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“How’s work going?” Amelia asked pleasantly.
“It’s busy, as usual. There are some bugs with our newest app, but the team is working on it.” Liam glanced at Amelia. “And how’s home?”
“Great. Grace is really a joy. Aren’t you, sweetheart?”
Grace squirmed closer to her, and Amelia chuckled.
“A joy, but shy. I really love spending time with her, though.”
“Yes, well.”
Liam didn’t seem to know what to say. In that moment, Amelia’s heart went out to him. What must it be like to be a man so successful in business yet with no clue how to care for his own child? But she shut down her empathy. The truth was that Liam hadn’t cared to know his daughter when she was younger, leaving her care entirely in the hands of the girl’s mother. If he’d been involved from the beginning, he wouldn’t feel so distant now.
“Are these photos for your office?” Amelia asked, trying to move the conversation along.
“Yes. I need a few framed family photos for my desk, especially for my meeting with Stanley.”
“Stanley?”
“He’s one of our major investors, and the main reason for our… arrangement. He’s very traditional and cares about family above all else.”
The opposite of you. Amelia bit her tongue.
The elevator doors opened and the trio stepped into the lobby. Amelia was still holding Grace in her arms, but as they exited the building, Grace began to wiggle to get down. Amelia set her gently on her feet, and Grace took her hand.
“She really likes you,” Liam pointed out. There was a slight undercurrent in his tone that Amelia couldn’t place.
“I really like her,” Amelia countered. “We’re friends, right, Grace?”
“Fwiends,” Grace repeated happily.
“The two of you could be friends too,” Amelia pointed out.
“Fwiends,” Grace repeated. Amelia wasn’t sure how much the child had understood of the conversation, but she squeezed Grace’s hand. Liam didn’t reply. He just gestured to a woman standing on the street outside.
“Here’s our photographer.”
The woman smiled. “Hi there. I’m Meg.”
“Nice to meet you.” Amelia extended a hand to shake. “I’m Amelia and this is Grace. Grace, do you want to say hi?”
Grace shook her head and buried her face behind Amelia’s knee again.
“No problem.” The photographer smiled at them. “Shall we head to the park?”
They crossed the street to a nearby park. Grace immediately spotted a duck pond and tugged at Amelia’s hand.
“Duck! Duck!”
“I know, sweetie.” Amelia smiled at her. “We’ll see the ducks a little later, okay?”
“Ducks,” Grace said again, sadly.
“Don’t worry,” Meg said. “Pictures can be fun, too. Let’s start with a few group shots. Mom, can you pick Grace up? And Dad, you can put your arms around them?”
Amelia’s mouth opened of its own accord, ready to correct the photographer, but she closed it again. This was what she and Liam had agreed to — that she wouldn’t correct people who assumed that she was Grace’s mother.
“Sure,” she said instead. “Grace, up?”
