Page 145 of Liam

“Girls are so weird,” Lachlan mumbles, hitting replay on “Sweet Caroline.”

“You know the backstory to this song?” Dad asks, and Logan and I share a look, the memories of that day in the garage no doubt hitting us both. “Neil Diamond saw a picture in a newsletter of President Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline, and was so struck by her, he wrote this song.”

“And…?” Logan asks.

“And the lyrics are a little weird when you consider Caroline Kennedy waselevenat the time.”

My face drops, as I’m sure everyone else’s does.

Everyone but Lachlan. “Still slaps,” he says, shrugging and turning the volume up.

“Let’s go,” I tell Addie, leading her out of the room. “We’re leaving!” I tell everyone else.

“Bye, Addie!”

“Bye, Mini Roman!”

“Bye, Baby Baker!”

“Bye, Addie-line!”

“Buh! Buh! Buh!”

56

Addie

“Have you been here before?” Liam asks, holding the chain-link fence open for me so I can slip through the gap.

I wait until he’s joined me to answer. “Never.” I’d seen the water tower before, but only from a distance. I’d never even been to the field that surrounds it, let alone climbed to the top of it.

Liam takes my hand as he leads me toward the ladder. “Ladies first,” he says, then smirks to one side. “Actually…” He slaps my butt. “I just want to watch your big booty ass climb it.”

I sit on the platform, my legs hanging over the edge, while Liam sits behind me, his knees on either side. His arm around my middle holds me firm, as if he’s afraid I’ll fall. “It’s nice up here,” I tell him, looking out over the town I once called home. “Do you come here often?”

He presses his lips to my shoulder, keeps them there as he shakes his head. “First time.”

I rear back. “Really?”

“Yep.” He clears his throat, looks out at the view ahead. “You know, Mia’s mom was our nanny for a few years after my mom died. She spent summers with us when she was, like, twelve to fourteen.”

“Is that how you guys got close?”

“No, we didn’t get close until about a year ago. Long story. Anyway, she and Leo used to sneak off every morning and come up here to watch the sunrise.”

“Stop it,” I coo. “That’s adorable.”

He seems surprised by my response, and I get it. I don’t exactly come across as the most romantic person in the world, but I’ve definitely come to terms with lovinglove.

“So she and Leo have been together all that time?”

“No. And another long story, but the point is, when she told me about her time here with him, she had this… wistfulness about her. This wonder and awe. I told her that I hadn’t been and that I’d check it out, and she told me not to. That I should wait.”

“Wait for what?”

“To experience it with someone special.”

My chest fills with warmth.

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