Page 65 of Between Secrets and Obsession

“So where’s the Hulk? He bail on us?” Lennon asks, crossing her arms. I’m trying not to eavesdrop or seem too eager for the answer, but I’ve been waiting for him to return all day.

“No, his flight got delayed. He said he’s coming right from the airport, though,” Mason says, and I feel my pulse throbbing in my ears. Lennon escorts us outside, and I smile when I see my parents playing with Allie.

“A new swing set?” I squeal. “Is there a baby swing for Aaron?”

“Of course!” Lennon answers.

I hold Aaron close to my body. “Wanna swing, cutie pie?”

Although he doesn’t answer, I take his coos as a yes. After Lennon shows me how to buckle him, I play with the kids while chatting with my parents about the weather. I’m trying to keep my mind busy but can’t help glancing toward the door for Liam. Aaron’s so happy in his little infant swing. It allows him to lie back and enjoy the warm breeze outside.

While I’m lost in my thoughts, I notice Sophie stalking across the plush grass toward me. When she gets close, she whispers only loud enough for me to hear, “So any idea where Liam is? Have you talked to him since he left?”

I search her face, and I wonder if she thinks I know more than I do, but I’m in the dark as much as she is. “He told me he had to pick up a fugitive in Nevada. We talked the morning he left, but that’s the last time. Why?”

She laughs, which confuses me. “What?”

“So you’re saying you haven’t spoken to him since before he left?”

“That’s right.”

With pursed lips, Sophie waits for me to continue, but I don’t have anything else to say.

“So…was your make-out session the first time you two locked lips or have you two been sneaking around for a while?” she blurts out but keeps her tone hushed.

My eyes go wide, and I open my mouth, then close it.

“Yeah, I saw you two.”

I try to hold back my reaction, but a small smile touches my lips as heat rushes to my cheeks. “I never kiss and tell,” I state with a grin, which gives me away, but she witnessed it, so it’s not like I can deny anything. “And no, I don’t know what it means. He said we’d talk about it once he got back.”

Sophie squeezes my arm, and I can tell she’s overly excited, maybe more than I am. “How could you keep that from me?”

Not telling her makes me feel guilty, but it was better kept a secret because he’s so finicky. “I’m not foolish enough to think it changes anything,” I say with a shrug as I try to bring my attention back to Aaron. He’s sleeping so peacefully, and it’s adorable. “Liam’s a player, and I finally broke through his hard shell, but that doesn’t mean he wants to settle down with me.”

Sophie continues, “So Thursday morning was a goodbye kiss before he left?”

Now is as good a time as ever to discuss this, I suppose, because she’s not going to allow me to avoid the conversation. Though I leave out all the emotions behind the kiss and how confused I am inside, I give her the details of what happened.

“I walked around him in the kitchen to grab a pan, and then he just grabbed my arm and spun me around. He pulled me into his chest and kissed me. Likereallykissed me. Then he said we’d talk when he gets back, and that’s the last I heard from him.”

“Oh my God, oh my God!” she whisper-squeals, which makes me laugh. “Well, from what I saw, it wasveryhot.”

I don’t want to talk about this anymore because the more I think about it, the more nervous I get about seeing Liam. Carefully, I pick up a sleeping Aaron and place him against my chest. “I better get him into his rocker so he can nap.”

It’s a much-needed break. Hunter announces the food is ready, so I hand the baby to Lennon so he doesn’t wake up while we eat. The group of us go into the kitchen and pile our plates full. Hunter cooked enough to feed a football team. While Mason and Sophie are bombarded by my parents, I check my phone to see if Liam’s texted me, but he hasn’t. The only thing that pulls me away from my thoughts is my mother’s voice.

“Madelyn,” she says. “Have you thought about what you’re doing after graduation?”

It takes everything within me not to groan. I don’t want to be an asshole, but this is the exact type of conversation I don’t need to have right now. Regardless, I put on a fake smile to appease her.

“Probably audition to some dance companies and hope for the best,” I say, an answer I’ve given her countless times before.

“Well, darling, you can’t wait too long in that industry. You aren’t getting any younger,” she reminds me for the hundredth time.

I make eye contact with Sophie, who isn’t smiling at all. She knows how much I hate talking about this, and my mother should too.

“I know. I heard twenty-one is the new forty for ballerinas,” I say dryly with just enough sarcasm for her to understand I’m done with this topic.