CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Liam stands up in from the seat next to me, and I cover my face with my hands. I’d thought he was a typical bad boy from day one—rude and arrogant and brooding, all to hide the scars he carries inside. But Liam Dougherty is anything but typical. There are things about him that are ridiculous and goofy and totally over-the-top. I have the distinct feeling that he’s about to do something to prove that side of his personality. Right now. In front of everyone.
“Your honor, I object,” he says. He looks down at me, a sparkle in his eye. Where the expression on his face was heavy before, now it’s all amusement. His brother, Finn, groans next to me.
“I can’t fucking believe this guy,” Finn says to himself.
“There’s no jury here, Mr. Dougherty. And you are not an attorney, let me remind you of that. There’s not even anything to object to. These documents look to be genuine.”
“If I may, your honor—”
The judge looks back and forth between the two groups of people sitting in the courtroom. “Is this relevant to the case?”
“It’s relevant to the accusation that my marriage to Ms. Williams was falsified for the purposes of gaining custody of Brie.”
“Okay,” the judge says, his voice tired. “I suppose you can address the court on that matter. But like I said, the documents here seem to be in order—”
“As I was saying,” Liam continues, barely giving the judge time to finish his sentence. “Marta Maguire, the woman who has been caring for my daughter—and she’s been doing a shitty job—”
Liam’s lawyer groans. “Liam—” He stops, but I get the impression he doesn’t really know what to say to make him quit talking.
“Told the judge yesterday that Skye Williams and I have been involved in a fake relationship. In fact, Skye just filed to have her name changed, didn’t she? So she’s a Dougherty now. Let the record reflect that. Isn’t that what they say?”
“Go on,” the judge sighs.
“Well, Mrs. Dougherty here—she and I did have a fake wedding.”
“Like I said, Mr. Dougherty,” the judge says. “Everything here looks to be in order—and I don’t care under what circumstances you married Mrs. Dougherty, as long as you two are staying together.”
“That’s the thing, your honor. I’m saying our wedding was fake, but our marriage sure as hell ain’t.” I look up at Liam. The smile he’s wearing has fully reached his eyes.
A wave of embarrassment hits me. “Liam, sit down,” I whisper. Several heads swivel and turn our way, like we’re the most entertaining show of the hour. And I’m guessing we probably are.
“I’m in love with this woman. That’ll be recorded in the court proceedings, won’t it? Filed away somewhere so it’s official?”
The judge shrugs but doesn’t respond this time.
“I fell in love with her right away, but I was too stupid and too hurt to understand what was happening.”
“Come on Liam,” I mumble, but he doesn’t hear me. Instead, he just continues, looking awkward and proud in his button down shirt. Before he starts again, he looks down at me and rolls up his shirtsleeves. Warmth pulses through me when I see his forearms, and I realize I can’t take my eyes off of him. His brothers and mother are all watching him.
“I went through hell. I lost my wife. I lost my little girl. And I was too afraid to do anything but work at the bar. I kept living the same life, night after night. Until Skye walked in. She was different—beautiful. But not just that. She’s smart, too. She keeps me on my toes, and she pushes me hard, but in a way that I don’t really know she’s doing it until it’s done. And I love her. I do. I keep telling her to stay, but I haven’t given her a good reason to.”
He reaches down and takes my hand in his. “Liam,” I say. I don’t add anything else because I don’t know what there is to add. This is the one thing I’ve been waiting to hear, but there’s a crushing uncertainty. There’s no way of knowing that he won’t want to go back to that life, the one he built around the bar and taking women to his apartment upstairs. I know too little about him.
“We haven’t been together for years, like some people who get married,” he says, as if he’s reading my mind. “But I know this. I love her. That’s not fake. I want to wake up seeing her every day. And I want to grow old with her too. What do you say, Skye?”
“Liam, this isn’t really the place—” I start. Redness rises over my cheeks as I realize that everyone is looking at me, waiting for my response. “And I don’t quite know what you’re asking.”
“Will you stay married to me?”
I pause, probably too long for Liam’s family and the other people in the courtroom. Even the judge is looking in my direction. His day has been interrupted grandly enough that I don’t blame him. He was ready to declare in favor of Liam before the man got up and started with his grand gesture. I close my eyes for a second, and when I do, I know the answer. I’ve known it all along, from the first time I woke up next to him.
“Yeah,” I say. “I will. If you sit down.” I smile up at him and laugh, pulling on his hand. “Please. Sit down.”
“Okay,” he says, a satisfied grin on his face. “I can do that.” He sits next to me and pulls me into his arms. His lips find mine, and he kisses me. For a second, everything around me fades out. Liam has that effect on me, that way of making me doubt the life I originally saw for myself. And when he kisses me like this, it’s like I’m in a dream.
It’s not a sea change, not exactly. I think I’d been waiting for this moment ever since I met Liam. He put words to the things I was feeling. We were rushed—our whole relationship was. But it doesn’t mean that there weren’t feelings there, a foundation that existed whether we knew it or not.
I keep my lips pursed tight, heart beating hard. I’ve never been good with being the center of attention, and this was a particularly strange experience. All eyes on me, while a man declares his love for me in the middle of a courtroom.
Well, this is a lot more exciting than the entirety of my relationship with Charlie.
“We’ll make a note that the relationship will continue. That will be a good mark on your record with the state,” the judge says.
“This is ridiculous,” I hear Marta sneer. “It’s clear that this whole thing was organized and planned from the beginning. No one really believes that their relationship is real.” Her voice increases in volume, and she stands up, pointing her gnarled, arthritic finger in our direction.
“Please sit down, Mrs. Maguire. I haven’t reached my final ruling yet, and your role in the little girl’s life does depend on some of these things.”
