Atonement(73)

“Well, she’ll just have to get over it, won’t she? We’ll talk more when we see you in about an hour.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

I pressed the End button just as Colin walked in with the last of our luggage. “Who was that? Caitlyn?”

“Yep.” I stood and walked over to him. “Liam is making dinner for us tonight and we are expected to show up in about an hour. I know we’re both jet-lagged but I thought it would be great to get it over with.”

“Get over what exactly?” he inquired, his crystal blue eyes bright with emotion. “You think the four of us having dinner is going to make Liam have a sudden lobotomy and forget he f*cked you first? That isn’t going to happen. It’s going to be awkward as hell but we can deal with it. We’ve dealt with worse when we were in Europe so I guess it’s all right.”

I walked closer until we were inches apart. “Come on. We can shower together and you can scrub my back—I’ll scrub yours. Remember, we’re the ones who are in a relationship and the one night stand with Liam was just that. Don’t let him get to you like that, okay? I love you and you’re the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with. We’re going to have a child together and we will have to figure this out as we go along.

“Despite all my eccentricities, I seriously thought I would be married when I got pregnant and started a family. I didn’t think it would happen this way so you have to understand my point of view, okay? This is terribly awkward for me too. I’m willing to work at this if you are and it won’t happen again, I promise. Believe me, I know Caitlyn and she is good at wrapping men around her finger. Liam won’t dare look at me with the slightest hint of desire in his eyes if he wants to keep my sister happy.”

Colin led us to his personal bathroom, his left hand holding my right in a death grip. “Believe me, that isn’t what I am afraid of.”





DINNER AT LIAM’S turned out to be not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. He chose to cook penne pasta with a rich garlic sauce piled with sautéed onions, jumbo shrimp and scallops. It was absolutely delicious and paired with an expensive Pinot Grigio, it was beyond sublime.

I drank only half a glass of Pinot Grigio and made it last throughout dinner though I mostly drank several glasses of Evian water. I might have achieved the lightest buzz known to man but Liam insisted we were all being overtly paranoid about the not-drinking and pregnancy.

“Are you kidding me, woman? Ma drank with both Colin and I the whole pregnancy. Not that she was an alcoholic but she wouldn’t miss the chance to have a glass of wine with dinner. Seriously, you should be fine,” Liam said when I tried to put my hand over the wine glass.

I merely glared at Caitlyn who avoided my gaze before she looked over with a slightly sheepish look and turned away again.

“So, looks like you two are really serious?” Liam began again as we began to eat dinner. “When’s the wedding?”

I stared over at Colin who seemed preoccupied and not in a good way before I responded, “We’re not sure yet.”

“Well, it’s definitely unconventional but not unheard of. Dad won’t be too upset. He’ll probably think Mom should have been around to see it happen. She really wanted grandchildren.”

“That’s what I was telling Deirdre about our father. He really looked forward to us starting a family and now that he isn’t here, this happens but I still think it is great news. You two make a beautiful couple and more than that, you look happy,” Caitlyn enthused before she dug into her plate of seafood penne.

“Well, we’re very happy.”

Liam chewed thoroughly before he swallowed. “Does this mean I will have to look for yet another HR manager? I really do want you to stay on at uConnect despite the pregnancy. You’re free to take advantage and take off as much time as you need following the birth of the baby but I do want you to work for the company.”

“Are you kidding me? Now that I am expecting baby, I really do need a full time job. Colin is going into business with Drew and they are opening the bar together but I want to carry my own weight. I’ve delayed not getting a job for too long and despite being a trust fund adult, I really do think I can make a significant contribution to the company,” I explained.

“That’s great—”

“Liam, we need to talk,” Colin interrupted as he stood. “We can use the balcony space but this can’t wait any longer.”