by Debbie Mason
“I’ve missed my butterfly kisses,” she said in a strained whisper, holding Mia tight. “I love you, baby. I love you to the moon and back. Don’t ever forget that.” She set Mia on the ground and took her by the hand. Grabbing the suitcase with her other hand, Sophie led Mia to a set of stairs. Like the landing, they appeared a little rickety. The handrail needed to be tightened too. Thinking of the caseworker’s upcoming visit, Sophie realized she had some work to do.
She started compiling a list in her head as she helped Mia up the stairs. Sophie wondered if Liam would mind giving her a hand. But when just the thought of him caused her body to go warm and languid, she pushed the man and his seductive lips and talented hands from her head. She had to stay focused, and, as she’d discovered, Liam wasn’t conducive to focusing on anything other than being in his arms. Right now, probably for the foreseeable future, the only thing she should be thinking about was proving to Olive Olivetti that she was a good mother.
Sophie put the suitcase on the landing and dug in her pocket for the key. She handed it to Mia then helped her fit it in the keyhole to unlock the door. The first thing that hit her was the smell of dust and mildew. She set the suitcase on the hardwood floor and closed the door, at the same time taking in the living room. What looked to be a couch and two chairs were covered in sheets, and a small TV sat kitty-corner between two white bookshelves.
“Let’s see what’s under here,” Sophie said, lifting one of the sheets to reveal a white-and-blue striped couch. Then she walked over and pulled the sheets from two white canvas-covered armchairs, sneezing as she did. “A little dusty, but they’re pretty. I’ll vacuum them later. Let’s go check out the rest of the place.”
She took Mia by the hand, and they peeked into the galley kitchen to the left of the living room. The appliances were old and could use a scrub. The white cupboards needed a fresh coat of paint, but otherwise it looked like everything was in working order. “Nonna won’t be impressed, but it’ll work for us. And we can eat at the manor.”
At Mia’s enthusiastic nod, Sophie raised an eyebrow. “So you think Helga cooks better than me, do you?”
This time Mia’s nod was accompanied by a grin, and for the first time in weeks, Sophie dared to hope that their relationship was on the mend. “Hey, you’re not supposed to agree with me,” she teased, and tickled her daughter. Mia giggled, and it took everything Sophie had not to burst into happy tears. “Okay, let’s finish the grand tour, and I’ll take you for lunch.” She kept her voice light and casual, afraid if Mia saw how deeply affected Sophie was it might spook her.
When they reached a closed door a few feet to the right of the kitchen, Sophie said, “This must be the bathroom. What do you think the chances are that it has a soaker…” She opened the door, and her jaw dropped. Liam stood barefoot and bare-chested with a white towel wrapped around his hips. His hair was wet and slicked back from his face, a razor raised to his foam-covered jaw.
Chapter Thirteen
The door to the bathroom opened. Liam lowered his razor to smile at Mia and Sophie. She slammed the door in his face.
“You stay right where you are,” she ordered him from the other side. “Mia baby, let’s go check out your bedroom.”
He heard the sound of their retreating footsteps and shrugged. He wasn’t sure what the problem was. He’d just lifted the razor to his chin when the door reopened and Sophie stepped inside, closing it behind her. Her eyes flitted over him; then she raised her gaze to meet his, a hint of pink coloring her cheeks. He grinned at her reaction. At least he wasn’t the only one feeling the attraction.
She glared at him. “If you wanted to give me a welcome-to-the-apartment present, flowers or a plant would have been a better idea than…than this.” Her hand fluttered between them.
“You think I’m your welcome-to-the-apartment present?” he said, unable to keep the amusement from his voice.
“It’s not funny, Liam. I have an impressionable daughter. You can’t just show up at my apartment half naked, expecting to—”
He put the razor down and turned to her, crossing his arms. “Expecting what?”
“Don’t do that. It won’t work,” she said, her eyes landing somewhere between his chest and the towel.
“Soph, you’ve lost me. I don’t have a clue—”
“Please, as if you don’t know how sexy you look right now standing there all naked and wet with your muscles on display.”
