More qualities exposed

She excused herself from the main party and wandered toward a quieter corner of the hotel lawn to call Tom. She pulled her phone from her clutch and dialed, her thumb hovering over the screen as she waited for him to pick up.

"Hey," she said when he finally answered. "The ceremony was nice. Very sentimental, I only cried once. How’s the work front?"

"It’s a nightmare," Tom muttered, his voice sounding thin and stressed over the line. "Still grinding through these reports. I wish I could’ve made it, but you know how it is."

"Yeah, I know," she replied, her attention drifting away from the conversation.

That’s when she saw Liam. He had taken off his suit jacket, tossing it over the back of a lawn chair. His dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and he’d rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, exposing his forearms. He was currently in the middle of a rowdy, makeshift football game with three of the young kids of the families.

She watched him lunge to block a pass from a little boy, laughing loudly when the kid stumbled. He crouched down, hands on his knees, shouting instructions and coaching them, his movements agile and effortless. He looked like he was genuinely having fun and the children were loving it too.

"Are you still there?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, sorry," she said, her throat feeling tight. She watched Liam scoop up a little girl who had tripped, lifting her high into the air with a grin. He was gentle, attentive, and clearly a natural with the children. Seeing that side of him made something in her well up a little. "I will call you after we have been fed. Hope Your day improves" she said. She put away her phone and went to chat to Carrie again.