. A few shaky notes begin to form a song.
“There it is! You’ve got it!” Liam exclaims. The song stops and there’s the sound of two high-fives and some very happy children giggling in excitement.
“He’s really good with them,” says Michelle.
“He tries.” I shrug. “I think it’s because he’s mostly still a child.”
Lexi smiles and then runs a hand over her mouth as if to wipe it away. Michael’s death still sits heavily on her shoulders. Who am I kidding? It sits heavily on all of us.
“You know,” I say to my friend. “I’ve almost gotten used to seeing you without your cherry red lipstick.”
Lexi laughs and captures her bottom lip between her teeth. For a moment, it looks like she wants to say something, but then she settles on silence.
“How much of this are you going to let him do?” Michelle asks, waving a hand towards the iPad on the table.
“Honestly? I don’t really know. On one hand, I love the idea of taking this place and fixing all the broken parts. There’s something really beautiful about the idea, you know? On the other, I can’t afford any of it. And I still don’t know if I’m cool with him spending his money on me like that.”
Lexi leans forward, crossing her arms on my kitchen table. “Bay. He’s got plans for a recording studio.” She taps the picture on the iPad. “I don’t think he’s spending anything on you alone. It looks to me like he’s spending it on you.” She makes a motion with her hands, like she’s smashing something between them. “On both of you. Together.”
I look towards the den, listening to Liam tease Gabe and Claire. “Really?” I look back at my friends. “I mean, wow. I guess you’re right.”
Michelle puts a hand to her mouth and gasps. “What if he proposes on Christmas? Oh, Bailey! What would you say?”
“That’s a silly question,” says Lexi, finally sounding like herself for the first time this evening. “Look at her blush.”
“He’s not going to propose.” I stand and grab another beer. There are a couple of Michael’s left in the fridge, one of the few things I haven’t been able to bring myself to touch. They’re too heavy. Too dirty. Too awful.
“Yeah, but what if he does?” asks Michelle, looking dreamy as I swing the fridge door closed.
“Yeah, Bay. What if he does?” Lexi wrinkles her nose. “Good lord, you’ll be Mrs. Liam McGuire. You were so smart to hold out on those fifteen minutes.”
I shrug and twist the top off the beer, tossing it onto the counter. “First of all, you say his name like it’s a thing that’s bigger than a person. Liam is a man, perfectly imperfect. He’s more than a smiling face on a billboard.”
“Exactly, says Lexi while Michelle nods knowingly. “He’s also one hell of a hot body, half naked on a billboard.”
“Lexi!” Michelle looks appalled.
“Sorry.” My best friend holds up her hands. “I know what you mean and you’re very right. I’m sorry for objectifying your hot piece of man candy.” She smiles widely, and then pain turns it into a grimace, a hideous transformation that all of us understand but none of us want to acknowledge.
“I’d totally say yes,” I say after a few awkward heartbeats.
“Of course you would.” Michelle offers me an encouraging smile.
“Then let him go to town on this house.” Lexi sits back, wrapping one arm around her stomach and taking a tiny sip of her mostly full beer before putting it back on the table and sliding it away from her. “Let him gut it. Rebuild it from the ground up. Let him show you how much he loves you by building you a palace. And when he’s done, tell him just how manly he is and how much you love all his grunting and man-sweat and hard work.”
I laugh. “You’re a little weird, Lex.”
“Maybe,” she says with a shrug. “But I’m also one-hundred percent right.”
BAILEY
Christmas comes and goes without a proposal. I try not to be hurt but damn it, Lexi and Michelle got my hopes up. Even if there wasn’t a diamond ring waiting for me this morning, we still have a lovely day. We exchange our gifts, sit at the piano and sing Christmas carols, and then go to visit my family. Liam waits while I clean off the gravestones. Holds my hand while I talk to them, pouring my heart out and yes, shedding a few more tears.
These tears, though, they cleanse my soul. They are a spring rain on lush grass. Each time I come here—and after years of barely ever visiting, Liam has made sure I come frequently—I cry a little less.
“You’d be amazed at what we’re going to do to the house,” I say, running a finger along my mother’s name. “Liam finally talked me out of being a stubborn ass about him changing the place. You’d love it, Mom. It’s basically going to be a shrine to music.”
“Would you expect any less?” Liam places a hand on my shoulder.
“And we’re going to sell the truck.” I suck in my lips. “I know I promised to take care of it, Daddy, but I think I’m going to let Liam take care of me for a little while, you know? I’ve been standing strong all this time while the water just kept creeping up around my neck. I don’t think you’d mind if I ended up with air conditioning and power steering.” I cringe, waiting for a lightning bolt to zigzag out of the sky and strike me dead. When it doesn’t, I stand and take Liam’s hand.
“And the patio is a thing of beauty,” I say to Michael. “I think it’s the only thing around that place we’re not going to change. Whenever I get to missing you too much, I go sit out there and everything starts to feel okay again.”
I lean into Liam.
“I love you guys,” I say to them. “Merry Christmas.”
“You ready?” Liam asks.
I nod. “Yeah. Thanks for coming here with me.”
He offers me his elbow as we start toward the truck. “Of course, silly. There’s no reason to thank me. I’m here for you. Always.”
