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The girl nodded. “Okay. I’m good with kids.” She bounced to her feet and went to the pool, where she sat on Grace’s other side. As expected, Grace buried her head in Amelia’s side, but after a few moments she seemed to warm up to the older girl. A few minutes later, Grace was riding piggyback on Briana’s back as the two of them pranced around the yard. Amelia got up and returned to Liam with a shrug.
“It looks like Grace made a friend,” Liam said.
“She definitely did.” Amelia turned to Stanley. “Your daughter is really something special. Grace doesn’t always take kindly to strangers.”
“If you ever need a babysitter, Briana’s been asking,” Laurie said. “She watched a TV show about teenage babysitters, and she thinks it’s just about the coolest thing ever.”
“Well, she’s definitely a natural.” The adults all smiled at each other.
“It looks like we’re ready to eat,” Stanley said. “Who wants a burger and who wants a hot dog?”
The kids piped up with requests. Soon, they were all eating — and Liam had to admit that the food was delicious. He even found himself asking for a second burger.
After lunch, Stanley suggested a walk around the property. It was a beautiful sunny day, and everyone agreed that a stroll would be nice. The kids ran ahead, laughing and playing tag, while Grace toddled after them, giggling, excited to be part of the fun. The adults hung back, chatting about this and that, until Laurie threaded her arm through Amelia’s and pulled her off to look at her vegetable garden. Amelia shrugged at Liam, checked on Grace, then let herself be pulled away.
“I wanted a moment to talk to you. I hope that’s okay,” Stanley said. Liam’s heart began to beat faster. Stanley was either going to talk to him about his investment or call him out on his fake wife. The former was much more likely, but Liam couldn’t help feeling a hint of worry.
“Of course.”
“I just wanted to say, Liam, that you’ve surprised me. If I’m being honest, I was thinking about moving my investment to another company. The rumors about you, coupled with the fact that you seemed to have your eye only on the bottom line — it was worrying. But seeing you with your family changes all that. I hope that we can be not only business partners going forward, but also friends.”
“I’d love that,” Liam said. He could hardly believe this was happening. The afternoon was going even better than he’d expected. “I have to insist that we have you over for dinner next time.”
Stanley chuckled. “Be careful what you ask for. You’ve seen my kids.”
“I have. And they’re wonderful.” Liam hesitated. “I have to ask. You’re so successful, but it’s also clear how much you care about your family. How do you make time for both?”
“That’s a good question, and one I struggled with when I was your age. Like I told you, I used to spend much more time at the office than I do now. I didn’t see my wife or my kids as much as I wanted to. But Laurie sat me down, and she asked me what I could delegate. I could delegate so much of my work to competent people who would do a wonderful job, but I couldn’t delegate love or parenthood. That advice hit me hard and made me into the man I am today. I hope you can find that balance, too.”
Delegation. Could it really be so simple? Maybe so. Over the last week, Liam had given several important tasks to people at his company, to free up his time to get to know Grace. Despite Ryan’s annoyance, the company hadn’t burned to the ground. Perhaps Liam just needed to trust others to support him in business, so that he could spend more time with his daughter — and with Amelia.
Liam’s gaze drifted to Grace, who was giggling harder than ever as the older boy pretended to chase her in slow motion. His heart warmed at the sight of his daughter enjoying herself. Then his gaze drifted to Amelia, who was kneeling in the dirt beside Laurie, her hands full of tiny strawberries and her hair framing her face. Liam’s heart stirred at the sight of her. If he were brave enough, he could have a real future with Amelia — maybe. He’d seen the look in her eyes. He knew she might return his feelings.
“Thank you, Stanley. That’s very helpful.”
“Anytime.” Stanley clapped Liam on the shoulder. “I must say, you seem to be doing a good job. Your wife and daughter clearly love you.”
Liam couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but he nodded.
“I love them.”
And it was true. Liam loved his daughter more than he’d thought was possible. And he cared about Amelia, too, as strange and terrifying as that was.
The rest of the day flew by. Eventually, Grace began to get fussy with tiredness, and Amelia suggested that it might be time to head home. Liam and Amelia said their goodbyes and piled into the car, where Grace remained fussy in the backseat, and Amelia spent most of the drive twisted backwards in her seat, offering the child toys and snacks.
When they arrived home, Liam rested a hand on Amelia’s shoulder.
“I’ve got bedtime today.”
“You do?”
Liam nodded. “I do. How about you decide what we should have for second dinner while I get the little princess into bed?”
Grace was full, having eaten a second hot dog for dinner just before they left, but Liam was hungry and knew Amelia probably was, too.
“Okay. Good night, sweetheart.” Amelia leaned forward to kiss Grace’s cheek, then straightened up with a smile. “See you in a bit.”
Liam went through Grace’s bedtime, alone for the second time, with much more ease than the first time. Soon, Grace was clean and tucked into bed, her eyes growing heavy as Liam read her a story. Soon after that, he returned to the living room, where Amelia was sitting on the couch, flipping through something on her phone.
