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The group text I had with Nina, Dolly, and Goldie helped keep me connected to them. I did miss them, but right now, I was at the only place I wanted to be. With Liam.
My next appointment, the one where we’d find out the gender, was tomorrow. We were at the halfway mark, and I still had no idea what to plan for after the baby came.
I kept waiting for him to mention turning the unused room upstairs into a nursery, but nothing. Not even a peep about the things the baby would need once it arrived. Once we knew what it was, I had to start thinking about that. And if Liam wasn’t going to give me any clarity, then I had to get a good job. One with normal hours, health insurance, and security.
I’d gone online and found samples of résumés, then made one of my own in Liam’s home office he never used. I printed it out and sent it in to several different places, but so far, I’d not heard from any of them.
I finished putting in the burning bush around the oak tree closest to the house, then stood up to stand back and admire them. The sound of the gate opening caught my attention, and I stepped around the tree to see a silver Mercedes SUV coming down the drive. I didn’t know that car, but for them to have the code to get through the gate meant they had been invited.
Liam wasn’t home yet, but it was almost six, and he’d be here soon. I took off my gardening gloves, then laid them in the tote that held my supplies Liam had bought for me. The vehicle came to a stop, and I waited to see who emerged.
The door swung open, and out stepped a woman. She was young with platinum-blonde hair draped over her shoulder that held a loose curl at the ends. Calling the woman gorgeous would be an understatement. Knowing she had the code to get into Liam’s gate made my stomach feel sour.
“Hello,” she said as she walked toward me with a smile on her face.
“Hello,” I replied, waiting for her to explain why she was here.
Her gaze dropped to my stomach briefly before looking back at me. The breeze blew her hair, and she tucked it behind her ear, then laughed as she had to hold her sundress down too. Her laugh was lovely. I needed this woman to have some faults because she wasn’t lost. And the idea of her being close to Liam was getting harder to accept by the moment.
“I’m sorry for dropping in like this,” she said as she stopped a few feet away from me. “I can be impatient.”
When I said nothing, her smile widened, and her eyes sparkled, reminding me of clear blue water when the sun hit it just right.
She held out her hand. “I should start by introducing myself. I’m Madeline Hughes, Liam’s daughter.”
I blinked, completely stunned. That wasn’t what I’d expected. I knew he had a grown daughter and grandkids, but he’d not made a move to introduce me to any of them.
Did she know I was pregnant? I felt so unprepared.
Fumbling, I took her hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m, uh …” What did I say?
He must have told her about me, right? Another one of those boat-rocking things I didn’t bring up with him.
Her eyes were kind as she reassured me, “I know who you are, Liberty.”
I instantly relaxed. “Oh, good. I didn’t know. He hasn’t said and …” I trailed off, feeling awkward.
“Liam can be hardheaded and difficult. I hope you’ve figured that out by now,” she told me. Then, her gaze drifted back to my stomach. “I don’t know what all he’s told you about me, but he’s the only blood relative I have.” Her eyes came back to meet mine. “And seeing as you are carrying my only sibling, I wanted to get to know you. I’d like to be friends even if Liam is making that difficult.”
He was? She had been asking him about me? The reasons why he wouldn’t want me to meet her or get to know her were all depressing.
“I’m glad you came by,” I said, although I wasn’t sure if I was or not. If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known Liam didn’t want his family to know me. I could have continued to live in my own little fantasy world I’d been building. The one where I thought he was falling in love with me. But could he love me if he was ashamed of me?
The sound of the gate opening again meant he was home. I would get to see how he reacted to this. Maybe since things had started to change between us, he hadn’t wanted to share me yet. I liked that thought. Who was I kidding? I liked any thought that meant Liam had strong feelings for me.
“Oops,” Madeline said with a grin. “I didn’t expect him home so early.”
This wasn’t early for him. Not anymore at least. He had started leaving the club about the time it opened to come home to me. We had dinner together, sat on the front porch swing, talked about things—just not the things that we should be talking about—watched movies, and then there was the sex. Lots of sex.
I wanted to invite her to stay for dinner, but without seeing Liam’s reaction to her being here, I felt like perhaps I shouldn’t just yet.
Liam parked his Harley, and I watched him sling his leg over as he got off, then start this way. He smiled at Madeline.
“Didn’t know you were paying me a visit,” he said to her, seeming happy about her being here.
But he didn’t look my way.
“Well, I wanted to meet Liberty,” she said, not worrying about upsetting him at all.