“No more leaving?” I glance up at him.
“I never left. My heart and soul were with you the entire time I was in LA.”
“Yeah, well. I’m in the market for all of you. No more bits and pieces.”
Liam stops and pulls me to him. “I thought you liked my bits and pieces.”
I roll my eyes. “I like all of you. Every single bit and piece. And I claim each and every one of them as mine.”
“You sure you don’t want to go out?” Liam asks from his place on the couch. “It’s New Year’s Eve.”
I drop down next to him and kick my feet up on the coffee table, leaning my head on his shoulder. “Nah. Do you? Have you been cooped up too much?”
“Honestly, after all that time touring in front of thousands of screaming fans, I’m all about a quiet night at home.”
A smile pulls at the corners of my lips as I stare down at my hands clasped in my lap. Liam shifts so he can see my face.
“What?” He furrows his brow and looks so damn adorable I want to kiss him. So I do. I take his face
in my hands and press my mouth to his, parting my lips, letting him in. His hands snake up into my hair, cupping my face before he runs them down my back. Goose bumps flare out across my skin and I smile without breaking the kiss.
“What did I do to deserve that?” he asks, pressing his forehead to mine.
“I like that you called this place home.” I look up at him through my eyelashes. “I’ve lived here my whole life, but it hasn’t felt like a home in a really long time.”
“As long as you’re here, it feels like home to me.”
“You always know just what to say to make me smile.” I drop my gaze to his mouth, wanting to kiss him again.
“You say that like my words are calculated.” Liam pulls back and looks me square in the eye. “Nothing about me is pretense with you. That’s part of what’s so beautiful. I’m just me, living my life, being happy with you, and you love me anyway.”
We laugh our way through the evening, and when we’re not laughing, we’re kissing. And when we’re not kissing, we’re holding hands, his thumb running across my knuckle. For as long as I can remember, this house had ghosts hanging in the corners, judging my each and every move and finding them all lacking. Over the last couple weeks, those ghosts have dissipated, the shadows giving way to light. When Liam came into my life, I thought he was the one with the wounds that needed caring for, but it turns out I needed to heal as much as he did.
As the clock edges towards midnight, Liam stands, pulling me to my feet. His eyes sparkle as he looks down at me.
“I love you so much, Bailey Schultz. I can’t think of a better way to start the New Year than with you in my arms.”
I bite my lip. “You’re making me blush.” I reach for him but he steps back.
“Actually,” he says, digging into his pocket. “I can think of a better way to start this year.”
He holds out his hands and I look down to find a diamond ring gleaming in a black box.
“I don’t just want you in my arms. I want you in my life. I want you forever, a lifetime of New Years, each filled with more laughter than the last. I came to you a broken man and you saw through all the bullshit and found the real me. You healed me inside and out and I am forever yours because of it. I’m no prince. Not a knight in shining armor. No fortress to keep your safe. You are my queen and I am your slave. Totally and completely at your mercy. You move and my whole world shifts to move with you.”
Tears gather in my eyes and my bottom lip quivers. “Dammit. All I ever do is cry anymore.”
Liam plucks the ring out of the box and holds it out. “Then let me be the one to wipe away your tears. Say yes, Bailey.”
I nod, frantically, swallowing hard. “Yes.” I swipe at my eyes. “But I’ll wipe away my own tears, thank you very much.”
Liam slides the ring on my finger and draws me in, so close I forget where he ends I begin. “I love you, Bailey,” he whispers. “Forever.” He kisses my nose. “And ever.” He kisses a cheek. “And ever.” He kisses my forehead. “And ever.”
I grab his face and kiss his lips, my tongue seeking entrance to his mouth. “And ever,” I say when we’re done.
Liam swoops me up and throws me over his shoulder, slapping my ass so hard I squeal. “And ever,” he says, carrying me back to the bedroom while I laugh and laugh.
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First and foremost, thank you to Mr. Wonderful and the Mini Wonderfuls for putting up with me after I spend long days, locked away in my room, living in a completely different world. For laughing when all my words are used up and I have little more than gibberish coming out of my mouth. For loving me in all the ways I love you.
To Melissa—THANK YOU for listening to every single over-thought-out idea and worry I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t be here without you and I know it.
To my early readers—Melissa, Debra, Linda, Candy, and Joyce. OMG THANK YOU for all the awesome advice and hand-holding throughout this process. This book is so much better because of your input. I hope you see your footprints on the final story.
To my friends—Alison, Anya, and Jen. I’m sane because of you three. Thanks for being an unending font of advice and discussion. I wish we had more time to spend together.
And to the wonderful women in Brooks Books. You might not know it, but you keep me moving forward even on days when I want nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep the day away.
Brookside Romance
Wounded
Inevitably You (Coming June, 2017!)
Lexi’s story (Title and release date coming soon!)
The Moores Series
Blown Away (Ian and Juliet)
Carried Away (James and Ellie)
Swept Away (Harry and Willow)
Break Away (Lilah and Cole)
Purely Wicked (Ashely & Jackson)
Love Is…
Love Is Crazy (Dakota & Dominic)
Love Is Beautiful (Chelsea & Max)
Love Is Everything (Maya & Hudson)
