Page 151 of A Little Complicated

With a sad smile, I blink away the burn behind my eyes and rest my head in his hands. “Did you really think you had to ask?” I whisper. “It’s always been Goose and Maverick, right?”

“Lia…”

“Something as silly as having HCM isn’t going to get rid of me so easily, Maverick.” A sad chuckle slips out of him, and I shake my head. “Not a chance. But I’m going to tell you something, and I don’t know how much you’ll like it.”

“What is it?” he asks.

“I’m not going to lie to your family, Mav. I’m not going to keep this from them. Not when they deserve to know.”

His palms fall from my face, but I grab them just as quickly, lacing our fingers together while refusing to let him go.

Looking down at our entwined hands, he murmurs, “Give me some time. Please?”

“Fine. But if they ask? If something happens? If they even give me a questioning look, I will scream it from the rooftops. We clear?”

His head falls in defeat. “Yeah, Opie. I hear you.”

“Good.” With another sniff, I let his hands go and wipe the rest of my tears from my cheeks, drying them and smoothing out the wet cotton against his strong chest and shoulder from my earlier meltdown. “I think I ruined your shirt.”

He looks down at the mess as his mouth lifts at the edges. “Yeah, you kind of did.”

“You should probably change.”

“I don’t care about my clothes, Ophelia. I only wanna hold you.”

He is holding me, but I don’t point it out. Honestly, I kind of want to crawl beneath his skin and stay there for the rest of my life. The rest ofhislife.

I know I should act normal. I know I should pretend everything’s okay, or it’ll only make him second guess telling his parents even more.

But I can’t help it.

I’m drained. Physically spent. Emotionally spent. I’ve been put through the wringer. But Mav’s had it so much worse, so what do I have to complain about? My bottom lip quivers as I nod and choke back tears, pulling a sad smile from the man in front of me.

“Come here, baby.”

He pulls me closer and tilts my chin up, brushing his lips against mine.

It’s a goodbye kiss. A welcome home kiss. An I-missed-you kiss. An I’m-going-to-miss-you kiss. It’s toe-curling and heart-melting. It’s soft and slow. It’s everything a girl could want in a kiss and everything a girl could hate too. Because it’s a promise. A warning. An apology.

It’s Maverick.

The good.

The bad.

And the ugly.

And I’ve never craved anything more.

46

MAVERICK

Neither of us heard from Archer. I didn’t expect us to. He was an ass last night. His actions were so unlike him, he’s probably at home licking his wounds and drowning in self-loathing. He should be. I’m pissed at what he said to Ophelia. The way he made her feel.

If he wants to blame someone, he should blame me.

We’ll get through it, though.

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