Chapter 26

" J azz."

"The answer is no," she said with a sigh before looking up into Cal's face. "Look, you know I love you, but as much as I appreciate you giving my best friend multiple orgasms every day for the rest of her life, I can't keep clearing your schedule so you can go home and have sex with your wife."

"Come on, Jazz. The man's in love. Throw him a bone," Sierra chimed in from beside her. Jazz just rolled her eyes at her assistant, while Cal dropped into the chair opposite her desk.

"Valid points from you both, but surprisingly not what I was going to say for once."

"Oh. In that case, what can I do for you?"

"Do you want to come over to watch the season finale of LoveStruck tonight, since Maggie and Liam have that work dinner?"

Ah, yes. The work dinner . With Nadia. If it wasn't bad enough that she had to deal with Maggie talking about her, now she had Liam telling her all about Nadia's laundry list of achievements.

She knew, deep down, that it wasn't about Nadia. Nadia was fine. More than fine, she was great. But even though Jazz was well aware that jealousy wasn't a good look on her, she just couldn't shake it. She'd planned to sit on her couch and stew all night, but trashy reality TV sounded better.

"It's already the season finale?" she asked Cal, who nodded excitedly. Jazz had always been hopeless at keeping up with TV shows. It wasn't unusual for her to accidentally skip episodes or suddenly realize she was watching the same thing for the second time, ten episodes in.

"Yeah, I was going to wait for Maggie so we could watch it tomorrow, but I don't want to get spoiled on TikTok." Jazz didn't dare suggest he just stay off TikTok. Maggie had gotten him hooked on reality shows when they'd first started hanging out outside of work, and Cal hadn't looked back since. "And there's something a little sad about a fifty-eight-year-old man watching a reality dating show at home alone on a Friday night."

"A hundred percent. That would be super weird. I'm in. Ooh, we should make cocktails."

Cal's eyes lit up. "We still have the edible glitter Maggie got for your Galentine's thing."

"Perfect."

"This little friendship thing you two have is so cute," Sierra said, leaning in and whispering, "Do you think that'll change when he's your father-in-law?"

"Sierra!"

"What? I thought it was common knowledge now."

Common knowledge was a stretch. Cal knew, and Jazz and Liam were planning to tell his moms they were seeing each other over dinner. The only reason Sierra knew was because she'd spied him kissing her goodbye when he dropped her off for work.

"It's not going to change," Cal confirmed, not even flinching at the father - in-law comment. They weren't technically even dating. "Do you want to come over, Sierra? We can catch you up if you haven't watched the rest of the season," Cal promised.

"Oh, I've watched it. LoveStruck is huge in the Hayashi household and we go all out for the finale. My dad ordered a cake from our favorite bakery, they decorate the house, and my brother and his partners are coming into town all the way from Tacoma."

"Tacoma's like a thirty-minute drive. It's not exactly Antarctica."

Sierra shrugged. "It was a bigger deal when they lived in Portland. Oh, I almost forgot, my dad made t-shirts. I'll send you pictures."

God, Jazz couldn't imagine her family ever doing anything like that. Their Christmases weren't even that festive. She hoped Sierra knew how lucky she was to have a family who enjoyed spending time together. Fuck, Jazz would settle for a family who wanted her around as she was, instead of some character she played, trying to fit in. She wasn't asking for parties and t-shirts—although that would be nice .

"I hope you're taking notes here, Jazz," Cal said, pulling her attention back to them. "We're going all out next year. A party, T-shirts, everything. We can even get t-shirts for Peach and Bray, get the whole family involved."

The whole family . Jazz swallowed, her throat suddenly thick. "That sounds nice."

J azz handed Cal a glass of shimmering pink vodka and sank onto the couch, tucking her feet under her legs.

"Thanks," Cal said, setting the big bowl of popcorn he'd made between them and immediately lifting it up again when Peach jumped up to inspect it. "How are you doing?"

"Me?" Jazz asked, and Cal raised a brow.

"I don't think Peach is going to answer."

"Right. Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know, with everything going on with Liam. He mentioned you were a little worried about me and his moms finding out."

Liam might as well have taken an ad out on the front page of the paper. She wouldn't be surprised if she showed up at work on Monday and Sierra somehow knew that she'd been worried about that.

"It's just complicated," she replied with a sigh. "And it changes things—it changes our whole dynamic. "

"It doesn't have to change anything." Cal offered a reassuring smile. "I'm happy for the two of you, and I know Eliza and Danisha will be too. Whatever this turns into, we're all on both of your sides."

"Thank you." Jazz knew Cal really believed what he was saying, but if something went sideways between her and Liam, she knew it would be her fault, and they'd all be on his side—as they should be. "I guess I just don't want to mess up something good, you know?"

"I get it, I promise. Do you remember what a mess Maggie and I were at the beginning? We would never have figured everything out without you."

"Yeah, but Liam and I aren't you and Maggie. I'm not Maggie."

"I know," Cal said, gently. "You and I are a lot more alike than you and Maggie. But that's how I know you're going to figure it out and be okay."

Jazz let Cal's words sink into her. She'd always thought that she and Maggie were two peas in a pod, in so many ways—shitty parents, stubbornness, protectiveness. But when things went wrong, Maggie scrambled to fix them. She pushed through them and believed, without a doubt, that there was nothing she couldn't do if she just worked hard enough. Jazz gave up, and, though she might put on a decent show, she wasn't entirely sure she could see anything through completely. Not to a high enough standard, anyway. She just wasn't good enough, and she'd made her peace with that. She was okay with not being enough .

But she wanted to be enough for Liam. She wanted to be enough to earn her place in this family they'd built.

"I guess Maggie has a type," she said after a weighted silence. Cal had been convinced he wasn't enough for Maggie for months before they'd officially gotten together.

