Merry Christmas my lovelies! I hope you're all having a fantastic time! Tell me all about it in a PM or in your reviews.
"Liam…" She breathed.
"I'm sorry. This isn't very romantic." He apologized. "I don't even have a ring." An embarrassed laugh escaped his lips. Recovering from her surprise, Steffy offered him a reassuring smile.
Steffy gently cupped his cheek before she pulled him up so he would sit beside her on the edge of the bed. "Are you kidding? You haven't been this romantic since you ripped those annulment papers and made that kiss on me." She felt a thrill as she reminisced that moment in Aspen. He had caught her completely off guard that day. Hell, she always thought he caught himself completely off guard that day. That was characteristically Liam: he did the most romantic things spontaneously.
"Yeah…" Liam mused. "I guess we were on the right track then too, weren't we?" He asked her a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Yeah." She whispered.
"Still, I can't help but notice you haven't said yes." Liam remarked.
Steffy lowered her head and avoided his gaze. "I haven't, have I?" She closed her eyes, and then opened them.
She peeked up at him. "That's because I'm not." Her voice was such a whisper Liam almost didn't catch it.
"What?" he asked her, his brows furrowed in confusion. Had he heard her right? Was she serious? Was she kidding him? Yes, she had to be kidding him. Right?
She kept her head and gaze lowered, and after a moment, his concern growing, Liam started searching her eyes frantically. "Steffy?" His voice was soft but urging.
Eventually and grudgingly, she looked back up at him. It took her a minute and he could tell it was the last thing she wanted, but she ended up steadying her gaze on him before she spoke again. "I'm not marrying you, Liam." She repeated in a slightly higher voice. "I won't." She stood up and left the room leaving a very confused and speechless Liam sitting on their bed.
"Steffy…" He called as she disappeared out of his sight.
He stood up as well and joined her in the living room where she was sitting her legs folded on themselves, her foot touching her butt. She glanced at him when she heard him approach, but otherwise said nothing as he settled next to her.
To be honest, to say that he was lost at this point would have been an understatement. He was absolutely distraught, taken aback. "That's it?" Liam finally broke the weighing silence. "You just won't marry me?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "You won't even offer me an explanation."
Steffy brought her left hand to the back of her neck and massaged it gently. She raised her shoulders. "What is there to explain? I just don't think we should get married."
"Why?!" He insisted.
"Why should we?!" She asked back, her voice showing her growing irritation.
God, why were they having this conversation?! Where the hell was this coming from?! She would have bet on her money on Papa Spencer. The man really needed to learn to mind his own damn business. She knew his intentions were good –most of the time… -but more than once, he only ended up messing things up. Now, here she was having a very unpleasant conversation with her boyfriend when everything was going just fine between them. Why couldn't Liam just let go? Why was he fighting her on this so much? Did he really think that she wanted this, that she enjoyed rejecting him? This was harder on her than on him!
"Excuse me?" Liam knit his brow together.
"Yeah. Why should we get married?" She asked him again.
He frowned even more. "What kind of question is that?"
Steffy tilted her head as she answered, "As a matter of fact, Liam, given our situation and our history, and everything that we have been through, I think that is a pretty legitimate question, don't you?"
"I…" He searched his words. "Because we're…"
"Having a child?" She completed for him. "Why do you want to marry me Liam? Why shall I marry you?" She asked him, more or less rhetorically. "Because I'm awaiting your child?" She raised her brow at him and gave him a pointed look.
He wrinkled his brows and frowned. "What?!" He exclaimed. "No! No, that's not –" He stopped as a realization hit him. "Hold on, is that why you're saying no?" He asked her.
"That's not a reason, Liam."
"I know. I…" He searched her face for answers. "Steffy, I'm confused. Do you want this? Or not?"
"More than anything." She answered and he let out a sigh of relief.
Being Liam's wife was Steffy's sweetest dream. It had been for a good while now. But not like this. Not because of a compulsory strike of destiny. She already said it and she meant it: with all due respect, she was not going down the same path as her mother. She had grown so much since the time she first got married to Liam. She was a down-to-earth, level-headed woman today. She was done playing games and she wasn't willing to do anything to get what she wanted anymore. No, that Steffy was gone and she was making no comeback.
She had done her best to make the right decisions these past few months –trusting Liam, not letting the insecure side of her take over, going to Paris to see her dad despite all the ongoing drama with Hope, not telling him about her pregnancy to not influence his decision. Not the easiest ones, but the right ones, and she wasn't about to change that course of action on the finish line.