He looked down at himself then raised his gaze to hers while holding back a full-out grin as it hit him what was going on. He didn’t plan to enlighten her just yet. He was having too much fun. “You forgot my impressive abs.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Where are your clothes? You need to get dressed and…What are you doing?” she asked as he closed the distance between them.
Her palms landed on his chest when he crowded her against the door. “I just thought, since I went to all this trouble to surprise you, you could at least give me a kiss.”
“No, Mia is in the next room.” She stared at his mouth. “Even if I wanted to kiss you, you have shaving cream on your face.”
“Admit it. You like your present. And you really, really want to kiss me.”
The corner of her mouth lifted as her hands inched their way up his chest and around his neck. She leaned into him. “Yes, I like my present. But I’d like it a whole lot more if Mia wasn’t with me. I might want to kiss you a little.”
“A lot,” he said, and cupped her face in his hands, lowering his mouth to hers. He wanted to linger, to explore her sweet mouth with a deep, all-consuming kiss. Instead, because Mia was down the hall, he went with soft and tender and long enough that she’d feel how much he wanted her. He pulled back. Her face was tipped up, her eyes closed. He smiled at the shaving cream covering the lower half of her face and slowly trailed his finger through it to draw a foamy line of white down her neck. With her eyes still closed, she leaned back against the door, a small hum of pleasure escaping from between her parted lips. He ducked his head and whispered, “You like that, don’t you?”
She opened her heavy-lidded eyes and nodded, watching him as he dipped his fingers beneath the V of her caramel-colored sweater.
He felt her shiver beneath his fingers and moved her hair off her shoulders with his other hand before rubbing his cheek against hers. He’d never look at shaving cream the same way. He wanted to cover every inch of her…
A knock sounded on the door. She shoved him away. Her eyes wide and glazed, she wiped frantically at her face. “Be right there, baby.”
He’d gotten so carried away he’d forgotten about Mia. “Sorry, Soph. Give me a sec, and I’ll get some clothes on.” He turned to open the door leading into his apartment.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Liam glanced over his shoulder. “Nope, your apartment shares a bathroom with mine. Welcome to the neighborhood,” he said with a wink.
By the time he’d pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt, Sophie had let Mia in the bathroom and was trying to explain to her daughter why she had shaving cream all over her face.
Since she wasn’t doing a very good job of it, Liam figured he’d help her out. “Hey, Mia, you want to play with my shaving cream like your mommy did?”
Sophie stared at him, and he cleared his throat. “Well, not exactly like your mommy did…” Maybe he should stop while he was ahead. He lifted Mia onto the counter and grabbed the can. “Hold out your hands.” He sprayed a dollop of cream into them. “Okay, go to town.”
She grinned and turned to look in the mirror over the sink, patting the foam onto her cheeks. Liam shook the can, spraying some onto the tip of her nose. He caught Sophie’s eyes in the mirror. She smiled at him. Mia did too. And just like the night in the tunnels, that smile wrapped around his heart and squeezed. Only this time it wasn’t just Mia’s; it was her mother’s too. A powerful desire to make them smile like that all the time overcame him. It was as though they’d taken a pair of rib shears an
d opened up his chest and walked right inside past the walls he’d built around his heart. It made him uncomfortable. Maybe even a little panicked, he acknowledged when his exposed heart raced. He met a pair of blue eyes and golden eyes in the mirror, saw the flicker of concern in both, and forced his lips to curve.
“Okay, are you ready for a shave?”
Sophie gasped. “She’s a girl. You can’t shave her face. She’ll have a beard before she hits puberty.”
“Hey, I’m an old pro at this. I have a little sis…” He’d had a little sister. And it hit him like it sometimes did out of the blue. That deep, suffocating ache that made it difficult to breathe.
Sophie laid her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Liam?”
He shook off the memories and managed a smile while reaching for his razor. He slid off the blade and handed it to Mia. “Have at it, short stuff.”
