Page 57 of Awakening

“I’m so sorry, Liv,” he says, pulling me into a hug. “And for the record, I don’t see how it’s possible for anyone to hate you.”

“Trust me, Ethan’s mom does.”

“Then she’s crazy. Why would she blame you for something like that? My mom just keeps saying how she feels so bad for you.”

“Your mom is so sweet.”

“My parents love you. You know that,” he says, kissing me on the top of my head.

“I should also mention that I kind of stole my own car and drove back here tonight without telling Ethan.”

He pulls back and looks at me with wide eyes. “You did what?” he asks with a laugh.

“Yeah.”

“Well, fortunately, I don’t think it actually qualifies as stealing if it’s your car.”

“Then on my way here, a man just appeared in the middle of the highway out of nowhere and disappeared just as fast. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting him. I guess he just took off.”

He rests his hands on my shoulders. “What? Jesus. Are you okay?”

“It’s been a real shit night, Anthony.”

“This guy…what did he look like?”

“Tall, well built, short, dark hair…wavy on top, I think. This might sound a little weird, but the look on his face…it was like he knew me, but it definitely wasn’t friendly.”

“Hmm. I don’t like that at all. Where was Sullivan when you took off?”

“Some guy showed up at his house for an urgent meeting or something…I don’t know. They were in his office when I left.”

“And he doesn’t know about this man in the middle of the highway?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head.

Anthony rests his hands on his hips and raises his eyebrows at me. “I assume we should expect him here any minute?”

“Probably,” I say with a nod.

“You know, Olivia,” he says, placing his hands on my shoulders again, “you don’t owe him anything.”

“Maybe before, but I’m not sure that’s true now. Before dinner, I told him I’d move back in with him.”

“What?” Anthony says, squeezing my shoulders. “No. Liv, no. I’m not letting you do that.”

“I also put my engagement ring back on.” I hold up my hand to show him the sparkling diamond sitting on my ring finger.

His eyes widen and his face drops. “Olivia, why would you do that?”

“It felt like the right thing to do at the time. I saw pictures of us and how happy we were. I saw the baby’s room. I could see our life together. I just wanted to try to be that person.”

Anthony sighs, shaking his head and resting his chin on the top of my head. “Then tell him you changed your mind. Stay with me.” He pulls back to look at me. “You have to know by now how I feel about you. You’ve always been the one that got away. I was stupid to ever let you go.” He rests his forehead to mine as he takes my hands. “I’ve missed you. I still love you, Liv.”

“Anthony,” I whisper as he kisses my forehead then my cheek before he looks at me and leans in, his lips hovering over mine. He’s right here. I know him. I believe him when he says he loves me. But, as his lips begin to lower to mine, my stomach twists and a pain strikes me in the middle of my chest. I place my hand on his chest and lean away from his lips before they touch mine. “Anthony, no. I’m sorry. I can’t.”

With a nod, he backs away and releases me. “I’m sorry. I just thought you were feeling it too.”

With a heavy sigh, I say, “I care about you, Anthony. You’ve been so good to me, but I can’t go there with you. It was very obvious to me today that I had a life with Ethan. I don’t want to hurt anyone, including you.”

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