to be introduced to the woman responsible for bringing such a remarkable human being into the world before he had to say goodbye to her.
Dread stabbed at his insides, but this moment was inevitable. Like a train pulling into a station, there was no going back. No stopping. It had to happen. Long-term, he was a liability to her. Today might be fine, but tomorrow—or the next day or the next—the lure of Sweet might be too much. Like hell would he do to her what Alfonso had done to the girl he’d loved once. Those images would never be erased from Dom’s mind. No, Mackenzie was definitely much safer without him.
At least she was the one starting this conversation, rather than the other way around. The instigator of a break-up always had the most power and it was important to him that she drew strength from that. Not that it’d be easy for him, but he’d manage.
“I’m glad you read some of my mother’s journals. I hope it gave you some additional insight into what our family has gone through.”
“Yes, it did. You’ve all been through quite a lot.”
She cleared her throat and tugged one sleeve, then the other, down over her hands. “If I were a regular person with a normal family history, I would not be sitting here like this, getting ready to say what I am now.”
And if he weren’t who he was, he wouldn’t need to leave her in order for her to be safe.
“But you’re not.”
“Dom, these past few weeks with you have been wonderful—as in amazing.” She dropped her hands in her lap and turned her head away.
“But…?”
“That’s the problem. It’s too good. I feel myself getting too attached. To you, to what we have together. To the promise of a tomorrow. And…and I can’t let that happen. I’m binding myself to a future that can never be.”
He ground his molars together and stared, unseeing, out the windshield at the solid beige of her garage door. He knew her bike would be parked just on the other side, on the left, with boxes on the workbench and upper shelves filled with unpacked belongings accumulated from a lifetime of frequent moves. He could hear dishes clanking inside—her roommate was home. Good. Mackenzie would have someone to talk to when this was all over.
“I understand.”
She snapped her head around. “You do?”
He might as well make this as easy as possible for her and not argue. “And I agree.”
Her eyes opened wide in surprise. He reached over and released a strand of hair caught in her earring. His throat tightened to the point that he wasn’t sure his voice would work. This would be the last time he’d look into her eyes while she looked into his. Oh sure, maybe after he moved, he’d have occasion to visit the Seattle office again and could drive by her house, potentially see her from afar.
But never again would he see her like this. Smell the fragrance of her hair. Touch her soft skin. Hear her speak his name—either casually, while asking him to pass the salt as they prepared dinner together, or at the height of pleasure, while he made love to her and her body shattered around him.
He missed her already. “Mackenzie?” he whispered.
“Dom?”
There. She’d said his name again.
“It’s best this way. I could never be the right man for you.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“MACKENZIE, SORRY YOU have to wait with me like this. She’ll be here in a few minutes. I’ll be fine if you need to go.” Abby should’ve sounded dejected, Mackenzie thought. Or sad maybe, but she didn’t. She sounded matter-of-fact and frank, as if she had expected nothing more from her mother.
“Hey, it’s no big deal,” Mackenzie said. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t have any plans. Just heading home.”
Mackenzie didn’t care what time she got home. She dug her fingernails into the soft skin of her forearm and wondered how long the impressions would stay indented in her skin. She kept pressing, feeling nothing, until the inside of her wrist was lined with six rows of the half-moon scallops.
Since she’d broken things off with Dom, nothing felt right. Like a crucial piece inside of her was missing. She almost hoped he’d argue with her, try to talk her out of it, tell her they’d make it work, that he’d help her find the answers, but he didn’t.
She opened up her phone and reviewed for the billionth time the text message she’d received from him three