“But you two were so much in love. And it is an engagement, after all. You’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other while you plan your wedding.”
Hadley couldn’t bring herself to explain to Candace that Liam didn’t love her and only proposed so he could improve his chances of gaining custody of Maggie. “It was all just too fast,” she murmured.
“But what about Maggie? I’m sure that Liam would appreciate your support with her being in the hospital.”
Nothing Hadley could say would be good enough to rationalize abandoning a sick baby, so she merely hung her head and stared at the veins of silver glinting in the granite countertop. “I’ll take the caramel rolls to Liam,” she said at last. “And maybe some coffee as well. He’s sure to be exhausted.”
Candace nodded in approval. “He’ll like that.”
While Candace sealed up the rolls, Hadley poured coffee into a thermos, wondering how she’d let herself get talked into returning to the hospital. Then she sighed. It hadn’t taken much prompting from Candace. In fact, Hadley was happy for an excuse to visit.
“If you’re afraid because things between you have happened too fast,” Candace began, turning away to carry the empty caramel roll pan to the sink, “I think you should know that I’ve never seen Liam as happy as he is with you.”
“He makes me happy, as well.” Had she let a past hurt blind her to everything that was true and loving about Liam?
“Whatever stands between you two can’t possibly be insurmountable if you choose to work together to beat it.”
What if fear of being hurt again had led to her overreacting to Liam’s desire to seek custody of Maggie? Was it possible that she’d misjudged him? Attributed motives to him that didn’t exist, all because she couldn’t trust her own judgment?
“You’re probably right.”
“Then maybe you two should consider being open with each other about what it is you want and how you can achieve it.”
Hadley offered Candace a wry smile. “It sounds so easy when you say it.”
“Being in love isn’t always easy, but in my experience, it’s totally worth the ride.”
“And Liam is totally worth taking that ride with,” Hadley agreed. “Perhaps it’s time I stopped being afraid of telling him that.”
“Perhaps it is.”
Liam hovered over Maggie’s bassinet as the nurse took her temperature. “Her appetite was better this morning,” he said.
The nurse hadn’t missed his anxious tone and gave him a reassuring smile. “Her temperature is down a couple degrees. Looks like the antibiotics are doing what they’re supposed to.”
While it wasn’t a clean bill of health, at least Maggie’s situation was trending in the right direction. “That’s great news.” He wished he could share the update with Hadley, but she’d made it clear yesterday that she needed distance. It cut deep that he’d driven her away.
“She’s sleeping now,” the nurse said. “Why don’t you take the opportunity to get something to eat? From what I hear, you skipped dinner last night.”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“Well, you’re not going to do your little girl any good if you get run-down and can’t take care of her once she’s ready to go home.” The nurse gave him a stern look.
“Sure, you’re right.” But he couldn’t bring himself to leave Maggie alone. “I’ll go down to the cafeteria in a little while.”
Once the nurse left, Liam brushed a hand through his hair, suddenly aware he was practically asleep on his feet. He hadn’t been able to do more than snatch a couple naps during the night and could really use a cup of coffee. It occurred to him that he wasn’t going to be able to keep this pace up for long, but he would never be able to forgive himself if Maggie got worse while he was gone.
A soft female voice spoke from the doorway. “How’s she doing?”
Blinking back exhaustion, Liam glanced up and spied Hadley hovering in the hallway. From her apprehensive expression, she obviously expected him to throw her out.
“A little better.”
“That’s great. I hope it’s okay that I came by.”
“Sure.” After yesterday, he could barely believe she’d come back. “Of course.”
“I wasn’t sure...” She looked around the room as if in search of somewhere to hide. “You didn’t answer my text last night.”
He rubbed his face to clear some of the blurriness from his mind. “You sent a text? I didn’t get it.”