Page 100 of Twisted Beauty

“I thought we should talk. Let’s go out on the balcony for a few minutes.” His voice was like melted caramel, so smooth and tempting, and there wasn’t anything she’d rather do at that moment than lounge outside on the balcony with him. He closed the distance between them in two long strides.

She almost caved when she felt the warmth of his big hand on her back as he tried to lead her outside. But she needed this thing with Grant to be over. Finished. And if she met him today, it would be. In just a short hour or two, she’d be free. She wouldn’t have it hanging over her head anymore.

“Um, I can’t right now.” She stepped back from Matt’s touch. “I—”

Her heart was beating in her throat. She’d been here before, too many times to count. And it had taken her until her early twenties to figure out how to keep her mouth shut. To do what she needed to do and ask forgiveness later. If she hadn’t, she never would have made it to grad school. She was sure of that. Her mother would have found some way to stop her if she’d known. And where would she be now? Well, probably earning a fantastic living as a lawyer or doctor, with zero school debt because her parents would have paid. But that was so not the point.

The point was, she couldn’t deal with the consequences of spilling her guts right now. That would have to wait. She needed to focus on this whole mess with Grant first. Finish it, so it would stop haunting her and she could move on with her life.

Why did everything have to be so complicated? And why didn’t she turn down that second tequila? She was already flustered and she hadn’t even seen Grant yet. “I just have an errand to run. I’ll be back in a couple of hours though. Can we chat then?”

“An errand? Now?”

“Yeah.” Crap. Why did she feel like she was lying when, technically, she wasn’t? Throwing your engagement ring at your ex could totally count as an errand.

“What kind of an errand?” Matt tilted his head, like she was speaking another language and he was trying to translate. Or maybe that was just her imagination. She might have been panicking. Just a touch.

Because really, what kind of a rush errand could she possibly need to run on a Sunday afternoon, considering she didn’t actually live, work, or know anyone in Mexico?

“An old friend,” she heard herself say. Well, there was a half-truth. “I’m meeting a friend who’s in town and might want to get married here. To talk about wedding photos. It’s not really my thing, but I said I’d stop by.”

Shut up, Liv. God, now she was babbling. Making things worse.

She wanted to hit command-z and start the entire conversation over, maybe just come clean. Apparently, making up excuses was not her strong suit.

But whatever. When you had a date with the devil, everything else had to wait.

“Why don’t I drive you? We can talk in the car.”

“No. I mean, thank you. I appreciate the offer. But you’d just be bored. Let’s just talk when I get back, okay?” She started for the door, because this whole cloak-and-dagger thing was giving her a headache.

Matt’s jaw ticked, but he stepped out of her way without another word. What a relief. Because god only knew what would come out of her mouth next if he kept pushing.

Liv glanced over at Katie, who shook her head almost imperceptibly. Yeah, she’d made a huge mess of things. But she was out of options. It was too late to take it all back now.

“Okay, see you guys in a bit.” Liv walked out, shut the door behind her and blew out a breath.

What a clusterfuck. Emphasis on fuck.

And it was such a gorgeous day too. She hated to waste even a minute of it with douchebag Grant. Just the thought of confronting him got her heart pounding. Crazy to get this agitated about meeting a man she’d planned to spend her life with.

In her defense, Grant did have a bit of a dark side. Not the murder you in a back alley kind of dark side. At least, not that she knew of. He was more like the demanding, prima donna, you’d better do what I want or I’ll be an ass to you kind. Which she probably should have given more thought to before she’d agreed to marry him.

Liv walked briskly down the hill, hoping to work off some of her angst while she waited for a taxi to pass by.

After several minutes, she flagged one down and jumped in. She spent the next half hour rehearsing in her head what she’d say when she finally sat down with him. But by the time she arrived at the restaurant, she'd worked herself up into such a lather her mind was blank. Maybe Katie was right. Just yell “small dick,” throw the ring, and run.

She’d probably need another shot of tequila to pull that off.

The car dropped her off at the elaborate stone entry of Francisco’s, right on the beach. She stood there staring at the open double doors with her heart racing and a thickness in her throat. No question she and Grant needed to sit down together and talk through this. So why did showing up here feel like she was giving in? Letting him get his way again?

She straightened her shoulders and climbed the stairs into the restaurant. Before she could say a word to the hostess, she heard Grant call her name. She’d recognize that voice anywhere, but was it always that nasally? Compared to that deep, baritone voice of Matt’s, Grant didn’t sound sexy at all.

When she spotted him at the far end of the dining room, he waved and flashed her that Hollywood smile of his. Liv plastered a smile on her face, as always, and headed for his table.

“Hey there, Red, you made it.” He stood and opened his arms for a hug, but Liv backed away. He didn’t react, just proceeded to pull a chair out for her. “Have a seat, babe. I knew you’d come. I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me forever.”

Right.