Before Sunrise (68 page)

“
Alexa.” Phil spoke up.
“It’s over.”

Kennedy cut him down with a glare. Phil
averted his gaze. “I’m sorry, Kennedy. I was desperate. I lied to
you. I made mistakes. I know you wouldn’t have an abortion. Part of
me wanted to be angry, because at least if we’re angry, we’re still
connected. I love you, and Mac. I do. When you both are ready…I
want to be a part of her life again.”

Liam extended his hand to Phil. Kennedy
looked back at him, not sure she was seeing the gesture with her
own eyes. Phil grasped Liam’s hand and shook it.

“
I came to you before I was
deployed and I asked you to look out for Kay. I knew then that
despite my reservations you were the man for the job. That you
cared about her almost as much as I did.” Liam tightened his grip
on Phil’s hand. Kennedy could see it from the grimace on Phil’s
face. “This isn’t about how I feel about you, Phil, or how you feel
about me. It’s about my daughter. She loves you. So yes, I want you
to be a part of her life. I won’t interfere with you having a
relationship with her.”

“
Thank you, Liam.” Phil
pulled his hand out of Liam’s grip.

Alexa had gone inside the house and returned
with her purse. She was on the phone, ignoring them all, as she
walked straight for Phil’s car, as cold and detached as ever.
Kennedy knew differently. For whatever her reasons for her
obsession, she got a hard dose of reality when Liam didn’t play
into her plans for him. That was satisfaction enough for
Kennedy.

“
Merry Christmas, Kennedy,”
said Phil.

“
Merry Christmas.” She
forced herself to answer, not able to forgive his actions just yet.
He gave her a nod of understanding and walked away.

Kennedy couldn’t look at Liam. She just
watched Phil and Alexa leave. Liam stepped to her and put his arms
around her waist. “You okay?”

“
Me?”

“
It’s over, Kay. The
fighting, the lying, the manipulating. I want it over. I have to
believe that we can be who we were if we stop the
blame.”

She turned in his embrace. “I would have
told you about the baby, but you were so upset over me being with
Phil.”

“
Hey, we talked about this
last night. I can’t change the past. And I understand now that I
don’t have to. I’m not going lose you, Kay. Not to my pride, not my
fear, or my jealousy. I won’t let it happen, babe.”

She lifted her arms to his neck and held
him.

***

Eric seized the moment to follow Harper the
second she stepped away from her new boy toy. He followed her into
the kitchen and stood there for several seconds, unable to speak.
Breaking himself apart to express his true feelings to her wasn’t a
task he was up for. But watching her with another man made him want
to act.

“
Merry Christmas,
beautiful.”

Harper turned from the sink and locked eyes
with him.

“
I, um, been waiting to say
that to you all day.”

She stood mute. His compliment fell
flat.

“
You do look beautiful,
Harper.”

When her bold gaze faltered and lowered he
found the courage to approach her. He was sending her mixed
signals, but she’d tortured him today on purpose. They were both
miserable. Neither of them had to be.

Curling his index finger under her chin he
forced her to lift her face and look him in the eye. “Aren’t you
going to say something?”

“
Merry Christmas,
Eric.”

He gave her a sly smile.

Harper came up against him and wrapped her
slender arms around his waist. Her lush curves pressed into him and
he was smothered in the sweet smell of her natural fragrance, a
banquet of scents that rushed his head and caused his loins to
flame with need. He lowered his head into her hair and took another
deep inhale of her while running his hand down her spine and
cupping her backside.

Harper pushed him off, breaking their
connection broken. “Excuse me.”

“
Wait.” He grabbed her
wrist.

She paused.

“
Who is this Jason
character?”

“
A friend. Please let me
go.” She tried to pull away.

“
Dammit, Harper. You’re
doing this on purpose.”

“
No.” She yanked her hand
away. “I told you that I loved you, remember? And you told me to
grow up. Well, I am growing up and moving on.” She dropped her
hands to her shapely hips and Eric had flashes of what they’d felt
like in his palms while making love to her. “Stop looking at me
like that, dammit. I’m tired of this.”

