Page 83 of Lost in You (The Monroes 3)

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Punching with one arm was a bitch, but that didn’t stop Liam from beating the hell out of his bag. He’d been in the ER so long, he’d missed going to Phil’s party. After he was dismissed with too many stitches, a wrap, and a pissy outlook on his future as a chef, Liam had told Braxton to just drop him off at home.

Home. The second floor of an old building in the main part of town. His “home” was the property of a woman he couldn’t get out of his mind, but he couldn’t let her deeper inside, either.

The pounding on his back door had him freezing. He didn’t want visitors. He sure as hell wasn’t ready to face off with Macy again. He’d been dead set on seeing her after the party, but that was before he’d injured himself. Now he wanted to be left alone with his punching bag and his thoughts.

Unfortunately, the unwanted visitor kept pounding. It couldn’t have been Macy—she would’ve let herself in by now.

He’d barely wrestled a glove onto his good hand earlier. Now he tucked his glove beneath his opposite arm and tugged until he was free. Tossing the glove onto the bed, he headed toward the door as the persistent knocking continued.

As soon as he jerked the door open, he was greeted with his brothers and Brock. Three sets of eyes, angry if he was reading body language correctly, stared back at him. Great. What had he possibly done now? He’d been in the damn ER for hours.

“Oh, good. My day is about to get worse.”

He turned away from the door. No need to invite them in. They’d do what they wanted.

“Count on it,” Zach confirmed as he closed the door behind the posse. “What the hell are you thinking stringing all of us along?”

Liam ignored the pain in his hand and sank down onto the leather sofa. “I’m not in the mood for games, so spit out whatever you really want to say.”

“He wants to know when you’re going to make up your mind about staying or leaving,” Braxton intervened. “Because you told us you were most likely leaving to go back to Magnolias. Then Sophie tells us you have an opportunity to stay here and open your own place, branching off the resort.”

“So what the hell are you doing and why are you so damn secretive?” Zach continued to glare as he practically shouted his question.

Brock stood between Zach and Braxton, his arms crossed over his chest. The anger rolled off Zach, but Brock appeared to be more hurt than anything. Anger Liam could handle, but knowing he was causing pain was a hell of a guilt trip.

“I’m still sorting shit out,” Liam threw back. “Why did you all barge in here to attack?”

“Because Sophie told Macy about the offer at the resort and she said Macy seemed upset.” Zach took a step forward, leaning against the chair opposite Liam. “Clearly whatever you two have going on is a mess if you didn’t even tell her. She deserves more than you jerking her around.”

Yeah, she did. This wasn’t exactly news to him. And this was also the main reason he’d told her they would only be together while he was here. She’d agreed.

“I’m not taking on the extra work at the resort.” He hadn’t known exactly what he was going to do until now. “I’m going to push through with my plans to go back to Savannah.”

There. He’d made a decision. Part of him was relieved, the other part . . . Hell, he didn’t know. Liam was positive no matter what decision he made, he’d have some regrets.

“So that’s it?” Brock asked. “You’re going to leave?”

Liam nodded, ignoring the lump in his throat. “It’s what I’ve always wanted. I came back to help you all out of a bind. You know I never wanted to be here.”

“You made that very clear from the beginning.” Braxton circled the chair Zach leaned against and took a seat. “We just figured you’d have a change of heart and end up staying. Then when this opportunity opened, we thought for sure you’d make the best of it and—”

“And what?” Liam asked. “Forget everything I’d worked for? I did my part. I didn’t let Chelsea down. I didn’t let you guys down. I will stay until I find a proper replacement. I won’t let the resort suffer.”

“It’s more than the resort,” Brock murmured.

Damn, that was low, bringing the kid in on this, Liam thought. Not that he was a kid—he was definitely more adult than most eighteen-year-olds—but still.

“Then you can tell Sophie that you’re not taking this opportunity,” Zach stated. “And you can smooth things over with Macy.”

“Macy

is none of your concern.”

Zach sneered in that typical cocky way of his. “She’s my friend, and when you’re gone she’ll still be my friend. So looks like she’s more our concern than yours at this point.”

Liam fisted his good hand. “I’ll take care of Macy.”

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