Page 128 of Backup Plan

First is the house. It’s every bit as gorgeous as I remember it, and Liam wiggles his eyebrows as he nods to the kitchen counter while we take the boys on a grand tour of the place. Oh, man. As soon as the house is empty, we’re going at it like animals right there.

It looks different than it did when we walked through it empty, mainly because Liam has managed to fill the place with furniture and décor to make it into a home.

And the kids’ rooms are even somehow more outrageous than their room at his place in Chicago was. More Lego sets, more gaming consoles, more sharks for Sammy, and more dinosaurs for Benji.

Even the Lego Disney castle, the retired one, new in the box…for me, right there on the table in the middle of the playroom he created for the kids.

He remembered that once upon a time, I told him it was my prized possession.

He remembers everything.

And it just makes me fall a little harder for him.

“You got any coffee?” I ask casually as my head is pounding from not having enough this morning and not ordering any on the plane since I was holding Liora.

He shakes his head. “I haven’t stocked groceries yet. Should we run out and grab some?”

“The boys are settled into video games upstairs, and Liora is sleeping. I’d hate to bother any of them. Should we just…I don’t know. Maybe Instacart it?” I suggest.

His eyes twinkle as he shakes his head, and a moment later, there’s a knock at the front door.

My brows dip together. “Who’s here?”

We head to the door, and he opens it. “Thanks for stopping by,” he says to the woman standing on the other side. “Olivia, this is Penny. Penny, Olivia.”

I’m sure I look confused as I reach out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Olivia.”

Liam laughs. “Olivia is with player operations at the Storm. She’s been helping me out, and I asked if she by chance is able to babysit. Turns out she’s a former preschool teacher who now runs the player and staff daycare center at the practice facility and at the stadium on game days.”

My brows rise. “Oh. Well, then it’s very nice to meet you.”

She laughs. “Liam said you two might want to run out and get some groceries. I’m all yours for the next few hours.”

“Boys!” I yell upstairs. “Sammy? Benji? Can you come down here?”

“Be there in a second!” Sammy yells, code for I’m in the middle of a game and I’ll come when it’s convenient.

“Liora is napping up in her room,” Liam says. “Why don’t I just take you upstairs to the kids? Then we don’t have to interrupt their game.”

I laugh. He already knows their coded language.

We head up and peek into Liora’s room first, and then we swing by Sammy’s room, where the boys are engaged in a round of Mario Party minigames.

I wait until the round is over, and then I say, “Boys, Liam and I are going to run to the store. This is Olivia. She’s your babysitter while we’re gone. Is everyone okay with that?”

“Mama, don’t go!” Benji says, and he runs over and grabs onto my leg.

I kneel down and hug my little boy. “You’re safe here, Benji. I promise. I love you and I’ll be back in a little while.”

“No! Mama stays!” he shouts.

I had a feeling this move was going too easily.

But I get it. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t want to move to another place only to have my mom ditch me right away, either.

I glance at Liam. “Should we go later?” I whisper over Benji’s yelling.

He shrugs, clearly out of his element here. On the one hand, I know that giving in will only perpetuate the behavior. On the other hand, I understand we might be leaving a bit too soon.