Looked like today was going to be one of those days where he couldn’t escape the memories. He used to call Riley “short stuff.” Maybe he’d fallen back on the nickname because there was something about Mia that reminded him of his baby sister. Riley had been around Mia’s age with the same wavy hair and blue eyes.
Sophie nudged him and mouthed, You okay?
He nodded and smiled at Mia in the mirror. “You missed a spot,” he said, and touched his nose. “So, what are you ladies doing to celebrate moving in and having me as a neighbor?”
“You’re not joking? You really are living there?” Sophie asked, looking past him into the apartment. Definitely not as happy about the prospect as her daughter, Liam thought, taking in Mia’s sunny smile and Sophie’s worried frown. “Don’t worry. I won’t be around for long. I’m starting a four-day stretch at the station later today, and then I’ll be heading home to Boston.”
“You’ll be gone Friday morning by nine?”
Her initial lack of enthusiasm didn’t bother him…Okay, after that kiss, it kind of did. But this was more than just a lack of enthusiasm; she almost seemed panicked at the prospect of him being around. “Is there a problem I’m not aware of?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound rude. It’s just…Mia, how about we tidy up the apartment a bit, and then maybe Liam will come for lunch with us at the manor?” She glanced at him. “Unless you’re busy.”
“Nope. Lunch sounds good. Shift doesn’t start till five.” He grabbed a towel and wiped the rest of the shaving cream from Mia’s face then lifted her off the counter. He tossed the towel to Sophie. “You might want to…” He gestured to her face. Probably better that she took care of it than him. He didn’t seem able to stop himself from kissing and touching her when he got too close.
“Thanks,” she said, and wiped her face. “Mia, you can start unpacking the suitcase. Mommy will be there in a minute.”
Her daughter looked from Sophie to Liam then nodded. He caught Mia’s grin when she skipped off. The mischievous smile looked familiar. It was one he’d seen on his matchmaking great-grandmother’s and grandmother’s faces every time they thought they’d found his one. Which inevitably turned out not to be the one. Probably because he didn’t want a one. Given that he didn’t, Mia’s mischievous grin should have made him nervous. It didn’t.
“So, are you going to tell me why you want me out of here Friday morning or is it personal?”
She leaned back and pulled the door closed, leaving it open an inch. “The caseworker called this morning to set up the in-home visit. They moved it to Friday morning.”
“That was fast. But maybe it’s for the best, Soph. You’ll get it over with, and you can stop worrying about it.”
“It’s fast because of an article in the Gazette about Halloween at the manor. They red-flagged me. That’s not the end of it either. The caseworker is scheduling more visits.” She rubbed her wrist. “I should have let them know what happened at Greystone. Now, because I didn’t...”
The one visit, other than he knew it upset Sophie, didn’t seem like that big a deal given the circumstances. But this…He pulled out his cell phone.
“What are you doing?”
His cousin’s voice mail kicked in, and he held up his finger. “Hey, Mike, it’s Liam. Give me a call as soon as you get this.”
“You didn’t have to call Michael for me. I was going to do it myself.”
“Good. Now it’s done. Just in case my cousin can’t charm or browbeat the CPS into dropping your case, let’s take a walk through the apartment and see if anything needs to be done before Friday.”
“You’re a good guy, Liam Gallagher. I wish…” She gave her head a slight shake, and before Liam could ask what she wished, Mia was back with a piece of paper.
“Let me guess—Mistletoe Cottage,” he said with a laugh.
Mia smiled and nodded.
Liam crouched in front of her. “You do a lot of nodding and head shaking. Gotta be hard on your neck. Why don’t you try mouthing the words? No pressure. Just a thought.”
She started to nod then stopped and mouthed, Okay.
“Excellent.” He put up his fist, and they fist bumped. Then he stood up. “How about I go to Jolly Rogers and pick us up some lunch, and then we’ll walk over to Mistletoe Cottage and eat there?”
Mia jumped up and down, mouthing, Yes, yes.
