Chapter 15

Matt felt a hundred pounds lighter as he walked back downstairs to collect Liam. He still had to work out a better way to juggle home and work life, but at least he still had the latter. He wasn't sure if Jordan making him sweat out the day before meeting with him was part of his strategy to get Matt to decide what he was going to do. But knowing Jordan Wethersby, he suspected everything was planned.

When he arrived at Lauren's desk she was on a phone call but Taylor was there talking to Liam who was sitting on top of the cubicle. Her briefcase and coat were by her feet so he guessed she was on her way out and had seen Liam, rather than her waiting around for Matt. It was nothing he didn't deserve, he thought derisively.

"Unca!" cried Liam happily when he saw Matt.

"Hey, buddy." Matt caught his hand and held onto it. He looked over at Taylor. "Hi."

He had expected her to still be angry at him after their argument, but to his surprise her face bore no animosity towards him.

"How did it go?" she asked evenly, as if he hadn't just come from a meeting that would decide his fate at WPK.

"It went just fine," he replied, feeling a little sheepish for everything he'd said to her the previous day.

"I'm glad."

"Do I have you to thank for that?"

"I didn't ask my father for any special favors, if that's what you mean," she replied cautiously. "I wouldn't do that… not unless you asked me to."

"Well, that's good to know. You never know what I'll manage to screw up in the future."

Taylor smiled briefly before turning her attention to Liam. "I'm glad I got to see you, Liam. But I have to go now, so bye-bye."

"Bye-bye," Liam repeated.

"Wait, where are you going?" Matt asked quickly.

"It's Friday night. I'm going home."

Matt nodded, suddenly feeling like he was asking her out for the first time. "Liam and I are going to the beach tomorrow."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Matt looked at Liam and shook his hand lightly. "D'you think maybe you'd want to come with us?"

Taylor looked at Liam too while she contemplated her answer. "I'd like that."

"Good." Matt smiled at her which made her cheeks flush. "We're leaving early so maybe it's better if you stayed over."

"I guess I could do that." Taylor kept her eyes trained on Liam so her broad smile was for him. "Do you want to go home, Liam?"

He held out his arms to her, and Taylor hesitated only slightly in surprise before scooping him up. She hugged him tightly for a moment before relaxing her arms. Matt just watched them for a moment, before picking up her briefcase and coat and retrieving Liam's toy bag from Lauren's desk. He gave his assistant, who was still on the phone, an assured thumbs up sign then waved goodnight. She sighed in relief and waved back.

Matt and Taylor walked slowly to the elevator, Liam content in Taylor's arms. They said nothing, neither of them wanting to disturb the moment. As they stepped inside the elevator, Taylor caught sight of her father watching them from a few feet away, where he stood conversing with one of the partners. She helped Liam press the basement button while Matt looked up and nodded at Jordan.

"Goodnight, sir," he said.

Jordan smiled as the elevator doors closed.

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They didn't talk much that night. It had never been the strongest part of their relationship – that had always been physical. But when Matt fell asleep, his body spooned next to Taylor's, he felt more at peace than he had for years. He also slept more soundly than he had since long before Jessica died. Matt woke to find an empty pillow beside him. He rolled over slowly, opening one eye to look at his bedside clock to find it was not much past 7AM, and yet he felt refreshed like he had slept for days.

He heard Liam laughing from the kitchen before he saw them. His bare feet made no noise as he approached them, and he peered around the hallway to find Liam in his highchair eating Cheerios and banana while Taylor poured herself a mug of coffee from the freshly brewed pot. She was making funny faces at him to make him giggle.

"Hey, you two," Matt said.

"Good morning," Taylor said brightly. "Uncle Matt finally woke up!"

Liam grinned up at Matt when he ruffled his hair, and the boy selected a piece of mashed banana to feed him.

"Thanks, buddy," said Matt, eating the unappetizing morsel from Liam's fingers.

Taylor made a sympathetic face and handed him the coffee to wash down the taste. Matt took a sip and then sidled up to her.

"Good morning," he repeated in a low, enticing voice before he kissed her lazily. "You should have woken me up."

"You looked too peaceful. Plus you were snoring loud enough I figured you'd wake yourself up eventually."

"Please, you wore me out."

Taylor looked amused. "So it's my fault?"

"That's right." Matt started kissing her more passionately but after a few seconds Taylor turned her face away, looking pointedly at Liam. Matt followed her gaze. "He won't mind. Will you, buddy?"

"Maybe not, but let's not warp him too young."

Matt groaned slightly then leaned back to look at her. A slow, beatific smile spread across his face which caused Taylor to grin.

"What?"

"Thank you for making Liam breakfast," he said.

"You're welcome. Cheerios and banana are my specialty."

Matt kept staring at her, his gaze unwavering.

This time she laughed. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just… I love you."

Taylor looked slightly startled but she tried to cover it. "You love me? For cutting up a banana?"

"Yes, for cutting up a banana," he replied sarcastically, then his expression was sincere once more. "I love you."

"I love you too," Taylor said simply.

Matt took a step closer, then, without taking his eyes off her, he told Liam to look away. He kissed her deeply, folding her into his arms. Liam started giggling again.

"Wow," gulped Taylor when they broke apart.

Matt caught his breath. "Yeah."

"Okay."

"That was kind of a big moment, huh?" said Matt.

"Yeah."

"You okay?"

Taylor nodded weakly. "You?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Matt grinned again. He hadn't planned on saying it, but now he had he realized he should have told her months ago. "So, what now?"

Taylor looked distractedly around the kitchen. "Cheerios?"

It wasn't exactly what he had meant, but he knew they could work that out later.

"Only if I can have them with banana too," said Matt.

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FIN (for now)