Page 107 of The Ruthless and the Strong

Lizzie

I moved downstairs quietlyfor a cup of coffee, having left Max sleeping upstairs.

After Mason and Olivia had come home from the park with Emma and Hunter, we all had dinner at Max’s house. I was laughing with everyone, something I didn’t think I could do after all that had happened with Sam.

I had felt a pinched sensation in my heart at the thought that Sam was alone in his hotel room, nursing his nose. I fucking hated it. I fucking hated how badly I had ruined him, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

Perhaps Max was right. That Sam just needed time to come to terms with this before he realized that this divorce was a blessing. But until then, he was hurting, and I hated the thought.

By the time Mason and Olivia were set to go home, Max had pulled me aside and asked me to stay with him. Me and Hunter.

It probably would have been smart to say no. I didn’t want to confuse Hunter, but when I opened my mouth to say so, the words wouldn’t come. I nodded instead, and the look of happiness in his eyes made it all worth it.

So Hunter was sleeping in Olivia’s old room. He seemed to be adjusting fine, and he didn’t even wake up in the middle of the night once to come find me.

I stayed in Max’s other guest bedroom.

Or, at least, that was how it started. But by the time three o’clock rolled around, Max had come into the room and carried me out of there and into his room. He held onto me for the rest of the night while we slept.

I waited for the cup of coffee to brew before I moved to the backyard, taking a seat on one of the patio chairs as I watched the sun rise.

The weather had been unseasonably nice these past few weeks. We’d barely gotten any rain, which was just the way I liked it.

Soon, it would be Hunter’s birthday in June. He would be turning six.

It was hard to believe I was going to be a mother to a six-year-old soon. Before I knew it, he would be driving and asking girls out on dates and getting ready for college.

Time was moving way too damn fast. I was only twenty-six, but I wasn’t ready to get older. There were so many things I still wanted to do with my life.

My phone startled me out of my thoughts and I looked at the screen, my heart dropping when I saw my mom’s name.

It had been days since the incident at the house. She hadn’t contacted me, though I knew it would happen sooner rather than later, considering now that Hunter was living nearby and she didn’t want to go so long without seeing him.

But to call me this early in the morning?

I didn’t know what to do.

I picked up the phone before the line could cut off and brought it up to my ear. “Hello?”

“Lizzie?” Mom said through the line. Her voice sounded off and I didn’t know why.

“Yeah?”

“Can we meet for breakfast?”

* * *

I rubbedmy hands on my thighs and looked out over the coffee shop.

Mom was already here.

I could see her drinking coffee in one of the booths by the window. She hadn’t seen me yet, which I supposed was one small blessing.

My mom could be a very intimidating woman when she needed to be. At home, and in her office, where she led a team of thirty mechanical engineers.

She was most definitely a badass. The kind of mom every little girl should want, but when I realized how different we were from each other, the fact that she was the way she was hadn’t felt like a blessing, but a burden. One I hadn’t wanted to carry.

I climbed out the car and moved to the front door.

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