Liv blinked several times and swallowed. Polly knew the girl couldn’t overcome how she was raised and politeness was a weapon Polly would use without hesitation.

“Well, sure I want children someday. I don’t know if Marc does but we’re just dating casually. It’s early to talk about children.”

“Casually.” Polly rolled her eyes. “Girl, you think I’m blind? I see the way you two look at each other.” She waved it away. “You keep lying to yourself but it’s plain to me and anyone else with eyes. My son cares about you. It’s about time you stop this silly charade that only hurts you both.”

Liv sighed but didn’t try to argue. She was tired of arguing when she knew everyone else was right. She wasn’t dumb, nor did she have much talent at self denial. But damned if she knew what that meant.

She cleaned up in a daze but her heart knew exactly where Marc was the entire time.

Kyle and Maggie left for their house to get the barbecue going. It would be Maggie’s way of thanking everyone for all they’d done although Liv had no idea where she’d put any more food after eating so much at the shower. Back at her place, she changed while Marc replaced the lock on her back door. The key had broken off in it a few weeks before and he’d insisted on fixing it when he found out about it.

“I like you here, fixing things in my house,” she said from the doorway before she thought better of it.

He turned and looked at her warily. “I like it too. This is a nice house. I like being here. It’s impressive that you own your own home.”

She shrugged. “I don’t have any debts but this place. I have a decent income. My car was a frivolous impulse buy three years ago but I worked overtime to pay it off in three years instead of five. I can’t see paying rent if I can pay to buy instead.”

“What if this mythical Mister Right doesn’t want to live here?”

She took a deep breath and leapt into the scary abyss. “Well, I can be flexible about living arrangements. But I don’t think an apartment above a shoe store is better than my house.”

A smile broke over his face as he moved to her. “You saying what I think you are?”

“I don’t know. What do you think I’m saying?”

“That you finally believe I’m Mister Right and I’m here for the long haul.”

“Do you believe that?”

He brushed his thumb over her lips. “I’ve believed that for months.”

She took a deep breath. “Yes. I believe it. I’ll pull my profile from the computer dating services today. Not that I have time to date when I’m with you all the time.”

“You found time to date Bill.”

“I’m sorry if I hurt you. I am. And it means so much to me that you didn’t just walk away when I insisted on continuing to date. I don’t even know what to say other than that I had to believe it, Marc. Bill was never a threat to you. I never even kissed him after you and I started up.”

He kissed her softly. “It was hard, Liv. I know he wasn’t a threat. If I’d believed otherwise I probably wouldn’t have agreed to wait while you finally took me seriously. Still, I was worried you’d never see me and my intentions as genuine. What finally convinced you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think it was one thing. More a combination. Today at the shower your mother was the dozenth person to tell me that I was blind if I didn’t see how you felt about me and I realized she was right. I was being willfully blind and stupid to ignore it. But I was afraid.”

“We can deal with the fear together.”

“Yeah.”

He kissed her then, like he should have. It felt like something from a fairy tale, his hands on her hips, his mouth covering hers.

Chapter Nine

She’d been sautéing the garlic when her phone rang. Turning everything off, she’d left a note on her door and rushed to the hospital. Kyle was in a state when she’d arrived, pacing and freaked out. Liv put her arms around his waist. “Hey there. I want you to focus, all right? She needs you to be calm just now.”

“I can’t. I’m trying but I keep thinking of worst case scenarios. What if something happens to her? To the baby?”

She kissed his cheek. “Everything is going to be all right, Kyle. Women do this every day. She’s here in a hospital. She’s healthy. The baby is healthy. She needs all of us to help. You don’t have the luxury of shutting down and freaking out. She loves you and she needs you, so get your act together.”

Polly came around the corner and Liv handed Kyle off to his mother and went in to Maggie. They’d just changed Maggie into a gown and hooked her up to a machine that echoed the baby’s heartbeat through the room. Relief showed clear on her face when she saw Liv.

“So, how’s it goin?” Liv let the same fears Kyle had pass through her. She wasn’t good at death, especially when it concerned the people she loved. Still, there was no time for fear in front of Maggie.

“I’m apparently having a kid and my husband is apparently having a nervous breakdown.”

Liv moved a chair next to Maggie’s bed.

“He loves you. None of this is in his control and he’s freaked. He’ll get it together. His mother is whipping him into shape now.”

Maggie laughed and then winced. Liv reached out and took her hand, holding eye contact through the contraction.

“We’ve been through a lot you and me. We’ll get through this too and at the end you’ll be holding your precious baby son.”