The Expansion of the Universe

Forty-Eight | "She knows."

Elijah smiled rather sheepishly. "Yeah, she knows."

Liza's head reeled back as though she'd been smacked. "Wait, what?" Even to her own ears, her voice sounded tinny with surprise.

Elijah widened his dark brown eyes and stuck his lower lip out comically, like a child about to beg for extra candy. "Babe, don't hate me, but Mom knew something was up like, literally the day after I met you that first time. You know how moms are with their super freaky mom-senses, right?"

She quirked a single eyebrow, unimpressed, and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't mind, really. It was almost flattering, that he had told his mom about her so soon after they'd met, and it didn't freak her out like she thought it would, though a nagging voice in the back of her mind whispered, God, the woman must think you're a total psychopath.

The turn her thoughts took must have been obvious on her face, because Elijah was touching the underside of her jaw in the next moment, ensuring her gaze stayed on his. "Hey, Mom is stupid excited for me. I haven't gone into much detail, because it's not my place, but she knows your not in the position to meet her, and she understands. She's just happy for me, like all moms are, and she'll be thrilled to meet you someday, regardless of when that is."

Liza nodded, even though part of her still felt ashamed that she couldn't meet Morgan right away.

She supposed that, on the positive side, it also meant she didn't have to meet his father, who sounded like a total ass from everything she'd heard about the man.

So, there was that.

"How's the restaurant, Zach?" Elijah asked suddenly, but Liza suspected he had realized that she no longer wanted to be the center of attention in the room.

Elijah's brother smiled giddily as Elijah shifted himself into a more comfortable position in the hospital bed. "Doing really well, thanks. You've got to come check it out still, you know. You'd love it. We've got so many different cuts of steaks that they have their own menu."

"Oh, I look forward to becoming acquainted with each one individually, don't worry too much." Elijah joked, and they all chuckled. Austin continued asking questions about Zach's work, but Liza tuned him out, her focus taken by the feel of a cold, leathery dog nose pressing against her wrist.

Shifting, she looked down to find Milo's snout pressed against her arm. She wasn't sure why, at first, until she noted the red marks on the inside of her wrist and realized she must have been scratching at her skin in an effort to soothe herself. She must have started itching when Elijah released her hand to adjust himself in the bed.

As comfortable as she thought she was, there was no doubting that she was running out of time. Soon, she would need to get back to her condo; she had less time than she'd first believed, if Milo was warning her.

Holding back a sad sigh, she decided to wait just a bit longer. She just wanted a few more minutes with Elijah . . .

As if he was privy to her thoughts, Elijah's open palm appeared in her line of sight a moment later, and she looked up to find him watching her with a sweet smile on his face. "Don't let my hand get cold," he chided, his voice low enough that she was the only who heard it.

"Okay," she murmured just as softly, gripping his fingers in hers and squeezing three times, in the same pattern as their knock. Elijah's grin widened, and he returned the action, then lifted her hand and pressed it against his lips. It wasn't a kiss—not really—but the skin-to-skin contact was just as meaningful.

A phone ringing had both her and Elijah startling, turning to look at Zach, who was pulling out his cell phone and pressing it to his ear with a rushed, "Mom?"