To Have It All(23)

“You could be her daddy, Liam,” Helen added, her tone somewhat sad yet hopeful.

“No,” I stated adamantly. “Don’t go there, Helen.”

She placed her glass on the counter and stepped toward me. “This is just a hypothetical,” she asserted. “All I’m saying is that yes, this situation sucks a lot on one hand, but if you do get stuck in here,” she jabbed my chest to emphasize the body I was inhabiting, “there is a silver lining.”

“And what’s that?” I snickered. “I just assume his identity completely? Pretend to be that little girl’s dad?”

“Why not?” she demanded. “It’s not like that asshole wants her.”

Grabbing Max’s keys from the counter, I opened the front door, indicating it was time for her to go. I knew her heart was in the right place, she was only trying to show me a bright side, but I wasn’t ready for that yet. “Don’t do that,” I warned her. “Neither of us can get attached here. You understand?”

“Liam,” she breathed my name as if I was being ridiculous.

“Max,” I told her. “For now you need to call me Max. The last thing I need is to go falling in love with a little girl that isn’t mine, or have her get attached to Max, just to leave her. What would that do to her?”

“What if you stay as Max forever, Liam? Are you just going to keep everyone at arm’s length? What good is this situation if you don’t get to live?”

“I don’t know!” I shouted, and immediately held my hand up in apology. “It’s only been two days, Hel. Just give me . . . a minute, okay?”

She frowned, but bobbed her head once in agreement. “I’m going to see your body, or I guess Max, at the hospital. Wanna join me?”

“Nah,” I groaned. “Think I’m going to go for a walk . . . clear my head. You don’t need to go, ya know.”

“I know, but I want to.” Coming up to me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. Then, standing back she gave my face a smack.

“What the hell was that for?” I mocked pain as I rubbed my cheek.

“Because you really are a pain in my ass,” she chided as she passed by me, swinging her purse over her shoulder. “Try to get some sleep tonight. You look like shit.”

I snorted as I watched her leave. “And read the directions on those scripts,” she yelled over her shoulder. “Now that you’re off those steroids, your estrogen levels will be through the roof. I expect you’ll be acting like a little bitch for a while.”

Just then, the apartment door closest to the elevator swung open, and an older woman with short gray hair poked her head out, her face twisted in disgust. She must’ve heard Helen’s very lady-like statement about me crying like a little bitch.

“Hi there,” I waved, embarrassed that she heard our exchange. With a curled lip, the woman huffed and slammed the door.

“Thanks, Hel,” I said sardonically as she stood facing the elevator, her shoulders rising and falling in laughter. Turning as she stepped on the elevator, she crossed her arms and looked me up and down, her mouth twisted in distaste.

“Please go get some new clothes,” she deadpanned.

The doors shut, and I snickered to myself. My sister. The sweetest little asshole you’d ever meet.

With Max’s keys in hand, I went to leave when something caught my eye. It was a tiny white stuffed giraffe; one of Pim’s toys. Picking it up, I inspected it, chuckling a little as I remembered pretending to be the giraffe as I sang to Pim in a goofy voice. The kid laughed her ass off at me. Setting it on the counter, I shook my head.

“Don’t get attached Liam,” I grumbled to myself.





Pim and I got home on the early side, so after a long walk around the neighborhood and some time at a nearby playground, she was wiped out. I had just finished feeding her dinner when Matt got home. By the slow way he moved, I could tell he was tired. Maybe he was worried about Pim staying with Max all day, or maybe it had just been a long day in general. Half his shirt was untucked, and he looked like he’d been rolling in dirt all day. Working as a general contractor wasn’t always the cleanest work.

He only mumbled a hello to me—clearly still unhappy with me—but managed a friendlier greeting for Pim. Sitting down beside her, I watched him peripherally as he inspected her, lifting her arms and looking at the bottom of her feet. I didn’t know what he thought he was looking for. Did he think Max would beat her with bamboo sticks or something?

“She’s fine, Matt,” I murmured.

Before he could respond, the back door opened, and we heard, “Hello,” in a sing-song voice. Alice, Matt’s long-time girlfriend traipsed in, a bright smile on her face. “It is so damn hot outside,” she groaned as she kicked her shoes off into the ever-growing shoe pile and hung her purse at the door. “I got all my bags packed, and all we have to do is swing by my apartment on the way to the airport to get them. I think I packed everything but the kitchen sink,” she jested as she fanned the top of her dress to cool herself off. Her hair was pulled back in a clip, and her dress was damp with sweat. “I love summer, but this humidity is . . .” she froze in her tracks, her words also stopping when she finally saw us. Darting her eyes from Matt to me, then back to Matt again, she raised her brows in question. “Is . . . everything okay?”