Page 22 of Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge
“It’s hard for all of us.” Liam pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll be back as soon as I can in the morning,” he promised. “Just keep him inside until then.”
“I’ll do my best,” Courtney promised before ending the call.
He turned to see Paige gaping at him. “A baby?”
Liam’s jaw clenched. Darn! He’d been so irritated when Courtney had said she wanted to talk to Barb that he’d blurted out about the baby.
“Yes, a three-month-old little girl named Charlotte,” Liam told her.
“Oh wow!” Paige’s smile turned whimsical. “Mom’s going to be so thrilled.” Her brows rose, and her eyes shone with excitement. “I’m an aunt—at last!”
“You’ve been an aunt for ten years already,” Liam told her and saw more shock register in her eyes.
“Please don’t tell me one of my brothers has a secret love child!” She looked at him accusingly.
“Not exactly,” Liam said. “And it’s a long story.”
“I have time,” Paige said. “I’m staying here tonight in your suite.” She shrugged.
“You are, are you?” Liam shook his head. “I hope you booked Herschel a room?”
“I did, under your name,” Paige grinned. “Now tell me about this other child!”
“Eleven years ago, a friend asked me for help,” Liam told her, starting to feel uncomfortable.
Every time he thought about what he’d done, it hit him in the chest like a bullet to the heart.
“Huuu.” Paige sucked in a breath and stared at him wide-eyed. “You helped out a friend who wanted to have a baby without all therestof the things that go with it.”
“No!” Liam’s face scrunched as he looked at his sister in horror before realizing it was almost the same, though. “Well, not exactly.”
“Am I going to need some wine for this?” Paige asked, hailing a server.
“I don’t know, maybe!” Liam shrugged, waiting for Paige to order their wine. “I was young, and it didn’t seem like a big deal. Plus, there was a chance my friend wouldn’t need my help.”
“Now I’m really intrigued,” Paige said, pushing her empty plate away and pointing to Liam’s half-touched one. “Are you going to eat that?”
“No, go ahead.” Liam sighed, pushing his plate toward her. “Where the heck do you put all the food you eat?”
Paige shrugged and pushed the conversation to this ten-year-old niece or nephew she had. “You were telling me about helping your friend.” She tucked into Liam’s leftover food.
“My friend had mumps when he was twenty, and when he got engaged, he went to be tested to find out if he could have kids as they both wanted children.” Liam ran a hand through his hair. He’d never told anyone about this. “He found out he couldn’t, and he asked me if I’d help him out.”
“Liam!” Paige breathed. “That’s not something you take lightly. That’s a kid!Yourkid.”
“I saw how in love they were.” Liam swallowed. “They’d both been throughso much. He was an only child, and he’d always said he wanted a family of at least three kids.”
“So you and your big heart and savior complex decided to help him!” Paige guessed. “Good grief, big brother. So I’m guessing that your friend and his new wife used your donation to their family, and now there are other little Shields in the world.”
“Something like that,” Liam admitted, thanking the server for the wine that she placed in front of them and taking a big sip. “As fate would have it, my friend was killed before he could know his child…”
Paige’s eyes widened, and jaw slackened as she stared at him in disbelief. “No!” She breathed in realization. “No, no, no, no.” She shook her head. “If this is what I think you're trying to tell me—this is bad!” She took a sip of her wine, staring at her brother in horror. “It’s worse than bad, and you know things like that have a bad habit of coming out.”
“I know.” The muscle at the side of Liam’s mouthticked.
“Good grief, big brother.” Paige took another sip of her wine. “You do love living life skating around the edge of complete and utter emotional destruction.”
“Thanks for that wonderful description,” Liam said. “But you are completely right.” He drew in a breath.
