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“Of course.” Amelia nodded. “And how are you today, my handsome husband?”
“I had a nice day, thanks. And how was your day, my little princess?” Liam had started calling Grace his princess, and it had stuck.
“Good.” Grace took another big bite of pancake. Then she grinned that chocolatey grin up at Amelia. “Pancakes is good, Mommy.”
Liam and Amelia froze. Amelia looked stricken. There was a beat but, as always, Amelia recovered quickly.
“Oh, honey, I’m not your mommy.” Amelia put her arm around Grace, who was sitting next to her. “I love you, and I’m here for you, but I’m not your mommy. You remember your mommy, right?”
“Yeah. Mommy.” Grace nodded importantly. “Mommy and Mommy.”
“I think she’s saying she can have two mommies,” Liam said slowly.
“I think so too. I guess we didn’t explain that all this is temporary.” Amelia looked slightly teary again. She took a breath. “Grace, honey, I’m Meel. Remember?”
“Okay, Meel.” Grace went back to her food. She didn’t seem to have noticed how momentous this conversation had been for the adults in the room.
After a few moments, Amelia and Liam went back to eating, too. The evening fell back into a familiar rhythm of eating and chatting.
When they arrived back at Liam’s penthouse, Amelia smiled at him. “I think you’re ready to handle bedtime.”
“On my own?”
“I’ll stick around, but yes, I think you can do it.”
“All right. Grace, are you ready for a bath?”
“Yay!”
Liam filled the tub with warm water and bubbles, checked the temperature just the way Amelia had shown him, and helped his wiggly, excited daughter into the warm water.
“Sing, sing!”
Liam chuckled. “No, no, I’m not a good singer.”
“Sing, Daddy!”
His heart melted at the word. It was the first time Grace had called him Daddy. He looked up at Amelia, who was leaning in the doorway, and she gave him a thumbs-up.
“Okay, okay. One song.” Liam bust out a rendition of “Old McDonald Had A Farm” that was so bad Amelia was in stitches after the first verse. Grace didn’t seem to mind, though. She just sang along, as happy and enthusiastic as Liam had ever seen her.
After bathtime, he got Grace into her pajamas and tucked her into bed. Then he read her three stories. By the time he closed the last book, Grace’s eyes were closed and her chest was rising and falling with the peace of toddler sleep. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. His heart was full with love for his daughter — and appreciation for Amelia. He never would have gotten this far if it weren’t for her.
Liam tucked the blankets in around Grace’s small, sleeping form, then got up and tiptoed out of the room. Amelia was waiting in the living room and, when Liam appeared, she got to her feet.
“Hey. Is she sleeping?”
“Yep. It was a successful bedtime.”
“I knew you could do it.” Amelia smiled at Liam and took a step closer. “I think we need to talk about what Grace said today, though.”
Liam nodded. “I think we do. Have a seat. It’s time we talked about Grace’s mother.”
CHAPTER 15
AMELIA
Amelia sat back on the couch and tucked her legs beneath her. It felt strange to talk to Liam here, in the living room instead of his study, and despite his assuredness a few moments ago, he didn’t exactly seem ready to dive into conversation. They sat in silence for a few long moments. Amelia didn’t want to push Liam to talk, even though she was burning with curiosity.
