Chapter 31

Liam went down and made a large pot of coffee, knowing he was going to need it after the long night.

He was sitting at the island, staring outside, and nursing his cup when Joan came in with some bread. She was shocked to see him up so early and looking so exhausted.

“Liam, Love, what are you doing up so early?”

He looked at her as she sat next to him. “There was a fire at Maggie’s last night. She—”

“Oh my god! Is she okay?”

“She’s upstairs sleeping now. She is fine. All her stuff is gone except for a few things she managed to get… I could have lost her, Joanie!” Liam said as he started sobbing.

Joan took him in her arms and held him as she wiped her own tears.

Liam pulled back, wiped his face with a napkin from the table, and took a long drink of coffee.

“Changes are happening, Joanie. I just want you to know that.”

“I know, I am behind you 100 percent! We love her, do what you need to keep her in your life,” Joan reassured him.

Liam got up and pulled out his phone to make a few work calls. When he went to check on Maggie, she was still sleeping, so he got in the shower to wash off the smell of smoke.

He came out with a towel wrapped around his waist and saw her looking at the door where he was standing.

“Hey, darling. How are you doing?”

“Hi…I’m okay…”

“What do you need? Tell me,” he said, sitting next to her and rubbing her shoulder.

“I think I need a shower and coffee, and then we should talk…,” she said quietly.

He nodded and kissed her forehead before helping her to the bathroom. He went down to the kitchen and got her a large cup of coffee, which he left on the bathroom counter.

She came out twenty minutes later, wrapped in his robe, and sat next to him.

“Thank you for coming to get me last night. I know that we left on bad terms.”

“Maggie, I love you! Of course I would help you! Tell me what else I can do, darling!”

She smiled at him as she took another long drink.

“Thanks. I love you too. I just wanted to apologize for my behavior. I was an idiot and being selfish. I know you are nothing like my father and that you just want to make me happy and take care of me.

“I am very sorry, and I will stop letting my insecurity get the better of me and let it into our relationship. You are an incredibly smart, hardworking, and sexy man.

“I know you would never do anything like what my father did. I just hope that you can forgive me and we can move forward…”

“Maggie Sloan, you don’t have to apologize! But thank you. I understand, and I will do everything in my power to help you because I love you.”

She hugged him and kissed his neck.

“Now can you help me find a new place to live? And go shopping with me? All the clothes I now own are here, and I have to deal with the insurance company to get my belongings replaced.

“Oh! I have to check if Brett’s car is okay! Oh god, what if it’s not? What will happen then?”

Maggie started to panic.

“Hey, hey, calm down! One thing at a time! First, get dressed, then we will go downstairs to eat and let Joan mother you to death, and then we will go from there.”

She nodded, relaxing at the sound of his voice, and went into the massive closet to get something to wear. Luckily, she had a T-shirt dress and some converse to put on.

They went downstairs and Joan fawned all over her for breakfast, promising to make her favorites for dinner and dessert. Maggie smiled and thanked her with a huge hug.

She finally let Maggie eat in peace but that was short-lived as Brett came barreling in about twenty minutes later.

He was acting all big brother and checking her out from head to toe until he was satisfied that she was unhurt.

“Maggie, honey, I drove by your place on the way here… All three buildings are a total loss.

“I talked with a fire official I know that was there, and he said the prelim report is an electrical short in building three and it spread too fast. I’m sorry… Did you save anything?”

“Thanks for stopping by. I knew last night that it was going to be bad. I was able to get Gram’s pearls, Mom’s earrings, my passport, and my photo album. That’s it. Oh, and Gus.”

“At least you got those,” Brett said.

“Did you happen to see your car?” Maggie asked cautiously.

Brett sighed. “It’s gone, Mags. Pretty much destroyed.”

“Oh god, Bear! I’m so sorry! Now I have to get you a new car!” Maggie exclaimed and started crying again.

Brett looked at Liam and took him in his arms. “Mags, honey, it was insured and will be totally covered. I was going to get rid of it when you were done with it anyway.

“You are not buying me anything, so I really don’t want to hear about it again. I will get the report and file the insurance claim. It’s fine! I promise!”

Maggie looked at him and could see he was telling her the truth. She nodded and hugged him again before he bent down and picked up Gus who was around his feet.

Brett stayed a little longer, then left to go to the club. He kissed her cheek and let her get on with her day.

Liam gave her the phone and told her to call the insurance company. She didn’t want to, but he promised to be there every step of the way.

The lady that she talked with was very nice and had already done two claims from her apartment complex that morning. They scheduled an adjuster to go out the next day for their reports.

“Just make sure you save all receipts of items you buy, like clothes and makeup, for your records,” the agent said.

Maggie acknowledged she would and hung up, exhausted from the stress.

“It’s a pretty straightforward claim, Maggie. They won’t take long,” Liam said, taking her to the patio to relax.

Maggie talked about taking the rest of the week off since she didn’t have a full week’s worth of clothes at Liam’s place. She was keen to find a new place to live.

“There are some new places not too far from here I could look into. They might be too expensive, but I would be closer to you, so I just have to check and see.”

“I know a place, and the price is really great!” Liam said, looking at her.

“Oh, where?” Maggie asked.

“Here,” he said simply.

“What? I am already staying here until I find a new place…”

“No, I mean stay here with me forever. Move in with me!”

Maggie looked at him in disbelief.

“Come on, I love you and you love me. I want you here with me always. Let’s make a home together, Maggie!”

She teared up again as she processed his words. “You want me to move in with you?”

“Yes, darling, I do! I don’t want you at some flat close by. I don’t want you to have some clothes here and some there. I want you with me every night!”

“Really?”

“Yes! What do you say?”

Maggie looked at him as a tear fell from her eye. She could see the love in his eyes and knew he was sincere. And if she was being totally honest with herself, she wanted this.

She wanted to be with him every day, to fall asleep with him every night, and wake up to him every morning. This situation only cemented how much she loved him and didn’t want to be without him.

“Yes,” she said as she brushed a tear away.

Liam looked at her as his heart swelled. He jumped up and pulled her in his arms, lifting her off the ground and kissing her passionately.

“Welcome home, darling! Welcome home!”

She smiled as he said it and thanked him, feeling better already.

“At least I don’t have a lot of things to move in,” she said weakly, trying to make a joke.

“Oh, Maggie,” he whispered as he hugged her again.

She cried some more as he rubbed her back in soothing circles. He got her to calm down and made some tea and a grilled cheese sandwich.

She called the school to arrange some time off and started making some to-do lists, including clothes she needed for work and all new softball equipment.

“I will take you shopping tomorrow, okay?” Liam said, kissing the top of her head.

“Okay, but we need to go easy, I don’t want too much credit card debt,” she replied.

“First, it will be covered by insurance. That’s why we are saving the receipts. Second, I don’t want to cause a fight, but I am getting you a card on my account.

“I want you to be able to get whatever you want without worrying about what it costs. I trust you and know you won’t hurt me in any way. Please, will you accept it? Please?”

Maggie’s first and immediate reaction was to say no. But she stopped and thought about what he was saying and what happened yesterday. He was doing it to show he loved her.

Maggie took a deep breath and looked at Liam’s eager face.

“Okay…”