Until There Was You(95)

“No!” Nicole sobbed. “I want to stay with you! I’m sorry I broke the rules!”

“Honey, this isn’t about that, okay? But they just think that it would be…good…if you spent more time with them.”

“Why?” She pulled back and looked at him, her face wet with tears.

He could say it, he knew. Tell how her grandparents were filing for custody, how they thought he was trash, a womanizer, an unfit father, had never been good enough for their daughter. In this moment, if he told her all those things—and all those things were true—he could do some serious damage to the Tates’ relationship with their precious granddaughter. She’d never look at them the same way again.

He touched the tip of her nose. “They just love you so much, sweetheart,” he said gently. “And they miss your mom, and you remind them of her.”

Nicole’s face scrunched up. “I know,” she whispered. “But I want to stay with you. Even if you’re a hard-ass.”

Thank you, God. Liam felt the sting of tears in his eyes as he hugged his daughter again.

“I don’t want anything else to change,” Nicole said into his shirt. “Losing Mommy was hard enough. I like it just the two of us. That’s the way I want it to stay.”

“Me, too, baby,” he murmured, breathing in the smell of her hair. “Me, too.”

He wouldn’t give the Tates any more ammunition. He wouldn’t leave Nicole any room to screw up again.

He’d stop seeing Cordelia, and though the thought caused a hollow echo to roll through him, all that mattered was here in his arms.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“SO WHAT DO YOU think, Viv? Do I look like a girl?”

Vivian squinted through her bifocals. “Well, it’s nice to see you in a dress, even one so ill-fitting.”

“The saleslady said it was supposed to be loose.”

“She lied.”

Posey looked down at herself, the landscape unfamiliar in the sheath dress. But she wanted to look a little nicer these days. She certainly was feeling more…womanly, having a boyfriend and all. Especially one who complimented her. Was the dress a little Audrey Hepburn–inspired? Probably. She might like Liam to see her in it (or out of it).

“You might be right. Anyway, I was at the spa today. I didn’t think I’d like it, but it was kind of fun. And don’t I smell great?” She offered her forearm to Vivian, who frowned and turned her head away. “Well. I smell great, take my word.”

Sitting down next to Vivian, she sighed. The spa had been fun, but now she had to see her parents and the thought of the letter from her birth mother burned in her mind.

“What’s the matter with you?” the old lady asked. She’d gone psychic, apparently.

Posey hesitated. “Did anyone in your family ever keep a secret from you?”

“Of course. It’s the nature of families. Why?”

“I don’t know.” She paused. “Why didn’t you and your husband ever adopt, Viv?”

“Aren’t we personal,” Vivian murmured.

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“I’m aware of that.” Vivian gave her a lethal look, then turned her face away. “Ernest was against it,” she said eventually. “I wouldn’t have minded, but he was a bit of an ass about the subject. Anyway. It’s your birthday, if I recall.”

“How did you know?” Posey asked.

“A little bird who won’t stop talking told me. That girl needs finishing school. You both do. Here.” She handed Posey a box.

Well, knock her over with a feather. Vivian Appleton was not a sentimental person. In all the time Posey had known her, she had never given a compliment, let alone a gift. “Are you dying, Viv?” Posey said.

“We’re all dying. Open it.”

“This is so sweet. Thank you!”

“Thank me when you open it,” the old lady said, sitting a little straighter.

Posey untied the ribbons. “It’s the thought that counts.”

“I never believed that expression, did you?”

Posey laughed and opened the box. Her breath caught. “Oh, Vivian! It’s beautiful!”

It was an antique butterfly pin, wings sparkling with tiny, multicolored crystal beads. The butterfly’s body was gold, and it seemed to be smiling, the black jeweled eyes glittering.

“It’s not worth much,” Vivian said, looking away. “But it was mine when I was a girl. My aunt gave it to me for my tenth birthday. It reminded me of you.”

So uncharacteristic, all this thoughtfulness! “I love it.” Posey fastened it to her dress, then leaned over and kissed Vivian’s soft, withered cheek. “Thank you, Viv.”

The old lady stared straight ahead. “I signed with Down East Salvage this morning.”

The words hit Posey like a slap. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Down East Salvage? The thought of The Meadows being taken down was horrible enough…but those gorillas at Down East…how could— They wouldn’t— Oh, bieber, she was going to cry. Realizing that her mouth was still open, she closed it and sat back against the couch so she wouldn’t have to look at Vivian.

“They offered me ten thousand more than you did,” Vivian said, her tone brisk. “It would’ve been foolish not to take it.”