Page 56 of My Favorite Mistake

“Yes, sir.”

The Captain gave Connor a long, hard stare, and Connor clenched his jaw as discreetly as he could. The disdain and disappointment were palpable, and Connor would show up at his parents’ house sober one of these days, but once the Captain left tonight, Connor was going to chug whiskey like his life depended on it.

The Captain dipped his chin at Liza. “Have a good evening, Miss Hardin.”

She offered a small wave. “Thank you, sir. You, too.”

The Captain nodded again and stepped around Connor, the crowds parting like the Red Sea to let him through.

Connor watched the front door out of the corner of his eye. When the Captain disappeared down the sidewalk, he exhaled loudly, grabbed his drink, and downed it. He gave a high-pitched whistle to snag Luke’s attention and twirled his finger in the air. Liza took a step close to him as he downed the second shot. He raised his arm to order another one, and she placed her hand on his.

“Let’s go for a walk.”

“Nope,” he clipped.

“Connor—”

“Don’t.” He whipped his head around to look at her. Her face was fucking full of pity. Godfuckingdamn it. “Don’t do that. Don’t look at me like that. Don’tthere, thereme. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” Her hand was still on his arm. She slid it across his skin and onto his lower back, as if intending to draw him close to her.

She was way too smart to do something so damn stupid.

Connor took a step back, grabbing her wrist and flinging it off him. “Don’t fucking touch me, Liza. You haven’t been my girlfriend for a long fuckin’ time, so I definitely don’t need you mollycoddling me or some shit now.”

Liza looked like he may as well have slapped her face. Her throat bobbed, and a forced smile briefly tugged and released the corners of her mouth.

“Sorry,” she said, her voice barely carrying over the music.

With that, she stepped away from him and made her way back to the table. Brennan and Jimmy looked at her with concern as she appeared to offer an explanation, picking up the tablet and her purse. Jimmy gave her a dad-style squeeze and then kissed the back of her hand before giving it a pat. Brennan stood up, holding her arm while he peered at her face, and she said something else. Midway through her sentence, Brennan furrowed his brow and then placed the back of his hand against her forehead as if checking for a fever. He cast a glance across the bar and looked directly at Connor for a second before looking back at Liza and retracting his hand.

From the looks of it, Liza seemed to be blaming her obvious impending departure on suddenly not feeling well. Brennan’s quick look at Connor made it seem like he wasn’t buying it any more than Connor was. Nevertheless, Brennan wrapped one arm around her in a hug, said something in her ear, and then kissed her cheek. Liza forced a smile before slipping away from him, and then dropped her chin way low as she snaked her way through the crowd and slipped out the door.

Connor watched her walk down the sidewalk on the other side of the windows. She touched the corner of her eye and dabbed her nose with the tissue.

Fuck.

But it was better this way. Obviously. Connor wasn’t good for her. He never had been.

“Hey, Sarge.” Brennan was suddenly at Connor’s side. “You all right? I saw the Captain was—”

“Fuck off, Riley.” The words leaped from Connor’s lips without warning and didn’t stop there. “Will you just back the fuck off for once?” He flippantly gestured at the windows Liza had walked past. “Y’know, Liza’s out there getting a cab, so why don’t you just get in your fancy-ass car and take her home with you, because I know you want her. I know you’ve been cozying up to her like this just so you can fuck her and throw her away like all your other sluts.” He shrugged sardonically. “I honestly don’t give a fuck. I’m worthless to her anyway.”

The muscle in Brennan’s jaw pulsed as he absorbed the vitriolic words Connor knew were fueled by anger and totally uncalled for—just like what he’d said to Liza.

“You know what, Sarge?” Brennan stepped toe to toe in front of Connor and angled his head, eyes flashing. “I think Iwilldo that since she obviously doesn’t mean enough to you to get the fuck over yourself and stop pulling this shit with her.” He took a step back. “You’re a capital dick to her, and it’s getting old.”

He started to step away but immediately turned back to Connor. “Maybe I’ll fuckingmarry her.If any woman in the worldis worth marrying, it’sher. And you know I fucking could if I wanted to.” He pointed at the windows. “I could walk out of this bar and claim her as mine foreverif I wanted to.” He poked his index finger into Connor’s chest. “But what’s more is thatyoucould, Sarge.” Brennan gave a defeated shrug. “But you won’t because you insist upon shutting out the people who love you instead of letting them help you.”

And with that, Brennan shouldered his way through the crowd and marched out the door. Through the windows, Connor saw him jog to catch up with Liza where she was standing and waiting next to the curb. He said something to her, she said something back, he said something else, and then she came apart at the seams, shouting something at him before she covered her face and cried with abandon. Brennan drew her into his arms, holding her in what may as well have been a lovers’ embrace.

And that was completely fucking fitting. He hurt the two people he loved the most because his fucked-up side had a hair trigger, and nowit appeared to be within the realm of possibilities that those two people would find a deeper kind of love with each other.

What a way to end a night that had started out so great.

Although, ruining things that started out as great seemed to be Connor’s specialty.

He turned away from the sight of them and went back to the bottomless glass of whiskey.

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