His gaze shot up and he felt his cheeks heat
with shame over where his thoughts lingered. Was it lust between
them? He enjoyed women, but he didn’t lust for them. There was no
need. He wanted someone in his bed, he’d make a phone call and
she’d be his. Sex wasn’t what was keeping him up at night. It was
her, how she made him feel when they were together. Only her.

Eric pinned her to the counter. She blinked
up at him with those round brown eyes, a little caught off guard by
his boldness.

“
I don’t play games. You
brought him here to get a rise out of me. And it
worked.”

“
Somebody might catch us,
Eric. Move. My parents might walk in.”

“
Now you care about what
your folks think?”

“
I’m serious.
Stop.”

“
No. Send the Boy Scout
home. We aren’t done, Harper. Not by a long shot.” He touched the
side of her face and kissed her. Her lips parted and she deepened
the kiss. He tasted of the mint she’d sucked on after Christmas
dinner. He couldn’t name the brand, he just knew he wanted
more.

“
Eric. My folks might see
us. Please.” She pushed gently out of his arms.

Eric smiled. “Now who’s playing games?”

“
Okay. I’ll send Jason home.
And then….”

“
And then you’re leaving
with me. We’ll um, talk. Again.”

Harper smiled. “You want to
spend Christmas with me?
Talking
?”

He stepped back. “I’m in a lot of trouble
with you, aren’t I?”

“
No. Not if we agree this is
what we want.”

“
I’m not sure of that
,sweetness.”

“
Then we’re
done.”

“
Wait. Not so fast.” He
blocked her in.

Harper folded her arms and pouted. “I know
it’s weird for you, but I, um, I do love you. You just have to stop
fighting me. I’m perfectly legal. Grown. I run my life.”

“
And your folks? My best
friend? What about them?”

Harper pressed her lips together. “Why do we
have to start with them when you can’t admit that you have feelings
for me? What do you want, Eric?”

He stepped back, forcing his hands into the
front pockets of his jeans. “Not sure, sweetheart.”

“
Well, give that some
serious thought, then call me. Don’t touch me or kiss me again
until you can answer that question.”

She walked out on him. Eric dropped his head
back against the refrigerator. He closed his eyes, clenched his
jaw. “Jesus Christ.”

***

Liam helped the twins settle into their car
seats.

“
Anthony said he’ll call you
later tonight. You know he’s in Washington.”

Liam closed the door and winked at the boys.
“Yeah, Eric told me. You okay?”

Angelina cast her gaze away and ran her hand
down her round tummy. “I guess. Christmas apart is hard. You know
the drill.”

“
Anything me and Kay can
do?”

“
No. No. I’m good. Thanks,
Liam. Merry Christmas.” She hugged him best she could with her
belly between them and then eased into the car. He closed her car
door and stepped back, feeling a pang of sadness for his friend,
that he was away from his wife and sons on the holiday. Even though
Angelina put on a brave face, he could see how being without him
affected her. It made him even more determined to do what he needed
to do for Kennedy and Mackenzie. He entered the house and sought
out Eric.

“
Hey, man. I need a
second.”

Eric rose from his conversation with Harper
and Sally and followed him to the hall. “We’ll be ready to leave in
the morning. I need your word that I’m there and gone. I’ll meet
with the vice president, whomever, but me and Kay are leaving
after. Understood?”

“
Clear. What went down with
Alexa? Got a call. She left straight for Washington?”

“
Don’t ask. I don’t think
she’ll be a problem anymore,” Liam muttered.

Eric gave a bitter chuckle, and then all
humor drained from his face. “Alexa is always a problem.”

“
Here’s the thing. Um, I was
thinking that, I will do what you suggested. See Dr. Abrams and
agree to this thirty-day evaluation. If you can push that along it
would be great.”

Eric looked relieved.

