Page 66 of The Night

“Gideon, can we go home?” Hazel interrupted in a small voice. “I’m reallyquite dreadfully tiredand Daddy’s waiting.”

Scott’s gaze cut to her, maybe noting her use of the wordhome, then back to me. His eyes narrowed and he gave me the same slow once-over I’d given him.

Scott’s smile hardened. “I’m looking for Liam McKnight.”

“Yeah? He’s not here.”

Scott rolled his eyes impatiently. “But clearly you know where he is.”

“Clearly,” I agreed. “But I don’t know if he wantsyouto know.”

“The maninvited me. Would you like to see our texts?” Scott extracted his phone from his shirt pocket and smiled down at it. “Or maybe it’s better if you don’t. There are a lot of personal things in there.”

My throat went tight as I stared at Scott.

Liam had said flat-out he wasn’t dating anyone andhadn’tdated anyone. He’d said he hadn’t been with anyone infive years. And there was no way on earth he’d lie about that.

But I remembered, too, the way he’d blushed when Hazel had mentioned Scott.

The way she’d mentioned Scott fixing Liam’s collar.

The way Liam had said Scott was a “really nice guy.”

The way Hazel had asked Liam if they could stay until Christmas, and Liam hadn’t actually said yes.

Could Liam and Scott be more than strictly friends? Yes. They definitely could.

And because I knew Liam, I knew he wasn’tin lovewith Scott because he would never have slept with me if he was. I also knew from the way he looked at me, the way we acted around each other, that it was very possible—actually, reallylikely—Liam lovedme.

But… I knew for a fact that wasn’t enough.

Liam had been in love with me five years ago— or thought he was anyway—and he’dstillwalked away so he could make good, practical,rationaldecisions where Hazel was concerned. Giving her the best possible life and the best possible opportunities was the most important thing, as it should be.

So, really, what were the chances Liam would pick up and move to O’Leary, New York—a place without takeout dinners or fancy private schools, a place where half the neighbors dressed as Santa two weeks of the year and spent three weeks a month planning, preparing, or celebrating some festival or another—on the basis of a week spent stuck at my house?

I couldn’t think of anythinglessrational.

And while I’d leave O’Leary to be with Liam and Hazel in a heartbeat—though yes, fine, I’d probably miss these idiots like crazy—why would Liam even want that? I didn’t fit into his life in Boston. I didn’t have a job there. I loved Hazel, but I didn’t know shit about raising children. And I wasnobody’sidea of a nice guy.

Hazel came to my side and slipped her hand into mine, tugging gently. “I found the tree, Gideon,” she said in the same small, completely-not-Hazel voice. “So we can go.”

“Sounds great,” Scott said, smiling hugely. “I’ll follow you.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. Liam really fucking hated when people made decisions for him, right? Being manipulated by Parker and the rest of the guys had pissed him off. So the best thing I could do for the man I loved would be to give him the chance to make his own decision about this.

“You know what, Bug?” I said, running a hand over Hazel’s hair. “Why don’t wenot? Why don’t we let your dad and Scott catch up alone, and we can join them later?”

She looked up at me with big brown eyes. “But the tree—”

“Will be fine,” I assured her, my heart breaking a little as I wondered if they’d still be around tonight to decorate it. “I’ll grab it and put it in the truck. And in the meantime, why don’t you ask Angela if you can go see the newkittensJulian has at his clinic.”

Hazel shook her head. “Not right now.”

I put my palm to her forehead. “Are you sick? I saidkittens.”

“Yeah, but—” She looked at Scott.

“And after you see the kittens, we can go toFanaille.”