Page 44 of The Ruthless and the Strong

Lizzie

I shutmy laptop and leaned back against the chair, letting out a sigh.

I was home alone.

Mason and Olivia had gone out earlier this morning to pick Emma up from my parents’ house where she had spent the night. Now they were out for a family outing, and I wouldn’t be picking Hunter up until late afternoon, giving him some time to spend with his uncle and grandparents.

I had been writing all morning, which had worked to distract me from my thoughts, but now that I was done with my word count for the day, there was nothing more I needed to do.

Max was home today.

He was going back to work on Monday, and that was that. After he told me to go back to the house last night, I tossed and turned in bed all night, unable to go to sleep, until I finally gave up around five in the morning, and had ended up writing since.

A part of me understood why he’d turned me away, but another part was sad that he did, and perhaps even a little angry.

He was always trying to do the right thing, trying to protect me, but not for the first time in my life, I wished he would stop. I wished he would damn all the consequences and just…

Take me.

I deserved to be fought for, didn’t I?

I didn’t want to go back to how things were before, when I had loved him from afar. But I didn’t know how to get him to see me as anything more than his ward’s best friend. As that little girl who had loved him for half of her life.

Letting out another sigh, I stood up and stretched my sore muscles, walking over to the kitchen in search of another cup of coffee.

I walked in and found the pot of coffee empty, and the empty coffee grounds bag in the trash, along with the used coffee filter from this morning. I vaguely remember throwing it out this morning when I had my second or third cup, right after Mason and Olivia left.

We were out.

Welp, this day just kept getting worse and worse.

My finger tapped mindlessly against the coffee mug.

I didn’t have a car. Technically I could borrow Mason’s car. They had taken Olivia's car out this morning because Emma’s car seat was in there and they didn’t want to switch it out, but Mason’s car was a stick shift, and I wasn’t used to driving it.

I was stuck at home.

And I really wanted another cup of coffee.

I wanted Max more.

I moved without thinking, heading out into the bright late-morning day without even a sweater in hand. It wasn’t until I was halfway to his house that I realized I was wearing my bunny slippers.

I paused in my step.

There went my courage.

I squirmed a bit on my feet, indecision moving inside of me, before I turned back toward the house. I didn’t think I could stand to be rejected by the man again. That might just push me over the edge today, and to get rejected while wearing bunny slippers was not on my top ten things to do.

I’d barely taken a step back to the house when Max’s front door opened. I paused, looking back, my heart racing, when Max walked out, looking way too perfect for a casual morning, even if he was simply in dark blue jeans and a tight-fitting black T-shirt that showcased his muscles perfectly.

Yup. Just a casual morning with Max looking nothing less than a god.

He caught my eyes and stopped. It was then that I noticed the trash bag in his hand.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

His eyes made a slow perusal up and down my body, leaving me feeling hot and flustered all over despite the cool wind that had picked up. They lingered a bit longer on my bunny slippers before making his way up my body once more, his blue eyes light in the morning sun.

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