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“Liam is going to play hockey with me.”
“You are a lucky young man,” Mr. Lancaster says, and I leash up Charlie and hand him over. “You keep up the good work out there, Liam. Bring us the cup this year.” With that he saunters off, and Liam smiles at me.
“No pressure, huh?”
I wipe myself with a dry towel, and drop to my knees to talk to Gavin. “You remember. Be good today and listen to Liam.”
“I will,” he says with an eye roll.
“If you’re not busy, why don’t you join us.”
“I…I haven’t been on skates in forever, Liam, and I know nothing about hockey.”
“You don’t need to know anything about hockey. A bunch of the guys and I rented the rink for the afternoon, and their wives and kids will be there.” He leans in and whispers, “Gavin is going to meet Cole. I think you might want to see the look on his face for that one.”
“Seriously? He’s going to go crazy.” My heart tightens. “This is so nice of you, Liam.”
“Every now and then I can do nice,” he says with a laugh that reminds me of his on and off ice handle.
“I can’t. I don’t have skates.”
He glances at my feet. “No pressure, if you don’t want to, but I have ladies’ skates in the car. Size seven, eight and nine. Any of those fit you?”
A weird, almost jealous sensation grips me, and I have no idea why. “All your girlfriends’ skates?” I ask.
“Sisters. Mom doesn’t throw out anything. I have a couple of my old pairs for Gavin to try on, and like I said, no pressure, but if you’d like to come along, we’d love to have you. Isn’t that right, Gavin?”
“Come, Mommy.”
I throw my hands up. “Okay then. Give me two seconds to change and I’ll be right back.” I hurry to the staff room, pull a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt from my locker and quickly hurry into them. A commotion at the front of the store easily lets me know where Liam and Gavin are and that my son’s big brother is a superstar. I stand back and let him do his thing and once the crowd clears, and no one is looking, I note the way he takes a big breath and lets it out slowly. Did that just drain him? I’m pretty introverted myself, so I know what giving of myself can cost me, but Liam isn’t anything like me. He’s a rebel, a rule breaker, a guy who loves all the attention, right?
“All set?” I ask, and a huge smile materializes, giving me the impression that he’s really excited that I’m tagging along, and that maybe…just maybe…he doesn’t have to try to put on a show in front of me. Truthfully, I’m impressed with the way he is with Gavin, but he clearly doesn’t feel the need to impress me, because there isn’t, and can never be, an us. I’m totally okay with that. Yeah, last night I did not lay in bed and think about him as I drifted off. Nope, totally did not work through a fantasy or two of him being on top of me, beneath me, inside me.
“Harper?” I blink as he waves his hand in front of me. “You with me?”
I laugh to hide the color that is no doubt crawling into my cheeks. “Sorry, just thinking about some things I need to do tomorrow. Let’s get out of here.”
I wave to Mary, the store manager, and head out into the sunshine with my favorite guy, and a guy I am really starting to like.
“Want to hop in my truck?” he asks as he hikes Gavin’s duffle bag higher on his shoulder. “I can bring you back to yours later.”
“Sure.”
Between us, Gavin captures both our hands. “Swing me,” he says, and my heart does a funny little tumble as we swing him between us, like we’re a real couple, a family...like I always see in those chick flicks I watch. This is what Gavin deserves. A mother and a father, but not just any father. He needs a man who is going to stick around and love him unconditionally. I’m not saying Liam is that man or that I want him to be. I just met him, but someday, maybe it will happen. Once I stop being so afraid of putting myself out there.
We step up to Liam’s four-door truck and Gavin’s eyes go wide. “This is your truck?” he asks, as I take it in, knowing nothing about vehicles. Heck, Gavin knows more about them than I do. As the guys talk trucks, and I find it so incredibly amusing, Liam opens the back door, and that’s when I realize I need to run back to my car to get Gavin’s booster seat.
“He needs a seat. I’ll be right back.” I’m about to dart away, when Liam captures my arm, wrapping his big hand around me. Warm and wicked sensations race through me, and I take a little breath. “What?”
“I already have one. Got it from my sister.”
My heart misses a little beat. I honestly can’t believe he thought of everything. “Do you always come this prepared?”
“I guess so,” he says, and his gaze drops to my mouth and for a brief second, I can’t help but think of sex. Yeah, this guy is probably always prepared for sex. If I open his glove box, will I find a huge box of condoms?
“You’re a great big brother,” I tell him. “You’ll be a great dad someday too, Liam.”
He doesn’t respond. Instead, he turns, and lifts Gavin until he’s in the back seat. “I bet you don’t need any help buckling in, do you?”
