Unbroken (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #3.5)

When we reach the foyer, Liam points to the top of the tree and I gasp in delight.

“The angel!” I exclaim at the sight of the sparkling, gorgeous glass topper, turning in his arms to hug him. “I love it! I love you. You are amazing, Liam Stone.”

He strokes my hair. “Remember that the next time you get mad at me.”

“Don’t make me mad and I won’t have to,” I tease.

“Baby, I can vow to love, cherish, and honor you, but I can’t promise not to make you mad.” He kisses me hard and fast. “But the makeup sex is going to be worth it. That, you can bank on.”

I bite my lip. “Can we have a fight now, then?” The garage door buzzes—Tellar has arrived. “Hmmmm. I guess not.”

“We’ll make up for it tonight.” He kisses me again and walks to the closet as Tellar appears at the top of the stairs.

“Morning,” he says, offering a salute. “Where to today?”

“Nowhere,” Liam says, shrugging into a sleek black leather jacket and snagging my black Chanel trench coat from a hanger. “Amy and I are going out on our own.”

My lips part in surprise as Liam holds open my coat for me. “Really?” I ask, shoving my arms in the sleeves and then facing him again. “Alone?”

“Yes,” he says. “Really. We need some time alone.”

I grab the lapels of his coat. “That’s two amazing surprises in one day.”

His eyes light with naughty promise. “The day isn’t over yet.” He leans in close and whispers, “And neither is the night.”

I blush with the certainty Tellar knows all too well what is going on, twisting away from Liam and staring up at our new angel and thinking it couldn’t be more perfect.

“Take a well-deserved day off,” I hear Liam instruct Tellar.

I turn around as Tellar’s brow furrows. “You’re sure? I can follow you and give you space.”

“I’m sure,” Liam says firmly. “We’re on our own today.”

Tellar hesitates and seems to want to argue, but I don’t think it’s about worry, rather a sense of not knowing what to do with himself. The poor man has lived with us night and day for months. “I’ll have my phone on,” he finally says. “I’m just going to relax at home.”

“Too bad Coco’s not back,” I say, certain there is something between them despite the bombshell about her ex. “She could keep you company.”

“There’s nothing relaxing about a day with Coco,” he assures me as we join him at the top of the steps. “And all I’m going to do today is sleep.”

It hits me then that not only has he been with us around the clock, he gave up any freedom for a social life while we were in the Hamptons. I reach up and squeeze his arm. “Thanks, Tellar.”

His brow furrows again. “For?”

“You sacrificed every waking moment for us these past few months. That’s not easy.”

His eyes soften with the fondness we’ve come to share for each other. “Always my pleasure, Amy.”

My lips curve in a teasing smile. “It’s your pleasure I’m worried about.”

He gives me a typical Tellar deadpan stare. “Pleasure is the Big Mac and large fries I’m about to go pick up before I crash.”

I kiss his cheek and hurry down the stairs with Liam at my heels and in a matter of minutes we’re on the road, with Liam behind the wheel of the Bentley. I watch him maneuver the vehicle, enjoying his graceful, natural way behind the wheel, and I start to grin.

“What are you all smiles over?”

“Because you’re driving, not Tellar, and it’s pretty surreal, but I’m betting it’s more surreal for Tellar than for us. We have to give that man a private life. Please tell me you gave him a bonus for the past few months.”

“A ridiculously large bonus,” he assures me with one of his most devastating smiles.

For the rest of the short drive to the county clerk’s office, we talk about the various things we want to do while we’re out today. Once we hand over the Bentley to the parking attendant in the garage, I lace my arm through Liam’s and we hurry up the steps of the state building, the cold wind tormenting us. The instant Liam holds the door open for me I am inside, warmth surrounding me, a huge, towering ceiling above me and a fancy tiled floor beneath my booted feet.

Liam asks a security guard for directions to the marriage license office and a mix of silly nerves and excitement flutters in my stomach as we follow a long hall to our destination. We’re almost to the area we need to be at and I groan at the sight of the long lines, only to have Liam guide me to a separate door. “We’re going here.”

“But the security officer said—”

“I set up a private meeting for us.”

My brow furrows; something in his tone sets me on edge. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Baby, Chad turned back time for you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your legal name is not Amy Bensen.”

A sick feeling overcomes me. “Oh God. I don’t have paperwork to get our marriage license.”

He reaches in his pocket and hands me a folded piece of paper. “I handled it.”

I inhale and open the document to stare at my birth certificate that reads “Lara Brooks” and my hand starts to tremble, a knot balling in my chest. “This . . . this isn’t me anymore. This isn’t how I’ve . . . I can’t—”