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“I said I got it.” Aggravation caused my voice to rise, hot anger bubbling up inside me.
“It’s done. I booked you a flight leaving at noon.”
I exhaled, torn between anger and relief. “I’ll pack up now.”
“Can I at least drive you to the airport?” he asked softly. He sounded so sad, so full of remorse. A tiny piece of me wanted to open the door and bury my face in his strong chest, let him comfort me and ease this stinging pain.
But what if that baby was his? That child deserved Liam and I wasn’t going to be the one to keep them apart.
No.I needed to resist him. Chewing on my nail, I bit at a loose piece of skin, debating.Could I trust myself with him in a tight, enclosed space for over an hour?This could be the last time I ever spent with Liam.
I swallowed hard over the lump in my throat, my chest aching. “I guess.”
“Thank you. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready, so you don’t miss the flight.”
I sunk down onto his bed, my entire body heavy. Somehow, I needed to summon the energy to shower, pack, and leave California—and Liam—behind.
Taking a deep breath, I dug down deep, deeper than I’d ever dug before. Of course, I’d done hard things—lots of hard things. But this...this felt different. Harder. Worse.
On shaky legs, I rose and went to take a shower, hoping to wash off all my pain and regret, knowing full well Liam wasn’t someone I could just rinse away.
No, this was a deep cut. And Liam McCauliffe would most definitely leave a scar.
24
LIAM
Ileft a breakfast tray for Macy while she showered, then threw on a pair of running shoes and hit the trail behind my house. I needed some fresh air and perspective, and I knew Macy didn’t want to talk to me—hell, be anywhere near me—at the moment, so the least I could do was give her a little space.
She’d have a whole lot of space soon.
That thought sent a cold shot of dread rushing through me, followed by a rolling wave of nausea.
How did we get here?
Yesterday had been the perfect day. The beach, the gala, the after party. We both said ‘I love you’ less than twenty-four hours ago and now? Now we weren’t even speaking, and Macy couldn’t even bring herself to be in the same room with me. Probably the same building, if I was being honest with myself.
And I was going to be a father.Maybe raise a kid with someone I hardly knew.My stomach clenched and my hands clammed up, sweat beading on my neck.
Fuck.How had my life taken a hard turn for the worst in such a short amount of time?
I inhaled a shaky breath and kept climbing, the ocean a noisy background to my jumbled thoughts. The sea was angry today, a mirror image of how I felt.
I’d finally found an amazing person, someone I truly connected with, and it all went to shit because I hadn’t kept my dick in my pants eight months ago.
Stupid fucking move.Aria had been a blip on my radar; I barely even remembered her name this morning. Could her child actually be mine?
Biologically, I supposed it could.Wonder how soon we could get a paternity test?Did I have to wait for the baby to be born? Should I get involved in the pregnancy and birth plan in the meantime, just in case? I had no freaking clue what to do in this situation. I usually knew exactly how to handle things, work or personal. But this? I had no road map and every step I’d taken thus far seemed to be wrong. Both Aria and Macy were currently pissed at me. There truly was no winning.
Pushing hard up the hill, I huffed out my anger—at myself, the situation—finally making it to the top. Sea salt clung to my sticky skin, a light breeze cooling my sweat. A few clouds hung over the horizon, but for now, the sky was bright blue, everything perfectly sunny.
Everything except my personal life.
I paused for a long moment, closing my eyes and focusing on the warmth of the sun’s rays, the crash of the water, the marine smell in the air.
A little calmer now, I said a silent prayer for guidance, then hiked back down the hill so I could drive Macy to the airport.
* * *
