Chapter 29

The next day, Maggie and Liam went to the grocery store, picking up an assortment of steaks and veggies.

They came home, got everything ready, and welcomed their friends in as Joan and Niall came with the cheesecake Brett requested.

“Oh, Joan, you know I love you!” Brett said as he hugged her.

“No, you just love my baking, you cheeky devil!” she said as she patted his cheek.

The friends had a great time, and everyone noticed that Liam and Maggie couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

Niall leaned over to the others. “What do you think about this?” He gestured to Liam and Maggie at the grill, laughing together.

“I have never seen either of them like this, and that’s the truth. Ever.” Brett said.

Nick spoke up. “While I don’t know Maggie, I know Liam, and he’s been totally different since he knocked her over a few weeks ago.

“He started using words like ‘dates’ and ‘girlfriend’, and he was cutting meetings short and leaving early. I know that’s due to Maggie. He was never like this with Tessa.”

Mike nodded. “Maggie was so broken when she found out about Jason and Olivia. Now she is alive again, all thanks to Liam. There is just something between them.

“Even that night on the softball field when he was aggravating her was almost like foreplay!”

“You know he doesn’t normally play, but he was filling in for me? I was stuck on a case, and he went to play with the rest of the office!” Nick explained.

Niall scratched his chin. “I reckon that this is only the beginning.”

“I just don’t want either of my best friends to get hurt!” Brett exclaimed.

Niall clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry. Let them enjoy this for now.”

The afternoon stretched into the evening as the group of friends ate, drank, and laughed. Even Lucy, Nick and Hannah’s daughter, had a great time being spoiled rotten by Joan and Niall.

Everyone left at around seven to get ready for the week ahead. Maggie cleaned up with Joan and Liam as best she could since she was still one-handed.

She got out her bag and graded a few papers before she showered and crawled into bed with him. He put his arm around her as she lay on his chest.

“I just wanted to thank you for a great weekend! I will never forget any of this!” she said.

“I sincerely hope not! I declared my love for you, darling!”

She laughed and kissed his chest as she slid her hand into his pajama shorts, stroking his cock. He immediately got hard, knowing it was going to be a perfect ending to an amazing weekend.

And as they lay together in a sweaty post-coital tangle of arms and legs, Liam confessed, “I never want to let you go! You want to call in tomorrow and lie in bed with me?”

“I can’t do that to my colleagues and Ed, our principal. Summer is only about seven weeks away and we can do that then. I promise!”

He kissed her, sealing the promise, and fell asleep holding her and dreaming of the future.

***

The rest of April went by in a blur. Maggie and Liam were going strong, and their love grew each day.

Every Monday, Liam had a huge bouquet delivered, until she made him promise to stop. It was hard to refrain from showering her with gifts.

He was able to buy her a few pieces of clothing when they were out shopping at the mall. That’s all that she allowed him to do.

Maggie was hired as the new head softball coach at a local private high school. She was thrilled to have the opportunity, and Liam loved her enthusiasm for the game and dedication to the girls.

They would spend nights at each other’s homes and had clothes in the other’s closets, although Maggie had more at Liam’s.

Maggie was thrilled when Liam went with her to get her cast off and was just thankful to be able to do her hair by herself again.

Maggie was a little sad when the first weekend of May came, and Liam had to go to New York for a meeting with the other partners. She was happy he would get to see his dad but felt lost without him.

She went shopping with Makayla, looking at nursery furniture and for a formal dress for some event that Liam had invited her to, but it wasn’t the same without him.

They talked and texted as much as they could, but he was in meetings from Thursday to Tuesday.

Maggie met Brett, Makayla, and Mike at their favorite diner on Monday night. While they were eating, Maggie felt someone put their hands over her eyes and whisper in her ear.

“Guess who…”

Maggie knew instantly, smelling his cologne and knowing his hands. She threw herself in his arms, kissing him passionately.

“Hey, we’re eating here, Mags!” Brett scoffed.

They sat back down and ordered some food for Liam. Liam explained that he left early just to get back to her and Maggie was thrilled. They finished eating and started talking about summer plans.

Liam wanted to take everyone out on a rented boat for a long weekend and fish off the coast. His family was also coming out in June for their usual two-week stay.

Maggie was very nervous about the whole thing, but Liam assured her that they would love her.

Maggie wasn’t paying attention to the conversation until she heard, “…until Liam became Maggie’s knight in shining armor and paid her rent!”

“Wait, what did you just say?” Maggie asked, stunned.

“Well, I assumed that you figured out that Liam was the secret philanthropist that paid those three months of rent when you got hurt,” Makayla said cautiously.

“No, that was Brett…right?” Maggie asked.

“Mags, I told you repeatedly that I didn’t pay it,” Brett said.

Maggie turned to Liam. “Was it really you that paid it?”

Liam nodded. “I had to do something to help you after being the one to break your arm! I wasn’t going to let you suffer because of me!”

“Damn it, Liam! I told you I don’t want you buying me things! You know how it makes me feel!”

“In all fairness, darling, you told me that well after I paid it. I didn’t know you would react this way!”

Makayla tried to calm her down. “Maggie, honey, relax. It’s okay! He was just helping out. You know he loves you—”

“But you know how it makes me feel! Fuck, do none of you listen to me? You know how it makes me feel!” Maggie shouted as she grabbed her purse and stormed out of the restaurant.

The table was stunned as they watched her walk away.

“Sorry about that, Liam. I thought she knew,” Mike said.

“It’s not your fault. I should have told her before, so it’s my mistake,” Liam assured him.

“Just let her go for tonight, Liam. She will calm down and see that she was overreacting,” Brett said with a sigh.

“I’m sure this wasn’t the homecoming you were planning for, but she has talked to you about her dad, and you know that she thinks that if someone buys her things then she is somehow stealing.

“I don’t know how she has that figured in her head, but she does,” he explained.

Liam was stunned. He didn’t know to what extent she was carrying baggage from her father, but he was determined to get through to her.

Liam paid for his and Maggie’s meal and went home, thinking about the woman he loved and the pain that was still haunting her.

Maggie arrived home, stomping around her apartment and crying. Gus ran and hid under the bed. She was mad at herself for overreacting and letting her father get inside her head.

It pissed her off even more that she hadn’t seen the man in nineteen years and was still somehow letting his choices affect her.

“What the hell is the matter with me? I have the most incredible man in the world and I can’t get over the fact that my asshole father steals from people!

“No one is going to think that I am doing that to Liam! He even said he doesn’t understand why I won’t let him buy me gifts. God! I get in my own fucking way!”

She sat on the edge of her bed and cried. She heard her phone buzz from her purse and picked it up, sighing as she saw a message from Liam.

~I love you…~

It made her cry even more. She took a hot shower and let the water run over her and wash away the tears and her feelings of regret and shame.

She got out and took some ibuprofen for the headache that was brewing. She towel-dried her hair, put it in a French braid, and slipped on shorts and a T-shirt.

She plugged in her phone and went to bed, begging for sleep to come.

Of course, she was restless and upset and sleep didn’t come until after midnight. Her dreams were filled with weird visions, smoke, and loud beeping.

Maggie woke slightly as Gus was on her chest, pawing and meowing at her. Groggy, Maggie opened her eyes and smelled…smoke!

She bolted up, holding Gus to her as the smoke alarms went off around the building.