Page 33 of Velvet Chains

“I got you breakfast,” Liam said. “I think you mean ‘thank you’.”

My stomach growled. “What did you get me?”

“I’m coming in,” Liam said.

I quickly made sure the blankets were covering me up—plus any mess I’d made—before Liam opened the door to the bedroom. He was holding two paper bags with grease leaking from them and my mouth watered. He tossed one at me, then set the container with the coffees on the bed between us. “Here.”

I caught it on my chest, the smell of bacon and hangover relief so potent I almost didn’t care about anything else. “You’re too good to me,” I said, rubbing my eyes against the harsh morning light. “This could only be better if you put whiskey in my coffee.”

Liam smirked, leaning against the doorframe. “I’d offer, but I think you’ve had enough of my booze,” he said. “You were hard to get up.”

I sat up, reaching for a breakfast sandwich. “Yeah, well, I had a rough night. Thanks for letting me crash here.”

“It’s alright. Are you going to tell Tristan?”

“Fuck, you want to have this conversation before coffee?”

He walked in and sat on the swivel chair beside the bed, grabbing his own sandwich. “Actually, I don’t want to have this conversation at all. But you dropped a bomb in my lap last night and now I’m trying to figure out how to diffuse it.”

I nodded. “Welcome to my life.”

Liam picked at his sandwich, peeling off the wax paper like he was trying to decide whether to eat it or interrogate it.

“I know you love her, Kieran,” he finally said. “But are you sure you’re not making a mistake? If she didn’t want you around her child…”

“My child. My daughter. Your niece.”

Liam considered that for a few seconds. “She’s the DA and you’re the spare Callahan.”

I laughed. “You’re the spare Callahan.”

He smiled. “Yeah, yeah. But you understand what I’m saying. There’s a reason she didn’t want to get involved with you. Maybe she’s smarter than you?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I made a face. “If you’re trying to be helpful, you’re not.”

“That wasn’t meant as an insult. You’re a little dopey, but you’re not stupid.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m dopey, but I’m struggling to see how this isn’t an insult.”

He laughed. “I’m just saying. There aren’t actually that many people smarter than you. And you don’t normally fall for women like that. Actually…now that I think about it, I’ve never met any of your girlfriends. Shit, I thought you were gay for a minute there.”

I cocked my head. “This conversation is really spiraling.”

“I think it’s making a lot of sense. It might be painful, but maybe you need to let her go.”

“I let her go last time and hey, turns out we got a daughter out of it,” I replied, looking down at my hands. “I just didn’t know it. Now that I know…”

“What?” he asked, voice calm and steady now. “Now that you know you have a kid together, you expect it’ll just change everything? She still didn’t want anything to do with you. You shouldn’t chase after her, Kieran.”

“I’m not going to miss out on my daughter’s life any more than I have to,” I said. “And, again, she’s your niece. You should be invested in this.”

He took a bite of his food, buying himself time to think. “I am,” he said after a few seconds. “But you confessed a murder to the FBI, and I don’t know her. I know you. I know Tristan. I worry about you more than I worry about her.”

“That’s touching,” I said.

“I mean it. You have to worry about yourself.”

“That’s why I’m telling you,” I said. “I’ve never told you this before, but I actually like you, Liam.”