head. “I changed my name when I was eighteen. Legally. I didn’t want anything connected to him.”
Liv rose and walked toward him. He wanted to grab her and hold her, but her body language screamed KEEP AWAY.
“Braden,” she whispered.
His heart skipped at the sound of his real name on her lips.
“I’m so sorry you went through all that.”
“I should have told you,” he said, voice thick.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I—”
“You had so many chances to tell me,” she said, her voice getting stronger. “How many times did we talk about your father? You lied to my face.”
“We barely knew each other at first, Liv. Why would I tell you something that I’ve been lying about to everyone for years?”
It was the wrong thing to say. Her face became a mask of calm certainty. “You’re right,” she said. “We barely knew each other. Maybe we still don’t. Which is why this entire thing between us has been crazy. But that’s all it was. A crazy little fling, and now—”
Mack shook his head. “Don’t say it.”
“Maybe it’s best that we just end it now.”
Pain sliced through him as sharply as if she’d stabbed in the chest. “Why? Nothing has changed. Nothing. My name doesn’t change the fact that I have never felt like this before.”
She waved a hand, sarcasm taking over like a suit of armor. “You’ll get over it. Next week someone else will drop a cupcake in your lap.”
“Knock it off with the bullshit. It’s childish.”
Her face flashed with shame.
He turned around and laced his hands on top of his head. The floor wavered before his gaze. “I’m just a man with a heart,” he said, turning back around. “Whether my name is Braden Mack or Braden McRae. I’m just a man with a heart, and you’re breaking it.”
“I can’t do this,” she whispered, sinking onto the couch.
“You think this is easy for me?” He dropped to his knees in front of her. “I’m scared shitless right now because I have no idea what that look on your face means. And after what we’ve shared, if you kicked me out right now, I’m not sure I’d recover.”
Cupping the back of her head, he forced her to look at him. “Give me a chance. Please.”
Her gaze locked with his, challenging him.
His hand moved around to her cheek.
“I never planned on you,” she said.
“I never planned on you either,” he said, his voice low and husky. “But we can figure this out. We can make this work. I’ll never lie to you again about anything. Just trust me.”
And that’s when he lost her.
Her face went slack. Her eyes went blank. She pulled away from. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
Mack barely felt his body as he stood. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“It doesn’t matter. This will always be between us. I’ll always be wondering if you’re telling me the truth.”
Mack went numb. “I’m not your father, Liv.”
Her eyes went dark. “And I’m not the princess from your romance novels. This is one story that’s not going to have a happy ending.”
Mack didn’t remember leaving. Didn’t remember driving his car. Didn’t remember anything except sitting in his driveway.
There was no happy ending for him. There never would be.
And he was a fucking fool for ever believing there could be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
For the first time in her life, Liv was grateful to be unemployed with zero responsibilities.
The next morning, Thea drove Liv back to the farm, where Liv immediately climbed into bed. She stayed there all day with the blankets over her head and a box of tissues at the ready. She rose three times to pee and one time to tip the crumbs from a bag of Doritos down her throat. Shortly after seven that night, Rosie knocked quietly on her bedroom door and told her she’d left tuna noodle casserole on the table.
It was still there, uneaten and cold, the next morning when Liv got up in search of some pain medication for the headache that had developed in the middle of the night. Guilt added to the pounding in her head. She should have at least acknowledged Rosie last night, thanked her for the food and for letting her neglect her farm duties yesterday.
Liv dragged her fingers through her tangled hair, grimacing when she discovered a massive rat’s nest in the far back. God, she needed to get her shit together. This was why she hated crying. Because once she started, she couldn’t stop, and what a useless waste of time.