"The question is… 'Do you?'" She asked him.
He peeked up at her. "Of course." He answered her.
A small smile ghosted over her lips, before she questioned, "Are you sure about that?"
"Steffy, I love you." He told her, his brow furrowed, as though she didn't already know.
"And I love you." She said back looking straight into his eyes. They simply got lost in each other for a moment, their eyes expressing everything their mouths couldn't: their doubts, their uncertainties, but most importantly, their love.
"But that's not why you want to marry me, is it?" She asked him in a gloomy, almost trembling voice. "Be honest." She warned as he opened his mouth to answer her.
He closed his mouth at that. What satisfying answer could he give her, all the while being honest. He wanted to marry Steffy. He did; but if he were being honest, his love for her wasn't his primary reason. It was mostly the father in him talking.
"Your silence says it all." Her voice pulled him out if his thoughts. "That's why I can't say yes." She muttered more to herself than to him, but he heard her anyway.
Liam looked at her taking in her features. Gone were her bright smile and her happy eyes from only an hour earlier. "Steffy… it's not…" The words didn't come to him. He knew what he wanted to say, just not how to say it. He didn't want to hurt her any more than she already seemed to be. He wanted to be as tactful as possible and make her see things his way.
"I understand." She told him as though she could read his thoughts, and he instantly looked up at her. "You grew up without a father. You grew up without even knowing him. You had no paternal figure. It's not the same but my own father wasn't that much there for us as we grew up. I get it." She assured him, and Liam listened to her intently. She did get it.
"It makes all the sense in the world that you don't want your child to go through the same thing." She reached out and took his face into her hands. "And he or she won't!" She promised him. "You will be a great father… the best. I know you will." She reassured him. She dropped her hands from his face before continuing. "But Liam we don't have to be married for that to happen. As a matter of fact, we don't even have to be together for that!"
"What?!" Liam exclaimed and Steffy almost jumped at the harshness of his voice. "Why would you say that?!"
"I…" Steffy stammered. She wasn't expecting his bursting out.
"Are you going to breakup with me now?" He interrogated.
"What?! No! Why would you even say that?!"
"I don't know, Steffy. Why would you?!" His anger didn't die down. If anything, it increased. "I am not with you because of the baby!" He swore.
"I know that." Steffy managed to keep her voice cool even though his kept rising.
"Do you?" He questioned. "Then why don't you act like it?" He paused and searched her face as though maybe the answer was just lying there for him to see. He noticed the shift in her expression –she went from confused to mildly frightened –and sighed.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "I didn't mean to snap." He peeked up at her. "I just –I don't know on which foot I'm supposed to dance with you anymore Steffy." He admitted. "You say that you realize that I'm with you for you, but if that's really the case, then why do I keep feeling like you doubt me?" He asked her confusion all over his features.
"I don-" She was about to deny it. She was about to tell him that he was wrong, that she did trust him, when she realized that… she didn't. It was unconsciously and completely unwilling, but Steffy didn't trust Liam. And more importantly, she didn't trust them. She wasn't even aware of it until five seconds before, but nonetheless, it was the case. It was just all so new to her. She knew that Liam had chosen her and wanted to be with her, but the information hadn't reached her brain yet. She hadn't wrapped her head around that yet. All this time, she had been waiting for Liam to wake up and realize that Hope was the one he really wanted to be with –like he always had.
"I'm sorry." It was her turn to apologize. "I had no idea… I'm sorry you feel that way. I didn't realize I was feeling this way." Steffy confided pulling her legs into her, curling up.
He put a hand on her knee and rubbed the soft skin. "How are you feeling?" He inquired concern evident in his voice and expression.
She raised her shoulders. "I just –This is new for me." She explained. "Not just the baby, you and I… together, like this. It's new for me." She specified.
"What do you mean?"
"This is the first time that you and I are together because of a choice you made, Liam. Up until now, it was always because you couldn't have Hope, and I –I always felt like second-best." She confided. He stopped his soothing movements and removed his hand from her knee.
He averted his gaze from hers, guilt written all over his face. He had never considered this. Yet, her words were true. He loved her. He really did. He probably always had. But he had never chosen to be with her before. Of course she doubted him! When they first got together, Hope had just broken their engagement and to be completely honest, Steffy was sort of a rebound. And every time, they had been together after that, it was because they couldn't make it work with Hope. "I'm a jerk, aren't I?" His question was more rhetoric than anything else.