"That she does," he said with a wry smile. "Listen, I'm saying this as your friend, not Liam's dad: you are good enough for him. And he could be good for you, if you let him."

"Yeah." He already was good for her. She'd already grown so much in the time they'd spent together, but could she ever grow enough? Could she ever actually settle down and be the sense of peace and calm for him that he was for her? She didn't want to be someone he had to take care of, always waiting for her to get scared and fuck things up enough to make everything come crashing down, like some twisted game of dominoes.

But she had no idea how to be anything else.

" C hrist. How much did you two have to drink?" Maggie asked, as Cal grabbed for her and pulled her into his lap. Liam pointedly looked away as Maggie smacked Cal's hand away from her ass.

"Enough that we're going to regret it tomorrow, but I feel amazing right now." Jazz giggled, standing up on wobbly feet and reaching for Liam. "Hi, baby. "

"Hi." Liam's mustache twitched, his dimples popping out, and he fought a laugh. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. "Wow, you really do taste like a liquor store."

"Drink up," she murmured against his lips, momentarily forgetting that his dad was sitting a few feet away from them.

"They're so cute. Aren't they so cute, love?" Cal whispered loudly.

"They're adorable," Maggie replied. "But let's get you up to bed, yeah?"

"How about I get you up to bed?" Cal said, and Maggie turned to Liam with an apologetic expression.

"I am so sorry. He's going to pass straight out once he gets into bed, don't worry."

" We're not going to pass straight out," Jazz piped up, running her finger along the buttons on Liam's button-down.

"Yes, we are. Well, after you drink a lot of water."

"Boo," Jazz shouted as he tugged her into the kitchen. She'd left her water tumbler sitting on the table—who needed water when you had vodka?—and Liam filled it before threading his fingers through hers and walking her slowly up the stairs. Which was just as well, because her head was spinning.

"Goodnight," he called down the stairs, and she copied him, before they paused in front of the doors to Maggie and Cal's guest rooms.

It wasn't unusual for both Liam and Jazz to crash at their place, and two of the four guest bedrooms had been assigned to them. The two of them glanced between the doors.

"This must be what it's like when step-siblings start dating and go home to their parents' house for Christmas, not sure where to sleep."

Liam peered down at her, sorting through her slurred words, before replying, "It's not like that."

He pushed open the door to the room on the left—her room—and pulled her inside, depositing her on the bed.

"Drink up, darling. It'll hurt less in the morning if you do."

Jazz grumbled, but accepted the water tumbler and circled the straw with her lips. At least she had a good show while she sipped at the water, watching Liam undress and fold his clothes on the chest at the end of the bed.

She sighed happily. "God, I love your body." She reached out a hand in a gimme motion, and Liam obliged her, stepping forward with an amused smile. He let her run her hands all over his torso. She wanted to lick his stomach, but she wasn't quite drunk enough to justify that. "You're so hot. I hate it," she whined. "How am I supposed to resist you when you look like this and you're so nice?"

"Who said you had to resist me?" Liam asked. "Arms up."

Jazz set her tumbler aside and raised her arms so Liam could pull her shirt over her head. "Do you want a t-shirt to sleep in?"

"I want to sleep naked. "

"Fine, but I'm not touching you while you're this wasted," Liam warned with a laugh, pressing the tumbler back into her hands. "Drink and get ready for bed."

"Boo," she muttered, kicking off her leggings and underwear while she sipped the water. "You're so fucking good. Can't you just have one red flag?" She stomped to the bathroom, then turned in the doorway and gasped. "Oh my God, what if your lack of red flags is the red flag and you actually have a bunch of bodies stashed somewhere?"

"That's confidential," he answered with a wink.

Jazz hurried through her nighttime bathroom routine, skipping her skincare. By the time she was done, Liam had turned down the bed. She climbed into her usual side and he kissed her on the forehead before heading into the bathroom to get ready.

"Did you have fun with my dad tonight?" he asked when he returned, climbing in beside her and offering his arm out for her.

"I thought you weren't going to touch me."

"Don't be a brat. Get in here."

Jazz wanted to cuddle too badly to argue further. She snuggled into his side, and Liam switched off his bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

The darkness sobered her slightly, sleepiness settling into her bones. "We had fun," she told him with a yawn. "Although your dad was pretty pissed when his favorites didn't end up staying together. How was your dinner?"

"It was good. The food was just okay, but the restaurant did a quiz thing and that was fun. Maggie is scary competitive, though."

"Yeah, she's a lot. She always wins too."

"Not tonight," Liam said. "Nadia got literally every question right." Jazz tensed. "What?"

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing. You don't like Nadia?"

"I don't really know Nadia." It wasn't a lie, and it sounded better than letting the jealousy coursing through her spew out.

"You should try to get to know her. I really think you'd get along. She's intense, but she's nice."

"I'll think about it," she lied. "I'm tired. I missed you tonight," she added sleepily, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

"I missed you too, darling."

"We should go out again soon, like we did a couple of weeks ago. Grab dinner, maybe go bowling or to an arcade or something. Next week?"

"It's a date," Liam said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She was on the precipice of sleep when his words really registered.

"Liam?"

"Yeah?"

"Was it a date? Last time, I mean."

Liam was quiet for a moment, but she heard his breathing quicken, felt his heart racing. "It was," he said, finally. "It was a date. Are you okay with that? "

It was just a date. One date. And he was still here. He still wanted to be around her. She hadn't fucked it up.

"I am okay with it, I think."

Liam loosed a relieved sigh. "Good. I'm glad."

"Maybe we could do more of that."

"Going on dates?"

"Yeah. I'd like to."

"Then we will." He brushed her lips gently with his, and Jazz breathed him in. "Sleep time. You're already going to be feeling rough in the morning, but I'll take care of you."