Page 53 of If Tomorrow Never Comes

“Let him. I’ll kill every single one of those motherfuckers the second they step foot on this yacht. I’m not leaving you to play house with Diego just to put Geraldo’s mind at ease.”

I scoff at him. “We aren’t playing house.”

“Sure looks that way. From the moment you stepped onto the helipad you were laughing and smiling with him. Then he brings you fucking cookies and tea as you curl up with a book and a blanket…dressed in—”, his eyes travel to my exposed skin, the lace-lined satin nightgown, then back up to meet my eyes. “—That.”

“Conor is here?” I drop my hand and cross my arms over my chest.

“Don’t change the subject, Madison.”

“I’m asking a question,” I snap. “Lexi said he was with you. She obviously wasn’t told you were here.”

He nods and stands, starting to pace the floor in front of me. “It was supposed to be kept quiet. When Killian and I talked, he agreed he was wrong and wanted to send me over to keep an eye on you from a distance. It was never my intention to barge in here—unless I thought something was wrong. Killian has our yacht anchored a few miles away. I saw you land, I kept my distance, but then you never called me.And then,I hear from Conor that Lexi spoke to you and ya both had been crying on the phone. To top it all off, you didn’t respond when I said if you didn’t elaborate on what was complicated, I would come here and burn this yacht to the ocean floor—preferably with Diego in it.”

“What? I didn’t get that message. I tried calling you and it didn’t even ring or go to voicemail. Regardless, you’re acting impulsively. You and Killianbothare. Killian is on his way with Selena and more backup.Wewill do this. Liam, you need to go. You can’t be here. I can’t lose you.Please. Please just go. And if I can’t convince you to go back to Ireland, then stay on that yacht and don’t you dare think of snooping around here. What if Geraldo is already here? How fucking stupid.” I shake my head, and rub my eyes until I see stars. With each breath, my anger builds more and more.

“So you’re mad at me now? Madison, I took a fucking bullet for you—and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I’m not going anywhere. You don’t need to worry about me. Letmeworry about me. Tell Diego I’m staying.”

“No.”

Liam stops pacing and turns to me with shock written all over his face. “You have feelings for him. That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s not. It’s about you sticking to the plan to keep everyone, including me, safe.”

He takes a few strides towards me, before capturing my face in his hands and tilting my chin up. His eyes search mine, desperate for them to reveal what I said as the truth. What he sees there must not have been good enough. Liam steps back, dropping his hands like he’s been burned, and lowers his head; shaking it.

“I can’t do this again, Madison. I’ve done it once and it nearly broke me. If you don’t want me anymore, I need you to tell me. Perhaps I rushed into asking you to marry me. Quite frankly, I think it scares you,” he sighs. “Know that I’ll always protect you. I will always watch over you. But I can’t always wonder if your mind is on another man. It’s me and you, baby.Justme and you. There’s no place for my brother.Or Diego.”

He doesn’t give me the chance to explain or respond. The door pops open and he walks out.

“Liam, wait,” I shout, running after him.

A shirtless Diego steps out of the door behind me in a pair of black sweatpants that hang low on his hips.Ass.Put a shirt on. I rush up the stairs, taking them two at a time. When I reach the top, Liam is walking across the deck and over to the hydraulic platform at the back of the ship. That’s where I spot Conor waiting in the dinghy.

Diego catches up to me and wraps a hand around my waist, but I shake him off angrily.

“Liam!” My voice cracks with the pressure building in my chest.

Liam turns around and throws his hands in the air. Tears line his red-rimmed eyes. “I think we both need some time to figure this out. Actually,youneed time to figure out whatyou want. I’ll stay away, like you asked. I’ll respect it. I just needed to make sure you were okay. You’ll always be my priority, Madison. I just hope I’m still yours.”

He hops onto the boat and salutes the staff member who is operating the platform with his middle finger. The platform lowers into the sea the same way my heart sinks into my stomach watching him leave.

As I approach the back of the yacht, they start the engine and take off. Liam doesn’t bother to turn around. The two of them head off into the night towards the other yachts lighting up the distance. The dinghy slowly becomes engulfed by the night, hardly visible, yet I stand there and stare at the faint white stern light until my eyes can no longer track them.

Diego’s hand comes down on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You alright,Mariposita?”

“No,” I squeak as the tears start to collect, threatening to spill over.

He pulls me to him until I’m tucked under his chin and he’s rocking me in his arms. I wrap mine around his waist and bury my face into his bare chest.

“I wasn’t very nice to him. He didn’t deserve for me to react the way I did,” I sob.

Diego’s hand soothingly pets my hair and he shushes me. “He knew what he was doing when he came here. You specifically asked him not to, and he did it anyway. He let his fear of losing you override his decision to stay away.”

I sniffle and shake my head against his warm chest. The steady rhythm of his heart beats against my cheek.

“I think we just broke up.Fuck, I think we just broke up.” Salty tears drip onto Diego’s chest as mine heaves with anxiety.

Diego backs us up to a lounge chair and sits, pulling me down with him until my ass is on the chair between his legs and my head rests on his shoulder. My bare legs drape over his thigh, his hands resting respectfully on my hip. This isn’t romantic or sexual in any sense. He isn’t his normal gloating and dickish self.

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