Page 96 of Liam

I could offer him the truth. "I don't think I came fully alive until I met Noah. He healed me with his affection and support. Then Ethan came along, and he taught me so much about love. And then Owen. He can be a pain in the ass, but he holds us all accountable. Those men saved my life."

"You found your family."

I brushed his lip with my thumb. "And now I have another. With you."

Tears collected in Jamal's eyes. "Mamma is going to be so thrilled. She gave me a little heart attack a few days ago butjudging by the fact you met with her … she's come to love you."

I'd felt that from Mamma when she called and wanted to meet. Then she'd laid out a case for Jamal, encouraging me to return to him. When I told her I loved her son, there was such relief and affection in the way her eyes widened. I was welcome in their family.

I belonged somewhere.

Chapter Twenty | Jamal

After dealing with my toileting and a quick clean up, we arranged ourselves in bed as neatly as we could. I'd asked Meera to bring dinner for two downstairs for us. It wouldn't be the first time she had brought my dinner down to me. She'd grumbled but she was soon knocking on my door.

"Is it safe to come in?"

"Not a dick in sight," I called back.

"Thank god." Meera pushed the door open then crouched to pick up one of the dishes she had set on the floor so she could manage the door. She wrinkled her nose as she entered.

"Fuck, guys … open a window or something." She handed us our plates and cutlery and did just that, allowing a cool draft to circulate around the room. "Smells like sex in here."

"You've met my boyfriend." I grinned at her. "How could I not."

"Yeah, yeah," she replied. "You snagged a hot one."

Liam chuckled beside me. He had his plate on his lap, and he was separating the food differently than Meera had done. She'd noticed he was like me. It warmed my heart.

We both thanked her.

"You going to hole up in your love nest for a while?" Meera asked.

"We'll come up for breakfast tomorrow."

"Marathon?"

Liam took my hand in his. "More cuddling than anything."

"You're sweet together. I'll give you that."

I looked over at Liam. "He's the love of my life." Liam released my hand and cupped my face instead. The intensity of our gaze could have heated the cooling room.

"And you're mine," Liam replied.

"Gag me," Meera said and headed for the door. "I'll leave you to it." When she shut the door behind her, Liam lay the gentlest kiss on the side of my lips.

He pulled away and looked at his plate. "What are we having?"

"Matar Paneer. The protein is the paneer which is a type of Indian cottage cheese. Then there's onions, tomatoes, peas, and cashews." Liam had moved the cashews to be beside the paneer alongside where Meera had pushed the peas to one side. Not much could be done about the rest.

"Looks good."

My lips turned up into a slight smile as Liam began eating, chewing, and humming his appreciation for the flavours. I rearranged my plate and joined him. It was fortuitous that Liam liked spicy food. Mamma and Dadi didn't go for scorching but there was always some heat.

When we were finished, Liam flicked on the television, and we picked out a movie to watch. One movie led to another and another until we were falling asleep sitting up.

"I think that's enough for one night," I said and turned off the screen.

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