“No allergies.”

“And you’re both abnormally disgusted by the best candy ever made. What else?”

I started to say, “Nothing,” but Kira cut me off. “Pancakes.”

“Ah, yes!” I said, and pointed at her. “Pancakes.”

Liam stopped chewing, and looked at me like he was worried about my well-being. “What in the hell is wrong with pancakes? Pancakes are a Sunday-brunch tradition in my family.”

“Oh, fuck that. Don’t ever ask us to brunch with your parents. And pancakes are another thing between my parents that we don’t understand. But their little inside jokes about pancakes have made Kira and me steer clear.”

“Don’t worry,” he said on a laugh. “Sunday is family day.”

“Then I’m safe.”

“Are there any foods in particular that you love?”

“Bananas,” I said on a sigh. “I freaking love bananas.”

“Amen to that,” Kira said distractedly.

“I probably could have guessed that from the never-ending supply in your fruit basket. Now, you don’t see me flipping out over that, do you? You’re both a little dramatic when it comes to—”

“Can we stop?” Kira pleaded. “You’re going to make me sick if you keep talking about those two things.”

“So dramatic,” Liam whispered, and repositioned me so we were both more comfortable. “That’s new,” he said awhile into the movie, as he traced just below the new tattoo.

“Yep. Kira and I got the same one. We went and met Brian today.” I turned my head to smile at him, and Liam’s eyebrows shot up.

“Did you? And what did he have to say?”

I readjusted myself so I was curled against his chest with my legs across the couch and Liam’s arms around my waist. “He said you needed to go feed him.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Figures.”

“But we took him tacos today, so he should be good for a while.”

The shock from finding out we’d gone to meet Brian was suddenly gone, and Liam was looking at me like he was trying to figure me out. “You brought Brian food?” he asked softly, and I nodded.

“Of course. You said you always did, so I thought we should too.”

“You know you didn’t have to.”

I shrugged. “I know. But I thought he’d appreciate it.”

“I’m sure he did. Thank you,” he whispered, and passed his lips across my jaw. Tapping on my skin just below my left collarbone, he asked, “What does this mean?”

For a fraction of a second, I considered telling him. About the tattoo, about my past, and what it had meant for me over the years . . . but I quickly pushed back the thought. Now was not the time while Kira was sitting right next to us with a movie playing in the background. When I finally told Liam everything, we needed to be alone. He deserved that much after everything I’d put him through before we’d started dating.

My chest warmed when I realized that this was the first time I’d ever thought—and wanted—to tell him about anything from back then.

Grabbing his face in my hands, I pressed a slow kiss to his lips. “For now, just know that it means we’re still okay . . . and it means I’ll be ready to tell you all about it soon.”

Liam’s eyebrows were pinched together for a few seconds, then they relaxed when he understood I didn’t mean just the tattoo, and his entire face looked like I’d just given him a gift he’d been desperately wanting. “Really?” he asked in awe.

“Really. Just not tonight.”

After we watched two movies and takeout had been delivered and devoured, Kira called out a good night and headed off to her room. As he normally did, Liam stood up and started grabbing his phone and keys. The times we slept over at each other’s places weren’t usually planned, and they were rare. If it happened, it was because we’d fallen asleep while talking or watching TV, or if a few hours in the bedroom had left us with only enough strength to crash in each other’s arms.

Getting the tattoo with Kira had been a big enough step for me, and then promising Liam I would tell him about my past soon had just added to it. While I expected to feel the usual panic over what that could all mean, there was nothing. Well, nothing bad at least. Right now, all I wanted was for Liam not to go home. I knew this would be taking us in a new direction. I knew he would see a deeper meaning in this than most people might, but I was pretty sure I was ready for it.

“Hey,” I said, and grabbed his arm to stop him. “Do you think . . .” I drifted off, and stared into his patient eyes. “Do you want to stay?”

That same smile that had crossed his face earlier when he’d asked about the tattoo was there again. And without a response, he bent down and lifted me into his arms, and walked me into my bedroom.

I’ll take that as a yes.

October 24

Liam

“WHY DON’T YOU both come with me tomorrow?”

“Come with you where?”

“To my parents’ house,” I answered hesitantly.

Kennedy’s body stilled in my arms for a second before she looked up at me; her eyes were squinting like she was trying to figure something out. We’d woken up in her bed a little over an hour ago, and I’d been explaining all about how my family spent Sundays. This was different from the first time I invited the girls over to my parents’ house. And even though I’d told her what Sunday was all about in my family just the night before, I wanted her to know exactly what she was getting herself into before she agreed to go and ended up being blindsided. I didn’t want Kennedy thinking it would be just another day when no one in my family would see it that way, not if I brought the girls with me.

“You want us to go to your parents’? But . . . tomorrow is Sunday, and Sunday—you’re really asking us to go with you?”

I laughed softly and tightened my arms. “Yes.”

“But Sunday is family day,” she said with wide eyes, like she was trying to get me to understand what I was asking.

“It is, and I want my girl there.”

“This is kind of a big deal, Liam.” She leaned forward and smiled against my lips as she slowly moved one leg over my body so she was straddling me, and I pulled her closer as I nipped at her bottom lip.

“Does this mean you’re going to come with me?”

“If I say yes, does that mean we have to eat pancakes?”

I smiled and nodded. “Tons of them.”

Kennedy sighed dramatically, but her lips were tilting up by the time she was done. After a few silent seconds, she asked, “So now I’m your girl?”

I looked up into her gleaming eyes, and narrowed mine, trying to judge her expression. “That’s not anything new.”

Her lips spread into a smile as she pressed her forehead against mine. “For you, maybe. But I haven’t heard you call me that before.”

“Maybe because you’re always so quick to reject any title that would signify that we’re together.”

Kennedy’s smile fell, but her blue eyes stayed locked on mine when she said, “Brian called me your girlfriend yesterday.”

“Did he?” I asked in a monotone voice. I was worried about what else Brian might have said.