36
36
Liam
Too much sunlight. I threw my arm over my eyes and groaned.
“What the fuck?” I grunted. My head felt like an entire marching band was using it as their drum.
“Wake up, sunshine.” Tex’s voice reminded me of nails on a chalkboard.
I winced. “Shh.”
“Sorry,” he replied. “I left you alone, thinking you’d wake up and pull it together, but that’s not happening, and now, I’ve got your baby momma’s sister downstairs, who wants to see you and won’t leave. I don’t have time for that because we have a club opening in ten minutes, so I need you to deal with your ex–doctor girlfriend or whatever she was. Then go home to Liberty. Whatever sent you over here last night, making you determined to drink every ounce of whiskey in the place, fix it.”
The door closing behind him as he left was a relief. No more talking. I needed some water and a bottle of aspirin. The entire thing. Damn, how much had I drunk? I’d not had a hangover this bad in over twenty years.
What had I been thinking?
Rolling onto my side, I almost fell on the floor. Frowning, I squinted to see where the hell I was. My office. I was on the sofa. Why was I on the sofa in my office?
Pieces started to filter in, and then it all came crashing back.
Liberty.
Just like that, my chest felt like I’d ripped it open and pulled out my own heart again. The whiskey had made me forget, but that was only a temporary fix. I’d fucked up. Fisting my hands, I closed my eyes as the memory of her face yesterday taunted me. That beautiful smile and her bright, shining eyes, always there when I got home, making me feel like every bad thing that had ever happened to me was worth it because it had led me to her.
Until yesterday.
A knock on my office door started up the drumline in my head again.
Why couldn’t everyone leave me alone? I had to fix what I’d done.
“GO AWAY!” I shouted, then pressed my fingers to my temples to ease the stabbing pain that came with it.
Another knock.
Who the hell was that?
Standing up, I stalked over to the door and jerked it open, ready to unleash a string of curses on whoever it was, but the sight of Selena knocked me off-balance. I’d not expected her.
Oh, wait, Tex had said something about the doctor being here.
“What do you want?” I growled.
The smile on her face brightened, as if I’d greeted her like I wanted her here. What was she up to?
“Liam, you smell like you’ve had better days,” she said in an annoyingly cheerful tone. “Life been stressful?”
I glared at her. Talking meant more pain, and she didn’t rank on the important meter for me to use my words.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and … was she batting her eyelashes at me? Was this a bad drunken dream? Because I’d rather be woken up and deal with the hangover.
Stepping past me, she walked into my office. “Whew, you need lots of water. It’s the best fix. Greasy food too. Although don’t tell anyone I am admitting that.”
Ugh, would she shut up?
“Why are you here?” I asked, my voice gravelly, matching the way my head felt.
She moved closer to me. I didn’t like the look on her face. I knew that look. She was flirting.
I held up both hands. “Whoa. Personal space,” I warned.
She placed her hands on her hips and pressed her lips out in a pout.
Oh God, stop. Please, someone, end this torture and get her crazy ass out of here. I have too much shit to deal with.
“I miss you. And before you tell me again, I know— I know —you got trapped by some bartender. I needed time to process it, but I did. And I am okay with it. I’m a pediatrician after all. I love children. It’s not a turnoff for me. I think you doing the right thing and being there for the baby is truly selfless.”
I held my hands up, shaking my head. She needed to go.
Where was Tex? Why hadn’t he stopped her from coming up here?
“No,” I said with enough force to make me wince again. “Not interested. Go away. What else do I have to say to make you leave?”
There was a flash of fury that I didn’t miss in her eyes, even in my hungover state. She didn’t like being told no. I’d missed that about her before, but thinking back, she had pouted about things. Oh, who cared? She was not important.
“Whatever lies she’s told you about me, I should get the chance to defend myself. All she does is lie. She needed somewhere to live, and you think it’s a coincidence that she was so willing to fuck a stranger? No. She wanted someone to take care of her. She’s a manipulative liar. She’s always been that way. She told my father things about me to make him hate me. She couldn’t stand that he might love me more.” She let out a fake sob and wiped at a tear that wasn’t there.
When she’d started talking, I’d thought she was making assumptions about the woman I had gotten pregnant, but I realized she knew it was Liberty. She was talking about Liberty.
My blood began to heat as I stared at her.
“She’s not who you think she is. Believe me. She’ll probably rob you blind.”
My hand was around her narrow neck before I knew what I was doing. “She doesn’t have to rob me blind. I’d sign over the deed to my house if she asked. Now, you have one goddamn second to get the hell outta my club!” I said, then shook her because she was a woman and I couldn’t hit her. But, God, I wanted to. I loathed the air she breathed.
“I am telling you, Liam—”
“GET OUT!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. Headache be damned. The only thing I felt was fury.
I heard footsteps, and Tex was there. He looked from her to me.
“Get her out before I throw her down the stairs,” I said, not looking back at her as I walked over to my desk.
“This way, lady,” Tex said.
“He won’t listen to me,” she cried.
“If you don’t listen to me, he will do what he said. He’s not in a good place right now, and you are his target at the moment. You need to run like hell.”
“You’ll regret it!”
“Shut the fuck up, woman!” Tex said, and I watched as Tex grabbed both her arms and shoved her through the door before he slammed it closed.
Liberty had lived with that kind of jealousy and hatred.
I pressed my fist to my chest. That wasn’t easing up anytime soon. I had to fix the royal shit show I had created. If I had to get my whole family over to the house and get down on one knee, I would do it.
Screw old age. I could stay in shape. I’d do whatever was required to take care of her. There was the fear I’d lose her, but I’d be damned if I went the rest of my life without her. I’d go to my death bed, making sure she never again felt the way I’d made her feel yesterday.