Page 154 of Liam

I add, “He’s in town at the moment, so it’s not available.”

Lincoln scoffs. “Mia would kick her dad out to host you…” He stands in front of me, just so he can pinch my cheeks. “If it made Widdle Wiam happy.”

“Would you knock it off!” I laugh out, shoving his hands away. I get he’s trying to humiliate me, and I can’t even be madabout it. I’d do the same. I turn to Addie. “I’ll call you after Benny’s game.”

“Oh, Benny…” she whines. “I told him I’d be there.”

“It’s okay,” I console, rubbing her arm. “I’ll tell him why you can’t make it. He’ll understand.”

“We can go to the game,” Dayna says. “What game?”

“Little league,” Linc and I answer.

“Baseball?” Griffin asks.

Addie throws her arms around my torso. “Liam’s their coach.”

“And me!” Linc says.

Griffin chuckles. “We’ll see you there then,” he says to me. Then to Addie, “Dayna hasn’t stopped talking about this town of yours. You ready to show me around?”

Addie laughs, turning to me. “You coming?”

I shake my head. “You go. Catch up. I’ll see you later.”

“Plus, we have to finish filming. We still gotta get Chicken washed and dressed.”

Addie tilts her head, her eyebrows lowered. “Dressed?”

I shake my head. “You’ll see.”

59

Addie

The “tour” of the town only lasts a few minutes. I show them Roman’s apartment, our old trailer from behind the chain-link fence, and the ballpark we’ll be going to later. I save the best for last. The “best” meaning the shops on Main St.

“So this is really all of it, huh?” Griffin asks, walking between me and Dayna while we hold on to the crook of his elbow.

“I told you it was small,” I laugh. “But there are bigger towns nearby—only fifteen, twenty minutes away. That’s where Roman has most of his work.”

I stop in front of Lucy’s bookstore—a place I’ve only just started visiting. “This is Liam’s sister’s shop,” I tell them, pushing open the door.

Lucy’s behind the counter, a woman standing on the other side. Lucy flips a clearly overused book in her hand. “You want to return this?” she asks the woman.

“Yes.”

Lucy sighs, drops the book on the counter. “Yeah, sure, our refunds are in the kids’ section,” she says, pointing to the cornerof the shop. “Right next to the lion, the witch”—she meets my eyes—“and theaudacityof this bitch.”

Dayna cackles.

Lucy’s customer gasps. “Can I speak to your boss?”

“You see that sign?” Lucy asks, pointing to the sign that reads “Lucy’s Bookstore.” She waits for the woman to read the sign, then faces her again. “Hi, I’mLucy.”

The customer shoves the book away so forcefully it slides along the counter and falls to the floor. She leaves the shop just as Mia enters with Katie and Benny, dressed in his baseball uniform, ready for his game later. “Addie!” Benny runs up, hugs my waist.

“Hey, Benny.”

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