He was too sweet. He really was.
She’d been awake half the night, too, feeling bad about everything. And now she sat across from him waiting for him to get thoroughly pissed off at her—that she’d gotten pregnant in the first place when he used a condom every time. That she didn’t bust to the baby when she broke it off with him and then, for all those months and months, that she’d never once reached out to let him know he was going to be a dad. He probably wondered if she ever would have told him.
And frankly, if he hadn’t spotted her at the supermarket yesterday, she had no idea when she would have pulled up her big-girl panties and gotten in touch with the guy.
They stared at each other across the endless expanse of Sten’s coffee table. Liam looked like he had a million things to tell her—tender things. Kind things. Helpful things.
The man truly wasn’t angry. Not yet, anyway. He was sweet and sincere and he just seemed to want to be there for her and for the baby, to do the right thing.
His kindness reminded her sharply of how much she’d liked him when they met up again last year. In addition to his general charm and hotness, Liam Bravo, high school heartbreaker, had grown up to be a good man.
And right now, that just made her want to cry.
He said, “I was thinking...”
“Yeah?”
“Looking back on that night in March when you broke it off, I knew there was something weighing on your mind. I should have tried harder to get you to open to me.”
She couldn’t believe he’d just said that. “Liam. You were great. Don’t you dare blame yourself.”
“Look, I just need to know what you need.”
“I’m good, I promise. Everything’s pretty much ready. We’re just waiting for the baby to come.”
He frowned in a thoughtful sort of way. “Have you been going to childbirth classes?”
“I took the classes, yes. Like I said, I’m ready.”
“A labor coach?” he asked and then clarified, “Do you have one?”
“I have two, as a matter of fact—Naomi and Prim.” Naomi Khan Smith and Primrose Hart Danvers had been her best friends since kindergarten. Both women were married now. Naomi had two boys.
“Prim and Naomi. Makes sense.” He’d grown up with her BFFs, same as she had. “And even though I get that you’re all set and Prim and Naomi will take good care of you, I want to be there, when the baby comes.”
She tried not to picture him standing beside her while she sweated and groaned with her legs spread apart. If he wanted to be there, he had the right. “Yes. That’s fine. Great.”
“So you’ll call me, when you go into labor?”
“I will, absolutely.”
Liam had a million more things to discuss with the soon-to-be mother of his child. But sitting here across from her in Sten Larson’s too-quiet great room, he couldn’t seem to remember a single one of them.
She just looked so brave and uncomfortable—and alone. Beyond being smart and good-looking and self-reliant, there was something that hurt his heart about Karin Killigan, something walled-off and sad.
“What else?” she asked. He knew she was trying not to sound impatient, but it was obvious to him that she couldn’t wait for him to leave.
And why stay? She didn’t really want him here, there was nothing he could do for her at the moment—and he hated the feeling that he contributed to her sadness.
“Nothing else—not right now, anyway,” he heard himself say.
She stood, a surprisingly agile move given the size of her belly. “Well, all right then. Come by anytime. I mean that. Or call. Whatever.”
“Thanks.” He grabbed his bag of books and followed her down to the lower floor.
Her little girl stuck her curly head into the foyer as Karin was showing him out the door. “Bye, Liam Bravo.”
“Bye, Coco.”
“Can I call you just Liam?”
When he glanced at the silent woman beside him, she shrugged. “Up to you.”
He gave Coco a smile. “Just Liam works for me.”
“Okay! Bye, Liam. You can come and see me anytime.” Coco waved as Karin ushered him out the door.
Liam went back to Astoria and had breakfast at a homey little diner he liked. From there, he went on to his office at the Warrenton terminal and put in a half day of work.
That evening, he drove the few miles to Valentine Bay and stopped at the Sea Breeze on Beach Street for a beer. His baby sister Grace was behind the bar. She served him his favorite IPA and asked him if something was bothering him.
“It’s all good,” he lied and Gracie left him alone except to give him a refill when he signaled for it. He sat there sipping his beer, feeling kind of gloomy, going back and forth over whether or not to just tell his youngest sister that he was about to be a dad. At some point, he would have to break the big news to the whole family.
Soon, actually. The baby would be here in no time at all.
It all felt so strange. Completely unreal. He still had no clue how he was going to do it—be a dad.
But he wasn’t giving up. Uh-uh. Karin and her sad eyes weren’t keeping him away. He would be there for her and for his kid whether she wanted him around or not.
“Is Liam your boyfriend, Mommy?” Coco took a big sip of her milk and then set the glass carefully down. She picked up her fork and speared a clump of mac and cheese with ham.
Karin and her dad shared a glance across the dinner table. Otto lifted one bushy eyebrow. Karin read that look: it’s as good a time as any.
She cast a sideways glance at Ben. He was watching her, wearing what she always thought of as his Little Professor look. Serious. Thoughtful. Ben never just burst out with things the way Coco did. He watched. He waited. He made carefully considered, responsible decisions.
“As a matter of fact,” Karin said to her daughter, “I’ve been meaning to talk to both you and Ben about Liam.”
“I like Liam!” Coco speared a green bean and stuck it in her mouth.
Dear God. Where to even start? “I like Liam, too,” Karin said, trying to sound relaxed and natural and feeling anything but. “And several months ago, I...went out with him.”
Ben’s forehead scrunched up the way it always did when some complex math problem didn’t compute. “You were dating Liam?”
Not dating, exactly. “Uh, yes. I was. We’re not, um, dating anymore, though. But we are friends. And that’s a good thing. Because, as it turns out...” Was she blowing this? Most likely. She forged on anyway. “We will all probably be seeing a lot more of Liam because he is the new baby’s father.”
Ben said nothing.
Coco was incredulous. She set down her fork. “Our baby’s father?”
“Yes.” It was official. She was a terrible mother who needed lessons