Page 100 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

Liam’s stamp now imprinted the only home she’d ever known. Tennis shoes to the left of the entrance, a wallet and keys sat on the small table by the door. A single coffee mug rested on the corner of the sink, a large stand mixer that looked quite expensive was on the counter. There were massive looking free weights by the coffee table. The visual image of Liam pumping iron and sweating wasn’t something she needed. She was trying to mentally detach herself.

Apparently Liam wasn’t too keen on unpacking. The entire wall separating the living room from the main bedroom was lined with stacked boxes. Each one labeled with thick, black marker indicating the contents.

Macy had lived up here with her father until just a few months ago when she’d gotten her own home. But this simple space would always be hers, no matter who else lived here.

Her eyes drifted to the wood trim around the door. The pencil lines and dates had her reaching out, trailing her fingertips over the visible memory. Such innocent times, such sweet nostalgia.

“I didn’t invite you in.”

Macy glanced over her shoulder, blinked back the moisture and shrugged. “You didn’t lock the door, either.”

Liam stood in the doorway of the room she used to call her own. If he noticed her getting all teary, he didn’t say anything. Macy pushed her hair away from her face, cursing herself for leaving it down today. Ponytails were her best friend.

“I’m not being difficult,” she started. “I would be here no matter the tenant. I don’t expect you to do any repairs and I actually meant to replace the entire sink and faucet before you moved in, but I didn’t have time. That was the only thing I didn’t get to when we renovated.”

“I don’t need anything new, so don’t replace it on my account. I hope I’m not here very long.”

Macy froze. He’d leave Haven? His family? “What?”

Liam muttered a curse and turned toward the kitchen, which was only separated from the living area by a large center island. “Nothing. Just go on, Macy. I have things to do.”

He turned his back to her and started pulling things from the cabinet and the refrigerator. Macy wasn’t going to beg him to explain himself, nor was she going to beg him to let him fix the damn sink.

There was so much more going on between them than landlord/tenant. Whether he wanted to admit anything or not, Liam had feelings for her. Granted most of the time it was disdain, but Macy could read men pretty well and she honestly thought he was masking his true feelings.

At least, that’s what she told herself because the thought that Liam truly thought of her as annoying and forgettable was too hurtful. But she had her pride and she damn well wasn’t giving any man power over her. She’d done that once in her life…and it cost her everything.

* * *

Liam waited until the door closed behind Macy. Damn it he felt like an absolute jerk, but he couldn’t have her in his space.

Okay, fine, technically this was hers. He was already reminded over and over of the fact she grew up here, he couldn’t have her physically in this apartment and maintain any form of sanity. Macy was everything he wasn’t and he didn’t need the reminder that she had her entire life all sorted out in perfect detail.

She knew what she wanted and went after her goals with a smile on her face. She’d been raised to be a third generation business owner and she was doing just that. With her brand new house Zach had built, she was thriving.

What shocked Liam, though, was when he’d caught her touching the trim where her growth chart had been recorded. The shimmer in her eyes had rendered him speechless for a second because he’d never seen Macy as anything other than upbeat, or when she was talking to him she was often smart-mouthed. But never sad and Liam knew for certain he never wanted to see her that way again.

Before that moment, he hadn’t thought of how difficult stepping into this apartment would be for her. He’d been thinking of this space as a personal failure, a hit to his pride in coming home and having to stay here. This wasn’t what he wanted, what he planned. He had a great life in Savannah, one he desperately wanted to get back to.

But for Macy, this apartment, the store, and Haven were her entire life. She knew the path she wanted and hadn’t let anything steer her off course.

Bracing his palms on the edge of the island, Liam tried to focus on the recipe he’d thought of earlier today. Giving Macy too much mind time or inner emotions would only lead down a path he sure as hell wasn’t willing to go. Work was what he needed to hone in on so he could figure out how to keep his brothers happy, honor his late sister’s memory, and get out of Haven without damaging already rocky family relationships.

Monday a group of ladies were coming in, apparently spending a week celebrating a bachelorette party. An entire week of pampering, wedding chatter, and who knew what the hell else. Lord help them all. He’d never heard of such a thing, but whatever. Women were odd creatures and he wasn’t about to begin to try understanding them – he had enough of his own issues.

The thought of catering to a group of women celebrating marriage made him cringe, made that bitterness burn deeper in the pit of his stomach. But, just because his relationship didn’t work out, didn’t mean others wouldn’t, right? Besides, Chelsea had dreamed of this exact thing. Had hinged her entire life savings on women coming to Bella Vous to celebrate themselves, relationships with their friends, their families.

Chelsea had taken every bit of money she’d saved and bought the old Civil War era home on the edge of town. Liam and his brothers had no clue what she’d wanted to do with the place and she’d passed away before she could tell them. Their free-spirited sister was gone, but he’d do whatever he could to make sure her vision lived on.

He’d tried to avoid this town at all costs after the accident. He’d actually done a pretty stellar job, but now his family needed him. Liam thought he could just be a financial partner and stay in Savannah, but when he’d asked for time off to help with the renovations and start-up, he’d been given an ultimatum. As much as he wanted to stay in Savannah, even he wasn’t that much of a jerk to turn his back on his family…on Chelsea’s dream.

She may be gone, but she was still the glue that held the family together. When Zach, Sophie, and Liam had been in the accident, Chelsea was the one who kept trying to offer support, to offer advice. When Zach had been sent to prison for a year because of the drinking and driving and all the injuries Liam and Sophie endured, Chelsea had been the one to beg Liam to go visit Zach. Liam hadn’t been able to bring himself to go, hadn’t been so easy to forgive. Still, Chelsea had wanted her family back together, she’d not been able to handle all the tension, the brokenness.

Liam shook off the chunk of time that threatened what he was living for right now. As much as he wanted to help his brothers with Bella Vous, Liam also wanted out. He didn’t like being in this tiny town. He’d gotten so used to being away, had created a life that worked for him. He was too vulnerable, too exposed here where everyone looked at him – at his face – and instantly remembered the accident.

There were just too many emotions associated with this place. Losing his mother at a young age had ruined ever going back to his hometown over an hour away, and the accident when he’d been in his early twenties had put a dark stain on Haven. Being here pushed him way too close to a past he’d outrun – and way too damn close to Macy.

How had he let his soon-to-be sister-in-law talk him into living above Macy’s store? Sophie was a real estate agent for crying out loud. Surely she had a slew of places that were perfect for him. But for a few months he’d been living in Macy’s old apartment, right above where she worked. Thankfully she was usually gone by the time he got home and he had a separate entrance up the back of the building.

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