It was in that moment that he decided he wouldn't tell Steffy about his kiss with Hope. Contrary to the impression that she managed to give, she had enough insecurities about her as it was. There was no need for him to rub it in by telling her about what was only a momentary lapse of judgment.
"No, you're not." She answered reaching for his neck. "You are a mess though." She said and Liam laughed. "But you're my mess."
He turned his head to look at her. She smiled. He smiled back. His warm smile slowly turned into a crooked one. "So will you marry me?" He coaxed.
She raised her brows at him. "Nice try." She conceded. "But no." She answered.
Liam let out an exaggerated sigh and he let his shoulders slump dramatically. "A man has to try." He justified shaking his head.
Just then someone knocked at the door and Steffy thanked whatever God above for the intervention. At least, that would give her a moment to collect her thoughts. "I'll get it." She said before standing up and walking to the door.
She opened the door to reveal her brother standing behind it. "Thomas!" She exclaimed, surprise dripping from her voice.
"Hey, little sis." He greeted moving to hug her.
"Hi." She greeted back wrapping her arms around him in return. He was that much bigger than her that he needed to bend to hug her. It was cute. It made her want to giggle. It almost made her forget the painful, very unnecessary conversation she had just had with Liam. Almost. "What are you doing here?" She asked Thomas after he finally loosened his grip on her. "It's like 10 or something." She pointed out to him. Not really an hour to go knocking at people's doors. Not that she really minded. He was her brother after all.
"11 actually." He corrected her. "I wanted to see how you were doing." He answered as he started to make his way into the living room.
"That's nice of you."
"Yeah, well, don't get excited. I'm mainly here to see how my nephew is doing." He teased.
Steffy rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Thomas." Liam greeted him.
"Hey, Liam." He greeted back.
"It's nice of you to come by."
"Yeah, I thought I'd check on my nephew." Thomas replied before turning to Steffy. "So how is he?" He inquired.
"Okay. You both need to stop referring to my child with the masculine gender." Steffy warned her boyfriend and her brother. "There is a fifty percent chance that this baby is a girl." She reminded them caressing her stomach.
Thomas chuckled. "Okay. Whatever. Whatever this baby's gender, he… she… will have all my love." He promised.
She smiled.
"So how are you?!"
"I'm good." Steffy nodded. "We are good." She amended.
"Really?"
"Really." She asserted.
"Liam? You confirm that?" Thomas asked.
"I do." Liam nodded. "She's fine. She's great. So is the baby." He answered. "Just look at her, isn't she glowing?" He asked gesturing to Steffy.
Thomas turned to look at his sister. She did look glowing. She was obviously happy. He didn't know what was to thank for that: her pregnancy or Liam? Probably both.
"Yeah, she is." He acknowledged a glint in his eyes, smiling at her. She smiled back at him. "Mom told me you had an echography today."
"Yeah. Yeah, I did." She replied moving towards the table in the living room. She picked up a photograph of her echography and handed it to her brother.
Thomas' eyes widened at the fetus. "Is that…"
"Yeah… That's your nephew." Steffy answered before he could finish. "Great! Now you have me doing it!" She exclaimed once she realized she had just referred to her unborn baby as a "he".
Both Liam and Thomas laughed. Steffy shook her head but couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips.
"What exactly am I looking at though?" Thomas asked, perplexed, his brows furrowed. "Aside from your uterus obviously." He joked, earning a slap from his sister.
"That's the head." Liam stepped in pointing at something on the echography. "And those are the toes."
"No, honey, it's the opposite." Steffy corrected.
"Really?" Liam frowned and tilted his head to take a better look at the photograph. "That looks like toes to me."
"Yeah, to me too." Thomas agreed.
Steffy let out an aggravated sigh. "Well, then, that's settled: when this baby is born, I'll be in charge of putting on the socks."
Liam and Thomas exchanged an astonished and surprised look before they burst out laughing.
"That seems like a good idea." Thomas said before returning his attention to the echography in his hand. He shrugged. "The baby looks fine to me anyway."
"That's because he… she is." Steffy asserted, and Thomas laughed at her stumbling. He was positive Steffy was carrying a baby boy. He just knew it. However, he wouldn't really mind if it turned out to be a girl. He grew up with two little sisters, so he knew how to take care of one.
"So am I." Steffy continued, stroking her stomach, a small smile dancing at the corner of her lips. Then, she laced her fingers with Liam's and promised, "We're all doing great."
