“Did you make the pie?” he finally asked her, looking over at her inquisitively.
“I did,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “But it’s not exactly a pie.”
“I would definitely call this ‘not a pie,’” Annie said theatrically as she came out of the kitchen carrying a large glass bowl that was layered in precise rows of white, orange, and brown.
“Wow, what is that?” Lena asked from the other side of the couch.
“It’s a pumpkin cheesecake trifle,” Sadie responded. “I made it while I was watching the parade this morning.”
“This looks amazing, Sadie,” Annie said, turning around to set it on the dining room table.
“It really does,” Lena agreed, rising to stand next to Annie and admire the dessert. “How did you get all the lines so perfect?”
“A spatula, some cooking spray, anda lotof patience,” laughed Sadie.
“I bet,” Lena said with awe. “Well, it’s a work of art. I almost don’t want to eat it …almost.” They both laughed when they were interrupted by a loud, melodic voice ringing through the room.
“What the hell is that?”
They’d all been so busy marveling over Sadie’s dessert that they hadn’t heard Morgan enter the living room. She was dressed casually in fluffy blue pajama pants covered in smiling snowmen and a short white tank top that exposed her midriff. Her wavy blond hair was pulled up on top of her head in a messy bun, and her face was scrunched up with perplexity and a dash of annoyance.
“Morgan, look at what Sadie made,” Annie said with exuberance, spreading her hands wide to showcase the tall glass bowl where it sat on the table.
“I thought you said she was making pie,” she mumbled in response as she walked forward and looked at the dessert disapprovingly. It was suddenly super obvious to Liam that Morgan had just woken up. It was about two o’clock in the afternoon, so that was … something.
“Morgan was working late last night,” Annie explained to Liam and Sadie as if reading their thoughts. “She works at The Blue Sky now.” Her voice was a bit strained while making the announcement, her cheeks pulled into a tight smile.
“Oh!Cool,” Sadie said buoyantly from Liam’s side. “Say hi to Fitzy and the guys in the kitchen for me, Morgan. I haven’t dropped by the bar in forever.”
Turning to look at Sadie as if she just realized she was there, Morgan narrowed her eyes in her direction for a good five seconds before she turned without saying a word, shuffling toward the kitchen and murmuring something about coffee.
Morgan, Liam decided at that moment,is a little scary.
“Sorry about that,” Annie said hastily, her eyes shifting between Sadie and Liam nervously. “She’s been working these late shifts at The Blue Sky, and she’s a little grumpy. She stayed here last night because of Thanksgiving.” Annie mumbled the last words out in a rush before she turned suddenly and hustled into the kitchen—probably to pressure Morgan into being nice just like she’d done to him earlier in this week.
Lena returned to the couch, curling up next to Jake, the football game a dull murmur in the background. Looking over at Sadie, Liam saw her delicately rubbing her right forefinger up and down the arm in the couch, her face relaxed in a resigned sort of sadness.
That old high-school-Algebra-class feeling of protectiveness rose within Liam’s chest at the sight of her so obviously despondent.
“How’d you come up with making something like that?” he murmured the question deeply, looking over at her with a small, encouraging smile.
She looked up at him, a surprised grin spreading over her cheeks, obviously overjoyed at the positive attention. “I was inspired,” she said excitedly, shifting to sit up straighter on the couch and moving her face and body towards him.
“By what?” Liam felt exhilarated by the conversation and sitting so closely next to her—happy bolts of energy zipped around his body.
“Have you ever seen theFriendsepisode where Rachel makes the English trifle, but she puts beef in it?”
“No,” he said, sputtering out a laugh.
“What?! You know, ‘Meat? Good. Custard? Good. Beef? Good.’” She said the words in a faux deep voice and looked over at him so expectantly and excitedly that he couldn’t help but chuckle at her face. “Joey Tribbiani?”
“No, sorry.”
“Oh, well,” she said with a shrug. “You’re missing out, though. I watch a lot ofFriends,and it inspired me to turn my pumpkin pie into a trifle. It's got layers of whipped cream, pumpkin cheesecake, and bourbon-roasted pecans. I think it’s going to taste amazing, but I’m obviously a bit biased.”
A rosy blush moved up her face as she looked down at her finger, moving it methodically over the couch’s surface again.
Is she doing that because she’s nervous?The realization struck Liam like a smack on the back of his head. The thought ofherbeing nervous to talk tohimwas crazy … and intoxicating.