Page 35 of The Ruthless and the Strong

“That’s how it’s supposed to be. I’m the adult in this relationship.”

She shook her head. “I’m not a little kid anymore, Max. You don’t have to always try to stay strong for me.”

“I don’t care how old you get. You can be seventy and it will still be my job to take care of you.”

She rolled her eyes at that, but she was smiling. “Okay, but perhaps it’s time you let me shoulder some of your problems.”

“I don’t have any problems,” I said. Olivia was right. I wouldn’t have told her even if that was the case. It wasn’t her job to worry or stress out about my problems.

“What about Lizzie?” she asked.

I looked off to the side. “What about Lizzie?”

I didn’t know how much she knew now, but Olivia had always known about Lizzie’s crush on me. I was sure that was the kind of things girls talked about with their friends. But that had been years ago, when both were still teenagers. Now that they were both adults, I didn’t know how much they actually told each other, even if they were best friends.

I was almost positive Lizzie hadn’t told Olivia that I had kissed her just before her wedding ceremony.

“You know I always thought it was one-sided. Lizzie’s crush on you.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “It was one-sided.”

I hadn’t thought of Lizzie as anything more than Olivia’s best friend when she was little. That would have made me an even bigger monster than I was.

Olivia looked down and flushed a little. “I didn’t mean it like that. I knew you didn’t see Lizzie as anything but my best friend when we were little. But I meant when she was older.”

“You mean when she was married?”

“Did you have feelings for her then?” Olivia asked softly.

I looked away. I didn’t know how to answer her, but my silence was enough. “Oh, Max.”

I shook my head and met her eyes. “I’m okay, kiddo.”

“You know she never stopped loving you, right?”

I hated the way my heart pounded in my chest from those words. Loving me was the worst thing that could ever happen to any woman. I looked down at my hands, my fingers moving over to an old scar on the back of my palm, just between my thumb and pointer finger.

“She shouldn’t love me.”

“Why? You are amazing.”

I smiled a little at that, but even I could tell it was one formed from self-deprecation. There was nothing humorous in this.

“Don’t you think so?” she asked quietly.

“It doesn’t matter. Now, I don’t want you to put any more thought into this.” She opened her mouth, probably to protest, but I quickly asked, “How are things going between you and Mason, sweetheart?” just to change the subject. She shot me a look that told me she knew exactly what I was doing, but thankfully, she let the subject drop.

“It’s good. Everything is good, Max. You don’t have to worry so much. You know he treats me well. He cherishes me.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I said. “Though you should know I will always worry about you.”

She let out a small sigh, but I knew by the way her eyes lit, she didn’t mind my worry too much. There were still some part of her that liked that I still cared for her the way I had when she was little.

“All I ever wanted was for you to be happy.”

“Well, I am very happy right now. Mason makes me happy.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything to that. Something about my expression must have given way to my feelings, because her brows pulled together in a small frown. “What? You don’t think so?”

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