A smile fills my face when I think about Liam. It’s a relief knowing he’s not legally married anymore and can be open about how we feel. We don’t have to worry about wandering eyes and hiding from guards. Something I’ve desperately wanted for so long. Liam’s taken every opportunity to take me out in public, hold my hand, and kiss me with no fucks of who’s watching. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. Now that he’s no longer Victoria’s bitch, we can have the life we’ve always dreamed of, one I almost thought we’d never have.
We pull up to the house, and I’m so excited to see Liam. I’ve been thinking about him all day. We walk inside where the guys are drinking beer and hanging out in the living room. Liam’s eyes meet mine, and I feel as if I could get lost in them. Rushing to him, I happily hop on his lap, and press my lips to his.
“Well, good to see you too,” he says, nuzzling his nose against mine.
“Aww.” Hunter chuckles and Liam smacks him on the arm with his free hand. I hear a car door close and know it’s Lennon so I get up to meet her. Sophie follows behind me and we watch as she gracefully takes Aaron from his car seat and places him on her hip. I reach out to grab him, giving him all the love as we walk back inside the house.
“There’s my boy,” Hunter says, stealing him from me, but I can’t deny how adorable Aaron is when he sees his daddy.
“Did you have fun today? Oh look at what Mommy dressed you in, a Green Bay Packers shirt.”
“Eww!” I say, knowing it rubs Hunter the wrong way because he’s in love with Aaron Rogers. “Green Bay. Barf.”
“Better than, oh wait, Utah doesn’t even have an NFL team,” he teases.
“Who cares. Football isn’t my thing anyway, I just enjoy messing with you.” I shrug, and he knows his insults are wasted.
“Go figure since football is actually hard and ballet is easy,” he throws out, and I know he’s purposely pushing my buttons, but it’s what he does best. Hunter has taken his big brother role seriously since marrying Lennon.
My eyes go wide, and Liam pretends to hold me back when I lunge for Hunter. Before long, Sophie gets up and makes a pot of coffee and even gets me a cup of tea as the boys continue sipping their beers and talking shit to each other. Looking around, I’m in complete bliss. Being here with my sisters and the man I love is the perfect and simple life I’ve always dreamed about.
“Oh, I got you something the other day,” Liam tells me, grinning and standing with me. “It’s in the G-Wagon. Wanna go see?”
I narrow my eyes at him wondering if he’s up to something, but I follow outside anyway, not wanting to be away from him.
“Are you just trying to get me alone? Perhaps some back seat sex for old times’ sake?” I waggle my brows at him seductively.
“Maybe.” He removes the space between us and moments later my back is pressed against the front door, and I can feel his hardness against my stomach.
“Mmm, I’d be okay with that,” I whisper, fisting the bottom hem of his shirt, wanting him to be closer, though our bodies are pressed together.
“Fuck, I need you so goddamn bad.” He nibbles on my ear before placing his lips against my neck and paints kisses across my skin.
When we break away, I laugh. “So you didn’t get me anything?”
“I really did,” he says, placing a kiss on my forehead. He digs in his pockets and realizes they’re empty. “I was so excited to kiss the hell outta ya, I left my keys inside. Let me go grab them.”
“Just tell me what it is!” I exclaim.
“You’re impatient, just wait.” He twists the knob and goes inside the house, then returns with his keyless pad, holding them up for me to see. Instead of waiting, I follow behind toward the G-Wagon as he unlocks it.
It happens so fast I can’t even process it—a loud explosion and a burst of flames erupt—then complete darkness.
Chapter Fourteen
LIAM
I walk outside with the key and Maddie starts following before I press unlock. Then it all happens way too fast. As soon as I hear the double beeps of the G-Wagon unlocking, it explodes in front of us, and I fall to the ground. As I look toward Maddie, I see a piece of metal flying off the vehicle, and it strikes her. It’s in flames, burning, hissing, cracking. Smoke invades the air, and the heat nearly burns my skin because I’m so close, but I stand and rush to Maddie, picking her up and carrying her away from the debris. She’s limp in my arms, and there’s blood dripping down her face. Sophie opens the front door and hysterically screams at the sight in front of her before everyone rushes out. She dials 911 and frantically speaks fast. I’m in shock, trying to wake up Maddie, noticing she has a large gash on her head.