had stopped by after drill practice and put him through a few paces of her own, he opened his mouth and risked turning his world upside down.
“We do well together,” he said as he pulled her up against him, running a hand over her hair and letting his fingers tangle loosely in the reddish-brown strands.
“I’d say there’s some chemistry,” she agreed.
“Chemistry is important. Look at me and Beckett. We’ve had chemistry since day one.”
“I can see that,” Liv said.
“Don’t worry, Livvy. I’m not asking to have Beckett back.”
“Then what do you want?”
He casually stroked his hand down the side of her face. “I want you to give us a chance.”
“By chance you mean...” He made a slow you-know gesture with one hand. “Damn, Matt.” She put some space between them, gathering the sheet up to her neck with both hands. “I made myself clear on that point from the beginning. You can’t ask for change now.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because we agreed.”
“We agreed according to the way things were then. Whether you will admit it or not, things have changed.”
“For you, maybe.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Believe it,” she said, scrambling out of bed and searching for her clothes on the floor. She pulled up a pair of jeans—his—and dropped them before going for the pair underneath it.
“Liv!”
Something in his tone made her stop, her jeans clutched in one hand.
“There is something very wrong here.”
“Yes. I agree.” She went for her shirt.
“With you.”
That got her attention. “There is nothing wrong with me.”
“Yeah. There is. Why are you denying you feel anything for me?”
“I’m not admitting or denying. The way I feel is my own business. I’m just telling you that I do not want a relationship.”
“Like it or not, you have one.”
“Not anymore.”
“Meaning?”
“What does it sound like I mean?” She pulled her pants up and buttoned the waistband, then jammed her arms into her shirt without bothering with her bra. Once covered, she reached down for her socks and underwear, holding them loosely in one hand as she spoke as clearly as she possibly could, so he would make no mistake in her meaning.
“I mean that this—” she pointed to first him then back to herself “—is no more.”
“Liv...” His voice was a low rumble, but she ignored what it did to her.
“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t fight you. I won’t fight you.”
“I’m not fighting with you! I’m trying to clue you into reality.”
“Okay. Let’s talk reality. In all my relationships, I’ve been the giver. The one that bends, the one that changes. It’s not healthy, but I will keep doing it. Even though I don’t want to.”
“Then don’t.”
“I don’t intend to.”
It took a moment for her meaning to sink in. He was about tell her that he wasn’t interested in a relationship with someone who always bent, when she said, “Take Beckett.”
“What?”
“Take Beckett and then there’s no more reason for us to share anything. You’ll have what you wanted from the beginning and I’ll have—”
“What, Liv? What will you have?”
“Peace of mind,” she said fiercely.
“I am not some jerk who’ll take over your life.”
“That’s not a chance I’m ready to take.”
* * *
LESS THAN THREE minutes later, Liv numbly stepped out into a windy July night. The moon was full, bathing her truck in a yellowish light.
You’re fine. You did the right thing.
Of course, she had.
You gave away your horse....
As if Beckett had ever truly been hers. She loved him, but he was Matt’s. The ties between her and Matt were now severed. Matt had told her he wasn’t taking the horse without paying for him. Liv had told him that was fine. She’d take the money; he could take Beckett. It would have been difficult to ride Beckett now anyway, because he would remind her too much of Matt.
Matt, who should never have lost the horse in the first place. If she hadn’t bought him from Trena, none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t now be turned inside out over a man who was ignoring the ground rules, trying to get her to agree to something she’d told him from the beginning she wouldn’t agree to. Just as Allen had done. Just as Greg had done.
Only this was worse, because, unlike with the other men in her life, she’d laid everything out to Matt from day one, told him how far she was willing to go, and he’d still tried to push her into a corner.
* * *
“MATT PICKED UP your horse this afternoon,” Tim said as soon