to face him. “He’s going to spread that rumor about me, isn’t he?”
“I won’t let him.”
Sonia suddenly ran in. “Shriveled-blob fish dick?”
Liv shuddered. “It’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen.”
Her snark was short-lived. Her knees wobbled, and she sank against the edge of the desk. “He really is going to ruin me. The entire culinary world is going to think I had an affair with him.”
Mack closed the distance between them and gripped her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Look at me.”
He tilted her face upward.
“We will stop him.”
She held his eyes, and something caught in his chest. Her eyes were like mirrors, reflecting every emotion. He watched, transfixed, as anxiety hardened into determination, turning hazel into fiery green.
“You’re goddamned right we will,” she breathed. “Whatever it takes.”
He made a fist and held it out. “Partners?”
Liv bumped her fist against his. “Partners.”
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning, Mack dropped into his normal seat at the diner where he and the guys ate breakfast every other week. He was the last to arrive, which was unusual. But so were the circumstances. This wasn’t their normal week.
A mug of coffee was waiting for him. He pushed it aside and leaned on his forearms.
“What’s the big emergency?” Malcolm asked, tone tinged with uncharacteristic annoyance. “My wife and I have plans today.”
A waitress made her way to the table and asked Mack if he was ready to order. He spared her a quick glance. “Just the coffee, thanks.”
There was a moment of silence after she walked away. “What?” Mack asked.
“Wow,” Del said quietly. “You didn’t even smile at her.”
“Who?”
Malcolm pointed. “The waitress. You didn’t flirt with her.”
Mack shook his head. “I don’t have time for flirting. I need to talk to you guys.”
“Obviously,” Del deadpanned. “You dragged us out of bed.”
“This is serious!”
“You get dumped again already?” Gavin asked.
Mack flipped him off. Gavin returned the gesture. Malcolm started to stand. “I don’t have time for this.”
Mack grabbed his arm. “Sit down. You need to hear this.”
Malcolm returned to his seat with a stern glare. “This better be good.”
Mack sucked in a breath and dragged a hand over his hair. When he exhaled, he settled his eyes on his friends. He knew he should feel guilty about doing this without talking to Liv first, but this was an emergency. “This needs to stay between us.”
“This really is serious, isn’t it?” Gavin said, growing somber.
“It is. And it’s about Liv.”
Gavin’s whole body went rigid. “What about Liv?”
“She didn’t tell you the whole story about why she got fired.”
Five minutes later, the guys reacted to the story exactly as Mack knew they would because they all lived by the same code he did.
The Russian banged his meaty fist into his tree trunk of a thigh. “I will break his balls.”
“What are you proposing we do?” Del asked.
“I’m not sure yet. But if he’s one of those guys, we have to stop him.”
Malcolm nodded. “I’m in.”
Derek agreed. “Me too.”
One after another, the guys nodded around the table. Only Gavin held back. He shook his head, removed his baseball cap, and ran his hands over his flattened hair. “I don’t like this. I don’t want Liv to get hurt.”
“I won’t let her get hurt. I’ll protect her.”
Gavin snorted. “I’d love to see her reaction if you said that to her. She has a way of doing things on her own.”
Yeah. He knew. And it was sort of growing on him.
Liv raced through a shower, doing the hair and makeup thing, and got dressed before heading out to do her morning chores. A cold, misty rain dampened the grass and immediately undid the small amount of effort she’d put into her hair. Her boots sank into the soggy grass as she crossed the yard to the chicken coops. Goats bleated from inside the barn, but they’d have to wait their turn. Randy had already flown over the fence and was now perched on his favorite branch, waiting for the hens to be let out so he could reach his daily sex quota. He greeted Liv with a threatening flap of his wings.
“I’m in no mood for you today.”
Randy let out an angry crow. She lunged at him but then felt guilty. It wasn’t his fault that Royce was a disgusting asshole who was apparently telling everyone that she’d slept with him. A cold chill stole over her skin that had nothing to do with the weather. Just the thought of being anywhere near that man . . . she gagged.