“
I have a
condition.”

“
Another condition?” Eric
frowned. “What the fuck, man? This ain’t Burger King—have it your
way. You can’t make conditions.”

“
Hear me out. This you can
do. My commitment has to be outpatient. I’ll do the drill. Hell, I
need it. But I can’t be locked up. Work with me here. I just can’t
handle that again.”

Eric nodded. “I understand. Let’s talk to
Abrams and see what he says. Either way, this is a good thing,
Liam.”

“
Yeah. I feel
that.”

Liam extended his hand. Eric grabbed it and
pulled him into a hug. “Need you ready before dawn.”

“
I will be. All of
us.”

Liam headed for the garage and entered
through the side door. The cool quiet greeted him, far different
from the rambunctious celebration that claimed the house. To the
left of Kennedy’s car was a small cage half-covered in a blanket.
His mother had kept an eye on the little puppy, periodically giving
him updates on how she was doing. Now the little ball of fur slept
in the cage. Liam struggled to kneel and reached inside. He gently
pulled the resting animal off her sleep pillow. The puppy stretched
her jowls and snuggled into the warmth of his hand.

“
Mackenzie will love you,”
Liam smiled.

When he entered the house, he noticed only
one family remained. Kennedy sat at the table with Gail, apparently
deep in conversation. He hoped they were working through their
issues but didn’t stop to confirm it. Liam found his daughter in
Andrew’s lap, reading a picture book to him. When she became aware
of him, she released a sharp scream of delight. Her excitement drew
everyone to the TV room.

Liam lowered the puppy into her arms and
Mackenzie bucked with joy, waking the sleeping animal. He’d given
his daughter the gift that made all others pale in comparison.

“
I see you’ve given her the
Christmas present?” Kennedy said. She slipped her arms around his
waist from behind. He lifted his arm and dropped it over her
shoulder to bring her forward and to his side.

“
See how happy she is, babe?
This was a good idea.”

Kennedy nodded in agreement. They watched
the puppy lick Mackenzie’s chin. “Yeah, I see.”

Liam leaned over and spoke against her ear.
“Now it’s time for your gift.”

With everyone gathered in the den he led his
special lady to the front of the house. He wished he could present
her gift to her in their new home. He didn’t care about territory,
only about the moment when she said she’d be his again. “Wait,
Liam. Let me go upstairs and get you your gifts. I didn’t put them
under the tree since Mackenzie pretty much overwhelmed the
space.”

“
No. Give it to me later. I
want to do this now.”

“
Do what?”

Liam struggled physically with his plan. He
lowered to the floor on his good knee. Pain cut through his hip as
he bent the other leg to balance his weight, but he withstood. His
mother and Gail must have sensed his intent. They both appeared in
his peripheral vision, watchful. Liam maintained his focus. He
gazed up at his wife and remembered his first proposal. It was so
imperfect he thought it a failure. But now in hindsight, he
realized it had sealed their commitment to each other. “Kennedy
Michelle, will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Flanagan, one
more time?”

Kennedy stood frozen. After the day they’d
shared he could understand her doubts. She kept looking for the big
disappointment. There would be none. This was his first Christmas
home and he was determined to make sure it remained perfect. When
she didn’t answer, he took her hand in his and slid a gold and
diamond band on her finger, stopping at her wedding ring.

He couldn’t afford the one he wanted. This
ring set him back a good two grand. Every penny he spent on it was
worth it. He held her gaze and sensed that the rest of the family
had come out to watch as well.

“
What’s daddy doing,
grandpa?”

Andrew whispered Liam’s intent. No one else
spoke.

It was Kennedy who broke the silence. She
dropped to her knees and faced him. “Yes, Liam. I will marry you
again. The sooner the better.”

A warm blast of relief rushed through him
and he felt the strength of a hundred men. He didn’t dare test it,
though. Instead, he grabbed her and kissed her. “You make me the
happiest man in the world.”

“
I love you,” she
said.