LivSammy bounced on her bed, her eyes bright.“I love my room!” she crowed. “My bookcase is perfect here!”“Calm down, Sammy. No more bouncing on the bed. I don’t want you to fall,” I murmured, sliding some clothes into the dresser Van had brought into the room for her.She sat on the edge, looking around the room. “Is this forever, Mommy?”I turned from the dresser, glancing around the room. How Van had done this, I had no idea. Her bed was here. Her bookcase. Toys, dolls, and books. A few pictures. Even her table and tea set. Drapes had been hung to match the cushion Van’s mom had made. A bright rug covered the floor.I had brought Sammy and my mom back to Van’s place. His parents were there, helping Van. My mom and Lila bonded over Sammy. Dinner was ready. Sammy’s room set. All I had to do was unpack the two suitcases I’d had ready and Van had added to the truck. It was as if the house was waiting for us. It was lovely and somehow overwhelming at the same time.Sammy had been in

For the first time ever, I found myself short-tempered at work, easy to rile, and fast to criticize. More than once, I had to walk away from things when I realized how fast I was losing control. The lack of sleep and worry were eating at me, and I felt helpless. Watching Liv fall apart was killing me slowly.Things came to a head when Hal informed Liv that Nolan had filed the paperwork to have his rights reinstated and was asking for immediate visitation. Luckily, Hal had the visitation request struck down until the judge could review all the paperwork and meet with both sides. It bought us some time, but I had a feeling it was running out.I sighed, my head falling back as I waited for Reid, Hal, and Liv to arrive. We were having another meeting, so that we could all get on the same page, and I had arrived at the office early, waiting in the boardroom. I startled as I felt the touch on my arm, my eyes flying open. Sandy was there, holding a cup of coffee.“You look as if you could us

She lifted her head.“Don’t forget who we’re talking about here. It’s Reid. If anyone can get something out of this phone, it’s him. Don’t give up hope yet.” I stood, digging my cell phone out of my pocket and dialing Reid’s number.He answered on the first ring. “Find it?”“Yep. But there’s a problem. It took a bath. I don’t know…”His chuckle interrupted me. “Bring it to me. Let me work on it.”“On my way.”“I’ll be at the office.”“Okay.”I looked at Liv, huddled on the floor, pulling at her hair, unable to cope with more stress. She was breaking. I could see it happening right before my eyes. If this didn’t work, and the bastard got his rights back, I didn’t know how she was going to handle it. And I didn’t know how I was going to handle watching her snap.I crouched in front of her. “Don’t give in, Livvy. I know how strong you are. Find your strength for Mouse. For me. Don’t give in to the fear. If you do, he wins regardless, because he is destroying you. Don’t let him.” I held u

“I’d like that, Mouse, but on one condition.”She frowned. “I don’t know what that is.”I chuckled. “It means, if you call me Daddy, then Mommy—” I pulled out another small box, extending it toward Liv “—has to call me husband.”I barely noticed Mouse’s squeal this time. All my attention was on Liv. Her gaze went from the box to my face, then back to the box. Her hands clasped at her chest and her mouth opened, but no sound came out.I leaned close. “I love you Olivia Rourke. I love Samantha. Let’s move on from the past of being alone and live life together. As a real family.” I reached out and cupped her cheek. “Accept my ring, Liv. Accept me. Live with me and be mine.”For a brief moment, there was silence, then she said the best word in the world.“Yes.”I claimed her mouth hard and fast, pulling her into the circle of my arms. I kissed Mouse on the nose and hugged them tight.I had them both.My girls.A year laterI folded the newspaper and drained my cup of coffee. Crossing the

Liv bent down, holding out her hand. “I’m Liv Morrison. This is my husband, Van.”Still, he said nothing. To my horror, his chin began to quiver, and I took a step back.“It’s okay, little man. If I scare you, I can go stand over there. You can talk to Liv for a bit, okay? She’s really nice.”I began to move away, and he spoke.“No!”I froze. “Okay.”“Are you—are you a giant?” His voice was low and raspy, as if it wasn’t used often. I wanted to change that.I laughed and lowered myself to one knee. “You know, you’re not the first person who has asked me that question. My daughter said the same thing the first time I met her.”“Your d-daughter?”“Yeah. Her name is Sammy—I adopted her. But no, buddy, I’m not a giant. I’m just really tall.”“I want to be t-tall.” He pushed his glasses up his nose.“You probably will be when you grow up.”He edged closer. “Really?”I nodded sagely. “I was about your height when I was your age.”“Wow,” he muttered.Liv crouched beside me. “Would you like t