Thomas smiled back at her and nodded. "I'm happy that you're happy."
"Can I fix you something?" She offered, and then considered what exactly they had in store. "Um, I think we have an egg left…" She looked at Liam. "…and maybe two tomatoes and some lettuce?" She and Liam bit back a laugh while Thomas shook his head at and openly mocked them.
"Really?"
She smiled, obviously finding this situation funny. "I'm sorry. I was supposed to buy some groceries, but…" She confessed, but Thomas readily cut her off.
"Let me guess. You had work." He gave her an unsurprised look, and she frowned at him. "You don't really understand the notion of taking it easy, do you?" He rhetorically asked.
"Neither do you." She spat.
"I'm not pregnant." He retorted with a clever smirk and raised his eyebrows at her.
"Okay." Liam's voice put an end to the quarrel. "This isn't helping with the situation. Thomas, we can order a pizza or something." He suggested.
"No, thanks, I'm good." The Forrester man shrugged the proposition off as he moved to sit on the couch.
"Are you sure?" Steffy asked.
"Yeah, I already ate."
"Well, we do have beer…" She raised a brow at him.
"That sounds nice, thanks." He nodded.
She was on her way to the kitchen when a cellphone started ringing in the main bedroom. "I should probably get that. Liam, can you…?" She started to ask, but he beat her to it by standing up and heading towards the kitchen.
"Thanks!" She said already out of sight.
"So, Liam, how are you?" Thomas asked. "How are you getting accustomed to this pregnancy?"
"I'm good. I'm getting used to it." Liam returned with two beers and handed one to Thomas. "To your sister's mood swings too."
Thomas laughed. "Haha. Hormones."
"Yep."
"She's not the easiest person to live with, is she?"
"Not every day." Liam responded. "But honestly, neither am I. And I mean… I think we work pretty well together."
"Good answer." Thomas smiled before drinking a gulp from his beer.
"Thank you." Liam took a sip as well. He didn't want Thomas to think he was just serving him a line though, so he added, "I mean it."
"Oh, I hope so." Then, out of blue, he dared to ask, "Did you talk to Hope recently?"
Liam almost threw up and dropped his beer at the unexpected question. "Um, not real –yes, actually." He amended. "I ran into her before she left for Paris, and we talked for a minute."
Thomas nodded. "About nothing in particular?" He did some further inquiring.
"No, not really. I just asked her how she was doing. I hadn't spoken to her in a while." Liam explained, obviously letting out the part where their lips fortuitously met.
In fact, he didn't understand why he was having this conversation with Thomas at all. Liam felt as if he was being interrogated and his intentions were being questioned. As a matter of fact, that's a feeling he had been getting for a while, and that was rather ridiculous because at the end of the day, Steffy was the only one he had to answer to. Not Thomas. Not anyone else.
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm just wondering where you guys stand?" Thomas answered truthfully.
"I ended things with her!" Liam said, perhaps more abrasively than he should have.
"Yes." Thomas said. "More than once…" He reminded and Liam swallowed. "I'm sorry for being worried about my sister, Liam, but you're not exactly the most determined man I know… or dependable."
"Things are different this time." Liam countered.
"Why?" Thomas raised a brow at him. "Because she's pregnant with your child?" He asked. He didn't even wait for Liam to respond, and pursued, "Steffy deserves so much more than that. She shouldn't have to get pregnant for you to -"
"It has nothing to do with her pregnancy." Liam cut him off. "I made my choice before I even found out. I'm in love with your sister. I love Steffy."
"Yay!" Steffy said happily returning from the bedroom. "That's what a girl likes to hear!"
She wrapped her arms around Liam from behind and kissed his temple.
"Who were you on the phone with?" Thomas inquired.
"Mom." She answered simply getting on Liam's lap. "You guys know that you don't have to check in on me every single hour of the day, right?"
"We know." Thomas said, and then teased her, "We just love bugging you."
"Haha-ha." She laughed sarcastically causing Liam to chuckle beneath her. "What were you two talking about anyway?" She eyed Liam more specifically.
She suspected that her brother had been giving her boyfriend a hard time before she interrupted them, and she didn't like that. She didn't want Liam feeling as though he was not trusted. Yes, they had had their fair share of issues, and although it pained her to admit, she still had some reservations about Liam and who his heart belonged to –hence her refusing his proposal –but that was between her and Liam exclusively, and she didn't want members of either of their family meddling. She would have to have a chat with Thomas about that.
