Page 76 of Lost in You (The Monroes 3)

“I finally snuck back to my room, grabbed a bag, and shoved some of my things in it. I didn’t shower, didn’t do anything else, but got the hell out of there. I never went back.”

“And your mother passed that day.”

Macy closed her eyes. “She had a stroke that morning before I made it home.”

The pain she’d endured, essentially alone, was something no person should ever have to go through. Liam framed her face, realizing she probably felt ashamed of what had happened. He was damn proud she’d fought them off and ran. The possible flip side of that story terrified him.

“You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known,” he told her. When she lifted her lids, those bright eyes pierced his heart. “To keep all of that in—”

“Makes me a coward, Liam. You can’t sugarcoat that.” She blew out a sigh and wiped at her eyes. “I just . . . I couldn’t tell my dad, not then. And when he mentioned me returning to school, I just told him I’d take some time off to help at the store. We settled into a nice routine, and that pretty much brings us up to date.”

She smiled, as if she hadn’t just opened her heart and let him inside the darkest part of her life. The trust she’d instilled in him was humbling. The fact she’d never exposed herself in such a way said so much, and Liam wished he had all the answers. Wished like hell he could see into the future as to what path he should take.

At a loss for words, he nipped at her lips. When she wrapped her arms around him and shifted her body to edge beneath his own, he found himself settled perfectly between her legs.

“Show me again,” she murmured against his mouth. “Show me how perfect this is, how perfect we are.”

Was the answer that simple? Were they perfect for more than just right now? Part of him wholeheartedly believed yes. The other part worried he’d be throwing away everything he’d worked so hard for.

Then there was the call from Sophie with another proposition he hadn’t seen coming.

Pushing all of the doubts from his mind, Liam did as he was ordered. Being with Macy made everything else seem so insignificant, but the reality was, he had goals. He had a plan. And one woman had single-handedly turned his world upside down and made him rethink everything he’d ever wanted.

* * *

Macy stared at the directions once again. She’d done everything Liam had told her to do. Of course he’d be busy at the resort getting various things prepared for the weekend, but she was failing here. Her mac ’n cheese bites looked like burnt turds.

Well, the party was tomorrow afternoon and clearly she was going to have to pull an all-nighter to get this done. And by all-nighter, she meant Liam would just have to suck it up and help her when he got off work. She knew he’d done a few small appetizer things at his place. After much begging and a little bedroom coercing, she’d managed to get him to agree to doing more than he originally intended.

She quickly shot off an SOS text, complete with picture of the round charcoal bites spread out across the wax paper over her island and the counter by her stove. She’d put them in as long as he’d told her to, on the temperature he’d said.

How in the world had this happened to every single batch? She kept thinking the next pan she put in would be better, but no. She’d even turned the temperature down. And actually the final two batches weren’t as burnt, but they didn’t look healthy. Had she not added enough cheese? Enough milk or butter? Wait, she’d totally forgotten the bacon crumbles . . . not that those would help at this point.

There was no way she could pull all of this off. What had she been thinking? She should’ve stuck with pizzas like she’d first thought. Who cared if it was the easy way out? She thrived on the easy way out when it came to the kitchen. And who didn’t like pizza?

When her cell rang, she thought for sure it was Liam ready to make fun of her situation.

The second she saw the name on the screen, though, her heart kicked into high gear. She didn’t even bother wiping off her hands as she lunged for the phone and swiped the screen.

“Hello?”

“Macy, this is Laverne with Children’s Services.”

Macy gripped the counter. “Yes.”

“I have a little girl, age ten months, who was just placed in our care. Her mother was in a car accident and there’s no father in her life. A grandmother on her father’s side is the only other relative, but she’s in another state and we haven’t been able to reach her. Would you be willing to take this girl?”

Nerves, anticipation, worry—they all swirled around in her stomach as she frantically looked for her purse. The back door. That’s where she’d hung it.

“I can meet you right now.” It wasn’t as if she had anything else going on. The food was ruined and she couldn’t move forward without Liam. And she would’ve dropped everything anyway to bring home an abandoned child. “Where do you want me to go?”

Laverne gave specifics and Macy realized she was heading toward the garage with no shoes on. She’d waited for this moment for so long, she wasn’t thinking clearly. Granted, she didn’t want any child to have to enter the system and be torn from parents, but that was a reality.

Laverne said she would discuss more when Macy arrived. Macy hung

up, slid into her favorite pair of cowboy boots, and headed out the door.

So many scenarios raced through her mind. Would this little girl feel safe here? No matter what else was going on, Macy wanted any child she brought in to have a sense of stability and security. Macy had had a wonderful childhood and she only wanted to offer the same to kids in need.

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