Page 93 of Lost in You (The Monroes 3)

“Then why did you come out?”

He came to sit beside her, still in his navy dress pants and navy dress shirt, but the sleeves were rolled up on his forearms. His bandage was much smaller, but he’d still been only using his right hand from what she’d seen. She couldn’t help but wonder how injured he truly was.

“Because you’ve avoided me all day,” he replied.

Too close. He sat entirely too close. The soft breeze sent her hair gliding over her shoulders, tickling her bare skin. The woodsy cologne he always wore enveloped her.

“I’ve been busy,” she informed him, keeping her eyes locked on the dark water. Somewhere the family of ducks were wading around, but unless they came into the path of the moonlight, she couldn’t see them. “I’m about to go home—just wanted some fresh air.”

When she started to get up, Liam placed his hand on her arm. “Don’t go.”

Macy closed her eyes. “We’ve gone all week without this. I don’t have the energy to argue anymore. It’s just time we let go and move on.”

His thumb stroked the inside of her arm, the most sensitive place. “I don’t want to argue, but I’m not leaving town with all of this pain between us, all of this tension.”

She risked a glance his way. “You know when you’re leaving?”

His dark eyes met hers. “I have a couple people I’m talking to about taking over here. They both worked for Magnolias for a time, so I know them.”

Silence settled around them and Macy waited for him to answer her question. He blew out a breath, raking a hand over the back of his neck.

“I’m hoping to be gone within the next two weeks.”

The air rushed from her lungs. That was rather fast. Didn’t the sale of properties take more time?

“I found out my old condo building has another unit that’s opening next week. I have a few changes I want to make at Magnolias so I need to be there to oversee those. The final sale will go through in about fifteen days or so.”

“You’ve been busy,” she murmured. Straightening her legs, Macy leaned back on her hands and willed the hurt to cease. He’d never fully been hers, so how could this hurt so bad?

“I haven’t said anything because I wanted everyone to focus on the weddings. But I’ll tell them Monday.”

Well, at least he’d never lied to her. That was something. Liam had always been up-front and honest about the fact he didn’t want to be here, and whatever he felt for her didn’t override the dream he had of owning his own restaurant.

“Well, congratulations.” Macy pushed off and came to her feet, smoothing her dress down. “I’m heading out.”

She’d managed to take two steps before she stopped and turned back to him. Not surprisingly, he was on his feet.

“I know you want this more than anything, and I’m truly happy for you.” She fisted her hands at her sides and pushed the rest of her thoughts out before she had the chance to change her mind. “But just tell me, did I ever weigh in on your decision? I mean, what we had, did it mean half as much to you as what it did to me?”

In her head the questions didn’t sound so . . . needy. Now that they were out, she cringed. She wasn’t that clingy a woman. Hadn’t she prided herself on control after she’d been nearly raped?

Liam infuriated her because she lost all sense of control whenever he was around. All he did was get into her mind, into her heart, and she was completely lost.

With slow, deliberate steps, he completely closed the space between them. His hands slid up into her hair, the stronger hand gripping a fistful as he pulled her in closer.

“You think this didn’t mean anything to me?” he ground out. “You think leaving is easy for me? Nothing about you has been easy since I came back, Macy. But if I stayed, I’d always wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t taken this chance.”

The way he towered over her, his face so close to hers, his grip on her, had Macy sliding her hands around his waist. She needed to touch him, feel him against her. If this was how they were going to officially part, she needed one last bit of Liam to lock away inside her heart.

“I want to hate you.” She blinked away the tears. She would put up a strong front. She knew this hadn’t been an easy decision for him, but that didn’t make the pain any less. “Part of me wishes we’d never started this.”

He rubbed his lips against hers. “And the other part?”

“Is glad to have learned how I should be treated by a man.”

He eased back, his thumb stroking along her jawline. “You can say that even though this isn’t going to last?”

She smiled through the hurt. “I can say that because you showed me that I’m stronger than I thought. I can say that because you never lied to me. The way I feel about you is all on me.”

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