"I was just telling your brother how good we are together and how much I love you." Liam answered gazing into her eyes.
She leaned down and kissed him gently.
"To you guys." Thomas raised his beer to Liam.
Liam picked up his beer and clinked it with Thomas'. "To Steffy."
/
After making sure the door was closed and turning off all the lights in the kitchen and the living-room after Thomas left, Steffy entered their bedroom. She cautiously approached Liam who was scratching his leg at the edge of the bed and sat beside him.
"Hey…" She ran a swift hand in his soft hair before she asked him, "You okay?"
"Yeah." He answered sullenly.
Steffy stoked the hair at the nape of his neck. "We okay?"
"Mmmhh." He hummed.
"You want to try that with a little more conviction?" Her thumb moved to brush along his stubbly jawline.
He smiled slightly. He turned to look at her. "We are okay." He said in an effectively much more convincing voice.
She leaned in to press a tender kiss upon his forehead before she returned to her soothing caresses across his face. She ceased her movements and spoke, "I don't want you to think that I don't want to marry you, Liam. Because I do. More than anything." She removed her hand from his face. "But I won't until you want it just as badly as I do."
"You can't think that I proposed to you solely because you're pregnant."
"That's not what I said."
Liam eyed Steffy carefully as though he was trying to read her mind. Finally, he asked, "Is that what you think?"
"No!" Her wonderful green eyes immediately snapped to his at that. It almost pained Liam sometimes how beautiful Steffy was. "No. Of course not!" She denied vigorously. "Liam, I know that you love me."
He released a breath he didn't know he was holding. At least, that was a given. He gazed deeply into her eyes as his heart spoke to her, "I do love you."
Her lips formed a warm smile. "And I love you."
She pressed her forehead to his, and he was the one to close the gap between them.
The soft, tender, comforting caresses and kisses turned more urgent as the glowing ember between them flared up into a burning fire. Steffy's right hand slid from the side of Liam's neck to his broad shoulders. He ran his tongue along her lower lip seeking access, and a moan escaped her when she let him in and their tongues met.
Liam's hand traveled from her face to her rib and side passing by her chest. His fingertips brushed her breast through the thin fabric of her shirt eliciting a gasp out of her. She nipped at his upper lip, and they both moaned into the kiss. He brought up the hem of her sleepover a little and caressed the sensitive skin of her hip as she fervently ran her hand though his hair and tugged at it.
They only pulled away to rid Steffy of her slipover. Liam slowly lay her down on the bed and got on top of her. His kisses were tender and passionate at the same time. Their tongues battling one another sent electricity coursing through their bodies. Liam's lips deserted Steffy's to attack her luscious neck. He covered her skin with kisses and sucked that spot right where her skull met her neck. She bit her lower lip to repress a moan. His hand went back up her leg and squeezed her thigh igniting a fire in Steffy.
He knew exactly how to turn her on, and he loved that only he did.
The warmth of his body was blazing around her, messing with her senses, stirring a fire in her. His hands went even further up her thigh, and the back of his forefinger grazed her panties. Her breathing grew jerkier at the touch. "Mmmhh…" He moaned as he felt the moisture there. "So wet…"
"Only for you." Steffy purred into the shell of his ear before playfully taking a bite of his external ear.
That never failed to drive him mad. She took advantage of his growl and his momentary lack of control to push him on his back and reverse their roles getting on top of him.
Liam's hand landed on her thigh.
She stared into his deep brown eyes, and tears welled up in her own green ones. She felt her heart constrict painfully in her chest as she saw all the love he held for her reflected in Liam's gaze. She never doubted Liam's love for her, or how happy she made him, but tonight, in that instant, seeing it so clearly, perhaps clearer than she ever had before… she wanted to cry. She never knew he could love him as much as she loved him. And God did she love him! He was her love, her world, her life, her soul. He was her everything.
She never wanted him to doubt just how much he meant to her, not even for a second. She realized she had hurt his feelings tonight by refusing her proposal, but that didn't by any means call into question her love for this man. Nothing ever could.
"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" Her unshed tears were audible in Steffy's voice.
As his only response, Liam pulled Steffy into the most tender, the most passionate, and the most romantic kiss she had ever been given.
They spent a large part of the night expressing their sincere and profound feelings for each other.
I wish you very happy holidays, and I hope you have a great time with your family/friends. God bless you.
Please leave a review -more elaborate that "Pls update soon". Let me know your thoughts!
See you next year!