Page 24 of Love Under Construction

“You, keep tellingyourselfthat, Liv.” He gently brushes my blonde locks back. “I’ll give you time to grieve. This thing between us isn’t over though. Not by a long shot. I’ve got years of wanting you to make up for.”

Jameson kisses my forehead then walks out of the guest bedroom.

I’m left to replay his words over in my head all night, ‘I’ve got years of wanting you to make up for.’

Chapter 14

Jameson

We’veboth been back in the city for three months. Things with The Mason Center build are full steam ahead, and I’m confident that we’ll be finishing this place up, ahead of schedule. Famous last words and all that, but I’d be willing to bet that as the weather gets cooler, we’ll have this place up and running. Trey did a kickass job keeping things on task and getting the work done while I was back in Georgia, and he still made it home in time to see his daughter’s birth. For all his help, I was sure to send him a bonus and gave him a raise.

Liv, that’s an entirely different ball game.

She’s been avoiding me, except for the rare occasion when she visits the construction site to ‘check-in’ on the progress and usually pitches a fit about something not being her way. I’m entertained by it. My crew? Not so much.

All of her avoidance ends tonight. I’ve put up with it long enough. Now it’s my turn to push her a little.

“Hot date tonight?” Harley asks from his spot in the living room when I walk by.

“Going next door. Don’t wait up,” I chuckle. Freshly showered and armed with Liv’s favorite wine, I’m a man on a mission.

“Right. Good luck with that. I think I’m going to start calling her the Ice Princess,” he jokes.

“Fuck you, man. You know she’s dealing with a lot.”

“She might be, but she’s also yanking you around, and it’s just not cool.”

He might have a point, and I don’t blame him for feeling the way he does but, she’s Liv. And I get why she’s acting the way she is. “I’ll catch you later, man.”

A few short steps out our door, I knock on hers. A seconds pass, I can hear her tiny feet patter across the floor, and Liv’s heavy sigh before the door opens.

“Why are you here Jameson?”

“That is no way to talk to your...friend,” I wink at her and hold up the bottle. “Plus I brought your favorite wine. I figured we could order pizza and watch a movie. Pretend we still hate each other.” I don’t wait for her to invite me in. Instead, I do what I do best and gently brush past her, making myself right at home, like I own the place. I give Peaches the attention I know she wants and head for the kitchen.

“I’m not pretending to hate you. I do hate you.”

“Hmm, that’s not how I remember things. Mind telling me what’s changed?” I ask as I move around her kitchen, picking up the corkscrew from the counter and grabbing two wine glasses.

Liv silently sinks back on the couch and takes the wine glass I’ve offered her. “Let’s say I don’t hate you, where exactly do you think this is going, Jameson? I’ve made some decisions over the last few months, and my life is here now. Once you finish this build, you’ll move on. Where’s that leave us?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were putting up walls again,” I tell her while setting down my glass and tugging her feet into my lap to massage them. Peaches settles right next to the couch, on the floor. Liv’s head tumbles back, and she lets out a moan that has my cock standing at attention. “Let’s get one thing straight; I never said I was going back or moving on. The fact that you think I’d walk away from everything here is absurd.”

“You walked away from your family and your business back in Georgia.”

“Hardly. I expanded my company. It happens, Liv. And, did you or did you not also leave behind your family to come to New York?” I don’t mean my last question the way it sounds, but I can tell by the look on her face it came out all wrong.

There’s no chance for me to defend myself before she speaks up.

“Wow, Jay. Play hardball, why don’t you? Yes, I left my family behind. Not once but twice. Something my mother reminds me of at least once a week when she calls to tell me what a horrible daughter I am.” Her body tenses and she completely pulls away from me.

“That’s not what I meant, Liv. You can’t take everything I say so personally or punish me for the fact that your mother is being so cruel.” It’s a little harsh but true.

“Do you really want to do this? Get involved with someone like me?”

I shoot her a questioning glance.

“I’m not the person either of us thought I was Jameson. Not at all. My mother has basically decided that with my dad out of the way, we don’t need to have a relationship unless I’m willing to come back home and do her bidding. I miss my dad like crazy, and I can’t seem to get through a single day without having a fucking anxiety attack.”

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