“Me—I’ve taken care of her since her delinquent father went to prison,” Marta says. “It doesn’t matter whether he loves this woman or not. Their marriage isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. And this man is a criminal,” she adds, pointing at Liam. “He committed armed robbery!”
“You planned that whole thing,” Finn says across the courtroom. “You know you did. Liam never would have gotten tied up in any of that shit if it weren’t for you demanding money when he didn’t have a red cent to his name. And since he got out, he’s been a model citizen. Working his ass off for this kid, making sure there was money for her. He’s paid child support. He’s proven he can do what it takes to care for her. He put himself out there. What more do you want?”
Liam laughs beside me, a low rumble from deep in his chest. It’s not an uncomplicated laugh—there’s a sense of anger in it, of a long, drawn-out battle that is just now ending. “She wants Brie, and not because Brie is wonderful. Or smart. Or a pretty perfect kid, all the way around.” Liam looks over at his daughter, smiling. Her face brightens instantly, the way it does whenever she sees him. There are hopeful tears in her eyes. “Brie, come on over here. Sit with Daddy.”
Brie tries to extricate herself from her grandmother, but Marta holds on to her collar and yanks her viciously backwards. Brie yelps.
I feel Liam’s fist clench as I hold onto his arm, but he keeps his cool. He’s waiting for what comes next.
“Enough!” the judge shouts. “Mrs. Maguire, this is not appropriate behavior for the courtroom. Furthermore, the complaints you brought to us from the CPS investigation you ordered don’t hold any weight. Despite your position in the community, we cannot prevent custody from going to Mr. Dougherty. He is the biological father, and he will be better able to care for Brie due to his physical health and the seemingly stable relationship he has with his wife.” The judge lets out a heavy sigh.
“This is ridiculous. I was told that the court would rule in my favor. I paid the other judge, and it turns out that we see you for this. This is not fair—”
“Please let go of the little girl, Mrs. Maguire. Let me state that your claims of needing more child support do not mesh well with bribery and the countless investigations you’ve paid for in order to keep custody of Brie for the past two years.”
Marta huffs, but she lets go of Brie’s collar. A defeated look takes over her aging face.
“This court hereby grants full custody to Liam Dougherty, and his wife, Skye Williams Dougherty. Mrs. Maguire will be granted supervised visits, should she want him.” The judge pounds his gavel once, and gets up to leave immediately. Brie rushes over to the two of us, wrapping her arms around her father’s legs while Marta watches us in dismay.
“This is unconscionable, ridiculous. I can’t believe it,” Marta keeps repeating. The older woman from CPS puts a comforting hand on her shoulder, and Marta brushes it away angrily. “I don’t know how you two screwed up, but you absolutely did. There’s no way that that man is fit to care for my granddaughter, and you both know it.”
“She’s coming unhinged,” Liam whispers to me as Brie hugs his legs hard, not letting go. Liam was right—this kid never needed to be in a courtroom. And I’ll make damn sure she doesn’t have to enter one again. “It’s beautiful to watch,” he adds.
The edges of Liam’s eyes crinkle up, and tears appear at the very edges of his lashes. He wipes them away quickly, but he chokes up, and more tears come. He picks his daughter up and pulls us both into a tight hug. “We’re a family now,” he says, kissing Brie on the cheek.
“I’m happy that we are,” Brie says. “I think we’ll all be happy together.” There’s a pause. “Should we go have lunch somewhere? I’d really like to eat at a restaurant. I’m hungry.”
I smile, and I lean my head against Liam’s shoulder. “Yeah. I think we should. Hot french fries. Chocolate shake.” My stomach rumbles. There’s so much that’s buried in Brie’s words. For the past two years, I bet she hasn’t been able to ask that of her caretaker. Instead, she’s been subjected to endless scrutiny and strange punishments—and worst of all, the lack of access to her father. She doesn’t say all of this because she can’t. She doesn’t yet have the words.
We leave the courtroom in a boisterous mob of movement—that’s how Liam’s family is. Everyone is talking over each other all at once, and we’re all laughing together. Brie can’t escape the hugs of her uncles and her grandmother, and she’s tumbling along with all of us as we walk out of the door into the sunlight.
When I look back, Marta is alone, scowling at us, arms crossed.
I guess that’s who she always was, but the effort she put out to get what she wanted—it wasn’t rewarded this time.
Liam, Brie, and I huddle into a Lyft that takes us through the traffic to our house—our home, back in Queens. By the time we make the turn onto our street, Brie is sleeping against her father’s side, her small chest rising and falling. I make a mental note to take her on a shopping expedition as soon as I can. The collar of her uniform is dirty, and she needs all the attention she can get. Even seeing her as infrequently as I have, I can tell she simply needs to be with people who care about her in a real way. And I do—I can’t help it.
This is my family.
“Liam,” I whisper.
“Hm?” He’s stroking his daughter’s arm, content even though we’re stopped in traffic mere blocks away from home.
“I’m not loud and—um, social—like your family.” I swallow hard. Everything has been building to this moment.
“No, you’re not,” he whispers, his hand resting on Brie’s arm. My heart swells at the sight of it.
“I want to stay. And I want to be part of your family.”
“Good. I didn’t think you were lying back there in the courthouse, but you never know. You Brooklyn girls.” He shrugs.
I smile. “I love you. That’s what I’m saying. And I want to be your wife.”
“Thought so,” he says, grinning. “I didn’t have any doubts about that.”
The Lyft pulls up beside our little house, and the driver looks back at us for a moment, giving the three of us a smile. “You two get married today? Congratulations.”
“Something like that,” I say. “Anyway, we’re a family.”
Liam slides out of the car after me, pulling Brie into his arms. When we step over the threshold, there’s a feeling of completeness that there wasn’t before. The first times we came into this apartment, nothing was for sure. But now, everything is.