“Mom?” Liam raised an eyebrow at Sophie.
She looked torn. “Sure, but I’ll have to pay you back once I get—”
He knew how much it cost her to admit that she was broke. Like her brother, Sophie had always been proud. “My treat. You can have me for dinner when I’m back in town.”
Sophie tilted her head to look at Mia, who was mouthing, Bad idea.
Liam laughed. “I don’t believe you. I’ve never met a DiRossi who couldn’t cook.”
Mia pointed at her mother.
“I think she inherited her uncle’s sense of humor,” Liam said. “Let’s do that walk-through. That way if I need anything, I can pick it up at the hardware store before I grab our lunch.”
It took all of fifteen minutes to check out the place. Liam imagined he could take care of everything that afternoon. Once Mia mouthed what she wanted for lunch, Sophie turned the television on for her.
Liam tightened the knob on a kitchen cabinet. “You need anything else while I’m downtown, Soph?”
“No, you’ve done too much for us already, Liam. I really appreciate it. And I’m paying for whatever you’re picking up at the hardware store, so—”
“I’m happy to help out any way I can. That’s what friends do, Soph. You’re not paying the bill from the hardware store. I’ll put it on the manor’s tab.” After walking through the apartment and seeing how little they had, he wished she’d let him do more.
“The manor has an account at the hardware store?”
“Old Man O’Malley’s been running a tab for Greystone for as long as I can remember. Don’t imagine it’s changed.”
She sighed. “If you don’t mind, can you get the outstanding balance?”
“No problem. Have you had a chance to go over the books?” He caught her grimace. “That bad, huh?”
Her chin went up. “Actually, the books are in great shape.”
He tapped the tip of her nose. “Careful, it’s going to grow. I may not be on Team Greystone, but I am on Team Sophie, so whatever you need…” He frowned. “Hey, what’s up with the tears?”
She moved into him and did a face-plant into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. “You have to stop doing stuff for us, taking care of us like you do. You make me want things I can’t have.”
“Like what?” he asked quietly, stroking her hair.
“A man to share my life with. A man like you. I don’t have time for a serious relationship.”
“Well, you’re in luck. I don’t do serious,” he said, and kissed the corner of her mouth. He felt someone’s eyes on him and looked over to see Mia watching them. She gave him a thumbs-up.
Liam lifted his phone and took a picture of Sophi
e and Mia twirling under a shower of red and yellow leaves that were substituting for snow. Sophie sang “Let It Go” with Mia mouthing the words.
He held up the bag from Jolly Rogers when they took their bows. “Okay, Elsa and Anna, it’s time to go. I’m starved.”
If he didn’t have to take care of the repairs at the apartment before his shift, he’d be happy to watch them play make-believe for however long they wanted. He loved seeing this side of Sophie. Loved hearing her laugh, watching her face light up when she looked at her daughter. But what was supposed to be a ten-minute walk through the woods to the cottage had already taken an hour.
“Kristoff sounds grumpy, Anna. Should we take him to the cottage and feed him, or make him sing for us first?”
Mia spread her arms wide and tipped her head back.
“Sorry, Kristoff. Looks like you’re singing for your lunch.”
He shook his head with a laugh then belted out a couple choruses of the song. By now, he knew the words. He should since Sophie had been singing the song for the better part of twenty minutes. Mia clapped and ran to hug his legs.
“Be still, my heart,” Sophie said, patting her chest. Then she hugged him too. “Thank you.”
“For what?” he asked her when Mia let him go to skip along the path.
“For being you.”
He took her hand, reminding himself he didn’t do serious. But like the last six times he’d told himself that in the past hour, it wasn’t really working.
Especially when Sophie smiled at him like she was now. “In case you can’t tell, we’re having fun.”
He lifted their joined hands to her face and traced her lips with his thumb. “I got that. I’m glad. It’s nice to see you happy. Both of you.”
She glanced at Mia, who’d crouched on the path to collect rocks. “You’re great with her, you know. I should have thought to tell her to mouth words.”
