‘Then we’ll deal with that if it happens. But we’ll deal with it together. As a team. A family.’ Liam’s fingers traced up her arm, rubbing her skin reassuringly. ‘Just say you’ll give us a chance. Me and Jamie. Please.’
She sighed. ‘Let me check I’ve got this straight. We work together to give Jamie a real family. You, me, him. No promises of love, or anything like that. Just a practical arrangement for Jamie.’
‘Exactly.’ Liam’s expression was so earnest, so hopeful. ‘I can’t promise you love, not now, not after just two weeks. But I can promise I won’t do anything to hurt Jamie, or you, ever. And I’ll do everything I can to make us all happy. Our little family.’
He was right; it was crazy to worry about love so soon. And if they were to lose Jamie, it would be soon too. Iona, the social worker, had said the end of this week. That was only a few days away now. She didn’t have to worry about losing her heart to Liam in that time. Right?
And she’d already lost it to Jamie. So why not enjoy these last few days as a family, if that was all she ever got?
Alice stared at Liam’s face, at the openness there. This was her chance. Could she take it? Could she stay? For Jamie?
Could she take the risk?
She didn’t know. She couldn’t promise for ever, just like he couldn’t promise love.
But she could offer for now.
Leaning across the table, she placed a hand against his cheek and kissed him softly on the lips.
‘Is that a yes?’ he asked against her mouth.
‘It’s a yes for now,’ she said, unwilling to commit any further. ‘Until we know what the social worker says at the end of the week. If she says we have a chance...’
‘We’ll take it,’ Liam said, and kissed her again.
* * *
He’d wanted to leave the Fox and Hare right then, and drag Alice home to Thornwood and to bed, but naturally Jamie chose that moment to wake up, ready for his evening bottle.
‘We’ll get back to this,’ he murmured as he broke away to find the milk they’d brought with them. Alice fell back into her chair on the other side of the table, a pensive look on her face.
He hoped to God she didn’t start overthinking this now.
Yes, there were issues to be ironed out. And yes, the chances were maybe fifty-fifty that the plan would even work. But one thing Liam knew for certain—Alice wasn’t sleeping on the daybed tonight.
Part of it was lust, he admitted. But another part—a bigger part, even—was the story she’d told him. After hearing that, he couldn’t bear her to be out of his sight, not even for a moment. He needed her close and safe. Somewhere he could look after her.
Tucked up warm in his arms, for preference.
The waitress brought their food shortly after and they took turns eating, swapping Jamie between them as he fed, was winded, and fussed. It was, Liam decided, by far the weirdest first date he’d ever had—and not just because it had started in a church, hit terrible lows, practically involved a marriage proposal, and still wasn’t guaranteed to end with sex. On the other hand, it had sort of been blessed by an angel, so he let himself be a little optimistic about the outcome.
Eventually, Alice finished her wine and they wrapped Jamie back up into his snowsuit, ready for the walk home. Liam knew logically that Thornwood Castle was only a fifteen-minute walk from the village, but somehow tonight it seemed to take for ever. Finally they reached its ancient wooden doors and Alice eased them open carefully, trying not to wake the sleeping baby.
‘Bedtime?’ Liam asked as he lifted Jamie from the pram and rested him against his shoulder.
Alice bit her lip, making him think thoughts he really shouldn’t be thinking while holding a child, and nodded.
Upstairs, they went through Jamie’s usual bedtime routine, minus his nightly bath given how much later than usual it was. Finally he was swaddled in his blanket, asleep in his cot. Liam stared down at him and wondered when he’d become the sort of man who could picture himself as a father.
Hell. A father. Him.
He hadn’t thought of it like that before, and for a moment every muscle in his body screamed at him to run. He’d never wanted kids, never imagined being ready to take on the responsibility. He had no male role models—save perfect examples of what not to do.
But maybe that was enough. He reached down to smooth a curl of fluffy baby hair away from Jamie’s forehead and smiled to himself.
Maybe knowing what not to do was all that he needed. Just do the opposite of what every man and family member in his life had done to him, and everything any guy had ever done to Alice, and they’d all be fine.
He hoped.
Turning away from the cot, he saw Alice watching him from the bedroom door, her head resting against the wood as she studied him. In the low light, her hair glowed golden and she’d already removed those incredibly sexy boots. But somehow, seeing her in her stockinged feet seemed even sexier. He’d shared this suite with her every night for over a week, but tonight the air felt thicker, more full of promise.
‘Shall we go to bed?’ Alice asked, her voice low and husky.
Liam smiled. ‘Sounds like a plan.’
Yeah. This was all going to work out just fine.
* * *
Alice blinked into the darkness as her exhausted body tried to process what she’d heard.
Jamie. Crying. Of course.
She checked the time on her phone—time for his next feed. It didn’t matter to him that his pseudo parents had barely drifted off after what Alice had to admit had been some pretty phenomenal lovemaking.
On autopilot, she made up his bottle, shushing and changing him as she waited for it to reach the right temperature. But even the familiar, everyday actions couldn’t clear her mind of the memories of the last few hours—of how Liam’s body had felt against hers, or the relief that had flooded through her body as he’d taken her.
She hadn’t known how much she’d wanted him, needed that, until he’d kissed her that evening. Now she couldn’t imagine not having it again.
And, as much as she hated to admit it, she knew it had only been so good because all the secrets were gone. Because she’d told him everything, left her soul bare, and he’d wanted her anyway.
Not just wanted her. He wanted her to stay.
He’d called them a family. The one thing she’d never thought she could have again.
She swallowed hard, her eyes wet just at the thought.
‘He okay?’ Liam slurred from the doorway, his eyes barely open. He had to be every bit as exhausted as her—possibly more, actually—and he’d still dragged himself out of bed to check on them.
‘He’s fine,’ she assured him. ‘Go back to bed.’
But Liam shook his head and slumped onto the end of the daybed, watching her as she settled Jamie in her arms ready for his feed.
‘You’re good with him, you know,’ he said as she sat beside him and reached for the bottle.
‘I guess it’s one of those things learnt best on the job,’ she replied.
They sat together in silence for a minute or two, the only noises in the room the ticking clock on the mantel and the gentle snuffling sounds of a feeding baby.
‘Are you okay?’ Liam asked eventually. ‘About tonight, I mean. About us.’
Alice considered, taking stock of her exhausted but oh-so-satisfied body. ‘I’m just great,’ she assured him with a smile.
Liam let out a long breath. ‘Good. I mean, I know you enjoyed it...’ He flashed her a smug grin and she rolled her eyes.
‘As much as you did,’ she observed.
‘God, yes. But anyway, the physical stuff aside. What we’re doing here...’
‘It’s not the normal way to go about things,’ she finished for him, and
he nodded.
‘Exactly. And after everything you told me tonight... I know you know that it...it might not work.’
Alice swallowed again, her throat suddenly thick with emotion. ‘I know.’ She cradled Jamie closer. How many more times would she get to do this? To hold his body to hers as he fed or slept?