Page 83 of A Little Complicated

“I still care about you, Mav.”

Panic flashes in his eyes, but it’s replaced with resignation almost as quickly. With a soft shake of his head, he breathes out, “Don’t say that.”

“Yeah, well, menotsaying it hasn’t exactly changed my feelings over the last few months either, so…”

“Ophelia—”

“Can we please talk for once? Like, actually talk?”

When he stays quiet, I push, “Last night, before we…” I lick my lips. “Before we kissed, Archer and I fought, and we kind of took a break.” Taking a deep breath, I add, “And the crazy part is…I haven’t felt torn up about it. How messed up is that, Maverick? Your brother and I break up, and I’m okay with it?”

“Ophelia—”

“I’m gonna make the breakup final.” The words feel cleansing almost. Cathartic, maybe. Like they’ve been on the tip of my tongue ever since I witnessed Maverick’s eyes flaring with heat when I was lying out in the hot sun. Hell, even before. I’ll always love Archer. I know I will. But he deserves more than a girl still hung up on her ex—even when he knows about said reservations—and this isn’t fair to him. I need to see where things go with Maverick. For real this time. It’s like we’ve been dancing around each other for years.Years.And he’s always been too much of a coward to see it through. Even when we finally dipped our toes in the possibility of something real between us, he bailed, and I don’t know why. But I don’t even care about the reason anymore. Not when it’s clear he hasn’t let me go, either. The push and pull over the past few weeks? It means something. I know it does. And I’m done hiding. Done running. Done waiting. Done playing this stupid game.

“Did you hear me, Mav?” I ask. “Archer and I are finished dating.”

His expression shuts down almost instantly. Like he’s finally chosen to pick a side when all he’s ever done is walk the line, teasing me, toying with me, playing with the idea of what we could have if we simply…tried.

“Don’t,” he orders, giving me his back and taking the short set of stairs to his six-pack waiting for him. When he pulls a beer out and pops the lid off, I almost laugh.

“Seriously? You’re drinking right now? Classy, Mav.”

“Never claimed to be the classy twin, Opie,” he mutters against the rim of his bottle as he brings it to his lips.

It isn’t the first time he’s said it, but he’s right. He’s never been anything but himself. Even when it makes him an ass.

Squaring my shoulders, I announce, “Archer deserves to know I’m still interested in you. I’m tired of stringing him along. It isn’t fair to him.”

“Then stop being interested in me.”

I grab his arm, attempting to make him actually look at me, but when he does, I wish I hadn’t. Because the indifference in his eyes? It fucking burns. Making me feel like a crazy person. An obsessed person. A freaking stalker who’s fabricated every single interaction between us, turning it into something it isn’t. Like attraction. Connection. Something real. Something worth fighting for.

As if I’ve been scalded, I let him go, allowing my hand to fall. “Are you serious right now?”

“Breaking up with Archer is a mistake.”

“How can you say that?”

“Just because I haven’t been seeing anyone else doesn’t mean you should break up with Archer. You and me? It’s…it’s not in the cards, Ophelia.” His jaw sets. “You don’t belong with me.”

The sharpness of his words leaves me sick, but I shove the feeling aside, refusing to give in or back down. Not again.

“Bullshit,” I spit. “I belong with who Iwantto belong with.”

“Trust me. I wish it was that simple, but I—youcan’t…” His Adam’s apple bobs. “You can’t control everything, Lia.”

“You mean I can’t controlyou,” I conclude.

He shakes his head as if he’s talking to a toddler. “You don’t get it. You and Archer are…you’re perfect together.”

“Are you serious right now?” I repeat, shaking my head, convinced I’m actually going crazy. “Mav, you kissed me.”

“I also said it was a mistake,” he mumbles, bringing the beer back to his lips.

“Look, I love Archer. I do. He’s amazing and sweet and kind and patient and every other great quality you could want in a guy. But—”

“No.” He lowers the beer bottle to his side, his muscles bunched beneath his T-shirt as he faces me fully. “No buts. That’s it. He has every quality you could want in a guy and can give you the future you want. There. The end.”

---