Page 109 of Reluctant Rogue

Naomi nodded. “Liam even offered to negotiate separately for the furniture, to pay them for it, you know? And they said they were happy with the offer for the house and furniture together.”

Coming back downstairs, they paused at the foot of the steps, in the hallway outside the bedroom suite.

“So, here’s what I was thinking.” Liam eyed the two young women who turned their attention to him. Naomi lifted her brows inquiringly, and Beth did the same, as if in sync. “Damn, you two really are two halves of a whole.”

“Yep, we are,” Naomi beamed with pride, linking arms with Beth, who giggled.

A ringtone sounded from somewhere, and everyone looked around, groping for their phones. “It’s mine,” Naomi announced, swiping her phone. “Hello?”

“Oh… Oh!!!” She bounced on her toes. “That’s wonderful, Max! Congratulations! Tell them congratulations from us, and we’ll drive down to visit soon.”

She dropped the phone back in her bag, beaming at Liam. “That was Max. Angela had her babies last night! Everyone is fine and doing well, and they’re going home this morning.”

“That’s wonderful,” Liam said, grinning back at her. “So glad it didn’t happen at Thanksgiving dinner.”

“Max is a cabbie I met in New York,” Naomi explained to Beth. “Liam and I had Thanksgiving with them at their house, with all their children and several grandchildren. They just added more to the family… twin girls, born last night.”

“Twins?” Beth squealed in delight. “That’s fabulous! What are their names?”

“Amanda and Emma.”

“Okay, I approve. Can I go with you when you go see them? Pretty please?”

Liam laughed, as she was bouncing in as much excitement as Naomi. “Of course you can. In Max’s house, the more the merrier, apparently.”

“We could make a day of it,” Naomi suggested, her eyes sparkling. “We can see the Christmas lights, go to Rockefeller Plaza and see the tree. I never got to do that, when I lived there last year. And maybe it’ll snow! I want to do the whole Christmas thing with snow!”

“Oh, there’ll be snow,” Liam warned. “In fact, it’s surprising we haven’t had any yet, this is late for the first snowfall. When we do get it, you may be sorry you wished for it.”

Naomi grinned. “Bring it!”

“Yes, bring it,” Beth echoed, every bit as thrilled as her sister at the prospect of snow.

“Winter is coming,” Naomi intoned, making her eyes round and spooky, while Beth laughed.

“I see you’ve read the books.”

She stared at him, offended. “Of course I’ve read the books! I’d be a poor librarian if I didn’t keep up on popular culture.”

“I didn’t, though,” Beth confessed. “Naomi warned me not to. I get too engaged with the characters, and I get really upset when they’re killed off.”

“She does,” Naomi agreed. “You should have seen her when she reached the part where Sirius Black died in Harry Potter. She was a mess!”

“But I still want to see lots of snow,” Beth insisted. “And Christmas lights, and carols, and I want to go to a Christmas tree farm and have hot cocoa and ride on a sleigh.”

Liam sighed. “It’s easy to see you’ve never lived in a place that has snow in winter. Tell you what. If there’s snow by then… which there will be… We’ll take the train into Manhattan, then when you two are done touring the city, we’ll take the subway to Brooklyn, and take a cab from there to Max’s place.”

Upon Naomi and Beth approving enthusiastically of this plan, Liam cleared his throat. “So. Back to the downstairs suite here. What I’m thinking is that Beth could come live with us. She can have the suite for her own, which will give her some privacy when she wants it, along with her own patio and access to the back yard.”

Naomi squealed in delight. “Ohmigosh, yes! We’re all going to move in together!”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Just keep in mind, I’m only marrying one of you,” he joked.

“Well, actually…” Beth drawled, letting her words drift off significantly.

The appalled look on Liam’s face was too much to take, and they both burst into laughter at the same time.

“Gotcha!” Beth said, clutching at her sister, bent over in mirth.